It's June! Happy Pride Month, y'all.

I started off my June with this *adorable* own voices graphic novel that I got from Netgalley. It doesn't come out til later in the summer, but it's definitely one to put on your radar, especially if you're a fan of the sporty/teammate aspect of Check, Please! and/or the sweet romance of Heartstopper. (Spoiler Alert: I was a fan of both, haha.)

CHEER UP: LOVE AND POMPOMS has:
- a shy & sweet trans cheerleader (with a crush on her friend)
- a grumpy & spunky lesbian cheerleader (crushing right back)
- friends to love trope (no sex)
- cheerleading action scenes
- characters standing up for themselves
- parents learning to listen and be supportive
- friends learning to listen and be supportive
- transphobia & microaggressions being addressed
- diverse cheerleading squad: multiple races, fat rep, nonbinary character
- absolutely lovely art

I honestly really enjoyed this one, and I'm hoping there's a sequel because I'd love to continue the story! Scoop this one up for free on Netgalley if you're able, and if not, keep an eye out for it when it comes out & ask your library to pre-order! We need more sweet & queer graphic novel romances.

P.S. This is a YA, but it would totally work for middle grade readers too.

😍😍 cute and quick, I loved the romance and the art style so much. This definitely has some heavier moments and touches on transphobia, bad allies, and fetishization. One thing that confused me was Bebe’s parents - they seemed to really care, don’t seem to be misgendering her, so the idea that they are treating it like a carrot to dangle in front to keep her on her best behavior seems incongruous to me.

This book has everything! It’s sweet, delightful, and charming in every way possible. I fell in love with each and every character, the journey each of them were on in the name of self-discovery and being true to yourself. The story has so many wonderful LGBQTA+ characters and positive messages for younger audiences and I think it would be genuinely impossible not to love what this book is about. The art is stunning and dynamic, the action sequences with the cheer squad is wonderful. The colours are outstanding and help set the atmosphere and tone throughout the story. This is a must-read!

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!

I didn't think I needed to read a sapphic cheerleader comic, but I'm so glad I requested this! I expected a personal journey for both of the main characters because Annie was super rough and antisocial in the beginning and I didn't even know Bebe was trans when I started. The weren't even friends anymore in the first few pages.

But slowly, they found themselves in positions they also didn't expect to be: Annie's in the cheering squad and Bebe was voted cheer captain. They spend a lot of time together, helping and learning to know more about each other. And of course, ROMANCE! I'm not gonna say more about that bec I want you all to read about it and how good it was written!

The thing that made me love this more was the nuance it brought to the characters, all of them. Annie's bitchiness is dealt with compassion and softness by the people around her. Bebe's fears, insecurity and confusion is handled with care and was not treated as a plot point, just a fact of life. Her overprotective parents are also given more depth than just being difficult and overbearing. And the whole squad learns how to be a true ally.

It's a fun and warm graphic novel that didn't shy away from the harsh realities of being queer at a young age. It also didn't romanticize queer experiences, it just laid them out as it is and gave the characters enough room to earn their happy ever after.

I highly recommend reading this book! Definitely one of my fave books this year!

What a super fun read. I absolutely loved this one. We have Annie the sassy gymnast with a heart of gold and Beatrice, or Bebe who is a trans girl who's still finding her way. And they're both on the cheerleading squad.

There were so many sweet moments in this story and I would have loved to have seen even more. This reminds me a lot of Heartstopper in the best way.

They way the author tackled certain issues was so interesting.

Bebe's parents, in particular her dad, are having a real hard time with her transition and honestly acting so awful. They do come around at the end but I felt so bad for her with some of the things they said and did. I don't have any personal experience with that but as a parent myself I feel like it's so important to have an open mind when it comes to our kids and their feelings.

And then there was Jonah, the absolute douchebag. It was so good to see Bebe stand up for herself.

Really great graphic novel and would love more.

