Very sweet, art is easy to visually parse. Books about cheerleaders as athletes rather than as a social strata are rare and appreciated.

Such a cute story and romance between the characters. I also always love seeing more trans sapphic representation! I highly recommend this graphic novel!

How fun! I don't usually go for cheerleader books, but I'm so glad I picked this one up. The characters were both great, and I loved their dynamic.

Loved this. I've never read anything like this before, such a super cute story with beautiful, beautiful drawings.

Thank you so much for the copy.

I adored this short, sweet story, and if this were longer I feel like it could be one of my favorite graphic novels. The story was really lovely, the characters felt both realistic and incredibly endearing, and I really loved the art style. Would definitely be interested in reading future works from this author.

So sweet and so powerful! Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is the book I wish I had when I was a closeted cheerleader back in middle school/high school. It's about learning to accept yourself and not worry what others think, and how not to be afraid. the closeness of the cheer squad, how they all stood up to each other, and learned how to be better allies to the trans and LGBT community just made my heart so warm and soft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bebe was the first trans cheerleader to join the squad, and her childhood best friend, Annie, needs to join the squad for her college applications. The two begin to spend all their time together and?? romance??? hehehehe.

Docked a star because the pacing was a bit lacking, but otherwise I'd say this is perfect. The art style was fantastic, the two leads were badass, and I hope whoever is reading this review decides to pick this up. Thank you to NetGalley for this eArc. 4/5 stars!!

I was provided a free copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A super cute queer YA romance, a quick read and beautiful drawings!

Cute and adorable. I love how the graphic novel tackles teen girl issues with empathy and nuance. The characters were incredibly charming and heartwarming. Reminiscent of Check Please in terms of style but tackles different themes. Overall a very worthwhile read

I enjoyed reading a book for teens who are dealing with being transgender. There isn't many books out for middle/high school students dealing with this issue and Cheer Up will be a great addition.

This is a sweet and tender graphic novel about the friendship between two girls. Annie begrudgingly joins the cheerleading squad, and she’s convinced it’s going to be overly peppy kids who she doesn’t have anything in common with. This move places Annie in close proximity to her former friend BeBe, whose parents have conditionally accepted her transition.

At the risk of sounding maudlin, the cheer team grow closer together as they challenge their preconceived notions about each other as they realize that they have a lot more in common than they thought. There is even the beginning of a sunshine/grump romance, which is my favorite trope/pairing of all time.

This book is full of queer joy, although there are some bumps along the way, mostly in the form of marginalization or fetishization.


I received a digital ARC of this book from Oni Press/NetGalley

Such a cute story about loving yourself, making friends and growing up. I do not know much about cheer but I did find the squad scenes really endearing and I love seeing the friendships grow. The main relationship was cute, but I did like seeing our girls interact with the rest of the squad, and slowly learning more about the rest of the group. We mainly focus on Annie and Bebe and I loved how their rekindled their friendship and how not awkward it was, it felt very natural and dynamic.

I think this could definetely have a sequel; I for sure would be interested in continuing to explore the lifes of all the members from the squad, because we have very different characters with different goals, problems and personalities.

Extremely quick read! I would’ve liked more but I’m happy with what we got. Even though I really liked it I rated it that because of all the supporting characters. I didn’t like them much at all. I liked them a little bit and then definitely not and then back to like, etc. I felt they (the cheer squad) wanted to look all supportive but… they weren’t so much? And her parents, yeah, not a fan of the way they approached it. I felt it was “eh, we suppose you can do it. But only if…”

While I very much understood the anxiety and not wanting to make a fuss over yourself; I felt like she could’ve… spoken up a bit more regarding her parents and cheer squad?

All in all, this was an incredibly cute graphic novel, very expressive with the faces – which, even though I’m not an artist at all – for me that’s important. And I got that here.

Cheer Up: Love & Pompoms by Crystal Frasier is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel with a important message. I loved both the story and the characters.
Bebe is active in cheerleading who is a people pleaser and feels like she has to be quiet about things that upset so she isn't known as an angry trans girl. Wheres Annie whose devil may care attitude and anti-social personality might make it hard to get into college no matter how good her grades and test scores.
Bebe and Annie were both written very well and I thought the trans rep was done very well. I love Annie and how she helps Bebe learn to stand up for herself as well as helping her with her anxiety. I thought Annie had some great lines but the best one for me was "Hey, I'm the Homecoming Queen. They're staring at me."

This graphic novel was hilarious and well-drawn, definitely worth the money and the hype, and I hope will be successful!

A cute and important graphic novel. It's short and sweet , a great growing romance with a transgender lead. I highly recommend.

What a wonderful book. It packs a fantastic and heartfelt message in so few pages. Beebee is a quite trans girl who is active in cheerleading, Annie a hell on wheels personality that just wants to be left alone. However, Annie’s anti-social personality might make it hard to get into college no matter how good her grades and test scores. So at her mother’s behest, she joins cheerleading. Annie and Beebee used to be friends, before Beebee transitioned. Their friendship is rekindled through cheer. Annie learns to be more social and get along with people, and Beebee leans to stand up for herself, not just to classmates who think they are doing the right thing, but also to her overprotective parents. This book is just so heartwarming. From page one to the end, a reader wants to know these girls, and be part of the squad. It is so reaffirming to see that the cheer mates, cheer for more than sports. They cheer for their teammates to be the best they can be, and to be themselves. There is everything to love about this book. EVERYTHING.

*An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this copy in no way influenced or changed my review*

What a wonderful and touching story of friendship, growth, and queer identity. Our story follows Bebe, a trans girl who is struggling with boundaries after transitioning, and Annie, a girl who is rough round the edges and has trouble making friends and fitting in. Through our story both girls end up on the cheer team and we watch as both grow in their personalities, Bebe learning to stand up for herself and what she wants, and Annie learning to be kinder and make friends. This story was wholesome and really showed how hard it is to be a teenager, especially one in either Bebe or Annie's positions. We can see how their transition from the start of the story to the end also impacts and influences other characters around them as well. It's a great example of how even very small acts and changes can make big impact on ourselves and those around us.

Apparently I stopped reading this part way through way back in 2021 when I received the ARC, likely because I had a blog deadline on another review, and forgot to finish. Oops! I've rectified that now. Thank you so much to the publisher for granting me eARC access via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and so sorry for the very late result. As always, my thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Cheer Up is a beautiful, fun, and heartwrenching story of love, friendship, fitting in, and standing out. One girl is trans, not exactly built like a stereotypical cheerleader, and desperately wants to be one. And fit in. And have real friends. The other is an independent girl on a mission, and that mission is absolutely not star cheerleader, but here she is. Confidence is gained, a friendship is rebuilt stronger than ever, and one high school cheer team ends up a little more accepting than they used to be.

This is a great story with a great message, and the art is fantastic! This was a such a fun read, and I just know this is going to be someone's turning point that encourages them to step out of their comfort zone and live their own truth.

I loved this story. I was light and fluffy, but also some serious tones mixed it. It also had some found family aspects that I appreciated in their group of cheerleaders that learned to grow together and cheer each other on.

I am such an avid reader of graphic novels, and I absolutely love the increase of queer graphic novels over the last few years - Cheer Up being one of them. It was such a cute, unapologetically queer story with a wonderful cast of characters. I loved both the story and the art style and after reading this ARC, bought the physical copy of the book on its' release