It was so sweet, like a little candy! I absolutely loved this graphic novel.
Annie and Beatrice's story was so perfect for my romantic little heart.
This book brings so much joy, it may be short but not rushed at all. Many subjects are brought with perfection and accuracy.
I really enjoy seeing so much body diversity, even though they're cheerleaders none of the plus size girls lose weight or anything and it's so cool. Finally, I see girls like me doing cheerleading.
The romance was so cute!
It was the perfect feel good reading that I needed!

CW: transphobia

Thanks to Netgalley and Oni Press for the eARC.

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is a comic that everyone should read! I enjoyed every page.
Hopefully there will be another volume in the future. We need to know how their story continues! Annie and Beebee are characters you can't help but root for.
It's impressive that they manage to discuss a lot of important topics in just 128 pages.
Beebee mentioned at some point that she feels like she is always the center of attention, which is something I didn't realise. This comic shows how people can be too intense with showing their support sometimes. In the process, they speak over Beebee instead of letting her speak for herself.

I enjoyed this book very much and immediately I was done reading, I made sure to recommend it to my friends. Very cute graphic novel with amazing representation and a more amazing message!

This was just such cute fluff and so heartwarming. The perfect option for people looking for good queer stories that balance some tough stuff but is mainly fluffy. I would love to read a series of these characters and get to know more about the side characters that are introduced and parts of their journeys. Edie is one I would love a story of their own.

This is a lovely little graphic novel about girls supporting each other. Curmudgeonly Annie is convinced to join the cheerleading squad to balance out college applications. Her position is supported by Bebe, the trans girl who has been newly elected captain. Lots of LGBTQ+ issues touched on here, and all with sensitivity. Transphobia is present, but is absolutely not the focus of the story. I think this story would be affirming to trans kids and those who care about them, but is also a really great story about letting go of prejudice (in this case, about cheerleaders) and giving things a try - because they might just be fun! Recommended for middle school and up.

Thank you Oni press and net galley for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Transphobia, Sexual Harassment, and Fatphobic remarks.

This was so cute! I really enjoyed my time reading this. It was so nice to see a plus sized main character that is athletic and doesn’t give af. I loved Annie and BeBe so much. I loved the way their friendship blossomed into a relationship. And how they always had each other’s backs to peoples hateful remarks towards the other. I also really liked how this showed that all bodies are healthy and can be active.

But i feel like it was too short and most of the problems they were presented with were resolved too quickly. Some of the cheerleaders made some transphobic comments and microaggressions and we never got to see them apologizing. We can just see that they do grow from that and learn to truly accept BeBe. I just wish we could’ve seen more.

Overall, I definitely recommend this graphic novel its wholesome, has great representation, and has a great message.

A huge thanks to Oni Press for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I am now excited to read more graphic books *someone hold me accountable*

'Cheer Up' follows Annie, who is somewhat angry, tough and is unbothered who is required to play a sport for her college admission and ends up signing up for cheerleading and her ex-friend Bebe who has struggles that are real and menaningful but were potrayed so well.

This book tackled important themes and representation was done well. This book was worth the read

This is a short, fun, cute read. Annie and Bebe are interesting main characters, with a sweet romance, each with their own individual struggles. We see Bebe dealing with life as a transgender teenager, facing microagressions and tokenism, unwanted attention from boys, and overprotective parents who are overall supporting, but just don't understand at all what she's going through. Annie is brash and rude and thinks friends are unimportant. Oh, and there's cheerleading to think of.

If you think all of that sounds like a lot for a graphic novel that has less than 130 pages... well, it kind of is. There's no depth to anything here, problems arise, somebody makes an impassioned speech, and then everything is okay again. The cheer squad are the worst culprits here, with a found-family vibe at the end that isn't in any way deserved. Nobody apologises, or shows much remorse, for treating Bebe like a trophy instead of a human. It doesn't help that individual members of the cheer squad never get any attention, they're all just one big problematic blur.