This is a really cute graphic novel about finding your voice and finding where you belong . It is a little short and reads a little young, but I love how unapologetically queer it is.

tw: transphobia, sexual harassment, fatphobia, bullying

this graphic novel was so so cute! i really enjoyed the fact that beebee was still figuring out her sexuality and the topic of people trying and thinking they're helping in certain situations but it's not what the person actually wants. definitely would recommend! also the artwork was just really cute

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

This graphic novel was incredible! It dealt with incredibly heavy topics in such a brilliant and eye-opening way.

I'm beyond obsessed with Annie and Beatrice, they're exact opposites that support and challenge each other to be their best self throughout the entire novel.

Annie had some seriously amazing lines and just all around was an absolute badass, loved her. Beatrice, she worked so hard and was so flipping nice to everyone (I'm also so glad she was able to stand up for herself but had a good (sort of, they said some really shitty things and there wasn't much info about why they acted the way they did so I'm, pretty iffy on them still) group of friends around her that made sure she was comfortable and safe as well), loved her so much as well!
This book just made me so fricken happy.

The art style was also absolutely stunning, so much was conveyed through the artwork.
Basically, I'm obsessed with this author and need to read more of their work asap.
If you haven't read this yet, totally add it to the tbr! It was so good!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC.
I loved this book, it was very cute but still managed to discuss serious topics.

have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms was so freaking cute. I honestly don't remember the last time I read a graphic novel. So it's safe to say that I completely devoured this one. In it, you will meet BeeBee and Annie. Honestly, these two were completely adorable and I loved every second of getting to know them.

Annie was definitely my spirit animal because she was purely filled with sarcasm. In the beginning, she definitely wasn't a people person and then her mom suggested that she should try out for cheerleading before applying to a college. She's a pretty smart kid but not people smart. So, in other words, we both didn't care for people.

Enter BeeBee. She is a transgender and is struggling (a bit). Whether it's with her overprotective parents or just dealing with things day by day sports-wise or school-wise. It also doesn't help that there's a creepy lurking around every corner for her and he doesn't understand the word no. Ugh, I hated him so much and I was so happy whenever the girl gang, and herself, stood up to him.

Now this book was really cute and I definitely flew through it. I feel like I need to get more graphic novels in my life. Especially if they are going to be this freaking adorable. In the end, I'm so happy that I got the chance to dive into this and I look forward to my next graphic novel adventure!

BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT.
perfect graphic book with queer representation, wit, humour and love. The story is brilliantly crafted. The theme about school, extra curriculars hit home.

Cute, wholesome graphic novel with a f/f main pairing!!
Perfect for fans of Check Please, Heartstopper, Bloom; with a sapphic romance instead
This book features the sunshine girl (a trans biracial MC) and the goth gf (fat lesbian MC) falling in love, with the background of their cheerleading team, as well as their families and school
It talks a lot about acceptance of trans people, including when that is real or when it's performative/tokenism/fetishisation

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms is an incredibly heart warming queer teen sports story. I only expected this to be cute and fluffy, but was surprised to see it tackling some more serious matters concerning trans youth and performative activism. In such a short story, the text managed to be inspire you to stand up for yourself while also being very nuanced despite it's length.

Bebe is a trans girl who is navigating high school while searching for her own identy, with friends who seem to support her but only for their own gain. This contrasted very well with Annie, who knew who she was, but needed some help to be pushed outside of her comfort zone. The two characters had really good chemistry, but I wished we got more time with them since a lot of their relationship was built in montage scenes so you kind of had to assume "okay this is where they become friends again, and here is where their feelings are evolving". I guess my final thoughts are that I simply wanted more and wished it was 100 pages longer.

Overall this was a sweet story, one that I highly recommend and therefore rate it 4 stars.

This graphic novel was so cute! I loved all the trans and non-binary rep and the discussions around it and the relationship between Beebee and Annie. I just thought that the book was a bit too fast paced and I kind of wish it would be a bit more developed.

This was so cute!

‘Cheer up’ is about two girls rekindling their friendship through cheerleading.

This graphic novel was very sweet and I adore Bebe and Annie’s relationship. There is also a lot of diversity in this graphic novel - which wasn’t forced into the story, it was there just like it is in real life.

Besides this graphic novel just being a cute and sweet story about two girls navigating their way through their relationship, it also has a powerful message. No one should be afraid of who they are and everyone deserves to be treated respectfully.

‘Cheer up’ also deals with inequality and how you can hurt people by saying something you don’t mean to be harmful.

Overall, I loved this story. I do think the relationship between Bebe and Annie was a bit rushed, but it was still adorable and I really enjoyed reading it.

A lovely inclusive story! I do wish some of the storylines were fleshed out more: the mom’s history, the reasons why the creepy boy was pursuing Bebe so heavily, the way her parents treated her transitioning as a luxury, and more. But it was still great and will continue conversations.

This book was soooooo cute!! I was sold by the claim “perfect for fans of FENCE and CHECK, PLEASE!” so I didn’t even bother reading the blurb.

Annie and BeeBee renew their former friendship on their school’s cheer squad. I think my biggest question about their story is “why did they stop being friends in the first place?” If it was mentioned in the novel, I totally missed it or didn’t catch it.

The artwork is great and the story is inclusive and easy to follow. I agree this is perfect for those who enjoy other sporty LGBTQIA graphic novels, but there’s something missing from this story that still didn’t leave me craving more.

Excited to read this ARC of Cheer Up: Love and Pom Poms, by Crystal Fraiser! It's a short, sweet, slice of queer life story, centered on Bebe & Annie, two girls learning to be true to themselves despite high school pressure and social problems.
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I found this to be a really heart-warming story, with a great diverse cast and a beautiful art style. I don't want to spoil the plot for anyone of course, but there was good character development, overcoming of issues and a tender romance.
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It is quite a short read, and so some of the themes did feel a little rushed - I think this has a lot of potential to be fleshed out and enjoyed over a few volumes. However, that's only my preference - lots of people may love this easily digestible read!
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The diverse rep was one of the main reasons I wanted to read this story, and I think it was done really well. Visually, the art style captures the diversity beautifully, and the story included characters across different race, gender and sexuality 💙
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If you're looking for a romantic one-shot comic which explores some of the struggles of queer high-school life, this could be a great addition to your shelf 😀
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Thanks to NetGalley and Crystal Fraiser for making this lovely ARC available for free in exchange for an honest review. Note to the publisher - there are a couple of small typos in the text.

I was so excited to receive an eARC of this graphic novel because I heard so many great things about it across all social media.

The story of Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms follows Annie, who has to join her school's cheerleading squad to help her with college applications, and Bebe, who already is on the cheerleading squad and is also the team's first ever trans girl. However, Annie has a problem: she's anti social, not a people person and maybe she did bite someone before which did not help her become very popular at school. Thanks to Bebe, Annie is given a chance to prove herself as a good member of the team. But Bebe has her own struggles next to her transition too: she's a people pleaser and scared to say No, especially to her controlling parents. As the two become closer and rekindle their old friendship they discover that there might not only be friendship between them and that they bring out the best in each other.

I think this is just an absolutely sweet and important graphic novel to read. The struggles both of them are facing are relatable to so many teens out there who might be going through the same things right now. It really captures the spirit of queer teens and it deserves all the hype it already gets right now! Although this deals with some rather heavier and more serious topics I think it found the right balance between these heavy topics and a sweet teen romcom.

The only thing I have to criticize and why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that I thought it could have been just a tiny bit longer because I thought especially the part when Bebe's dad picks her up from the team outing deserved more scenes. I thought that deserved maybe a bit more attention afterwards, too.

I would still absolutely recommend this to younger and older readers alike. It is the queer teen romcom we all deserve(d) to read as teens!

*eARC received on NetGalley*