The art is very cute, and I adore the character designs, but the framing was often very static. That's a small nitpick though. Overall the art was wonderful.

Cheer Up is cute and I definitely recommend it, but I really wish it had been about 100 pages longer.

3,5 stars

Cheer Up! is delightful. From the drawing style to its message, it’s a beautiful book.

Annie is an antisocial and sometimes rude teenager who does not care about cheerleading (or any sport at all). But she needs to join the team in order to better her college applications. BeeBee loves cheerleading because it’s a safe space for her, and her teammates are really supportive. Annie and BeeBee used to be friends, and now that they are on the team together, they start to rekindle their relationship.

This is one of those love stories of “opposites attract”. Annie teaches BeeBee how to defend herself from bullies and how to be more confident and brave, while BeeBee shows Annie how to be more sensitive, more “soft” if you will, and how to express her femininity. They complement each other really well. The romance between them is cute and sweet and very enjoyable to read.

I also appreciated their individual journeys of self-acceptance and growth. I laughed so much with Annie and her craziness, I absolutely loved her. She’s outspoken and abrasive, and she gets mad in an instant. But under that tough facade, she is insecure and, well, actually adorable. BeeBee, on the other hand, is more cautious. Most of the time she doesn’t stand up for herself. Being a trans girl, BeeBee feels like she has to fulfill the role of the “perfect” girl: quiet and unproblematic, with good grades and flawless make up. She suffers microaggressions every day, and she knows it would be even worse if she didn’t fulfill that standard of perfection.

My only critique of this graphic novel is that it’s too short. The secondary characters and the plot could have been further developed, but in less than 150 pages you can’t expect more than what we got.

This was cute as hell, with a great story about friendship, belonging, and actually being supportive of your friends—and not tokenizing people who are different so you can showcase how ~accepting~ you are.

I loved Beatrice, and I really, really like Annie. There is so much going on in this short graphic novel, but it never felt rushed or compressed until the very end.

Also, the adults were fantastic too. Annie's mom is the best, and I liked how Beatrice's parents grew over the course of the story.

Plus, the artwork is fantastic, and the vibe is very Check, Please! which is just what I wanted!

Rating: 4.5/5
Cheer Up is a super cute graphic novel that follows Bebe, a shy trans cheer captain, and her friend Annie, a brute but academically talented girl whose parents want her to be more social by joining the cheer team. I really liked this and thought it was cute. I think it's definitely comparable to "fence" and "check, please". I've read both of those and think that this is in the similar genre of sports team graphic novel with a wholesome queer romance. I hope more volumes come out for it because I felt it to be just a little too short!

I would like to thank Oni Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the kind of graphic novel we need right now. Packed with diversity and LGBTQ+ rep, Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is an adorable story of love, friendship, and cheerleading.

The story followed Annie and Beebee. Annie was a smart antisocial lesbian who was pressured to join the cheerleading squad for her college applications. Beebee, Annie’s former friend, was a trans girl who always tried to be as perfect as possible so people could easily accept her. With queer youth problems they encountered every day, Annie and Beebee started to rekindle their friendship, then it grew into something more.

This graphic novel had a lot of things to love: fast-paced story without feeling rushed or lacking, amusing characters, beautiful art style, and a powerful message. I read this book in one sitting, and everything felt completely wrapped up. I was able to get to know and understand each characters’ struggles, and each character’s development was well-written. It felt realistic and not over the top. They were distinct and unique. The romance was cute and delightful. I really liked the protagonists’ chemistry.

The book also discussed important themes and issues and they were handled and written with sensitivity and care. The characters dealt with some prejudices. Lots of queer people could easily relate and empathize to their situation. In addition, I really liked how this story conveyed the message of not being afraid of who we truly are and standing up for oneself.

Overall, Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is a quick, lighthearted story. I highly recommend this novel!

5/5 stars!

rep: lesbian MC, sapphic trans MC, nonbinary side character, poc characters

cw: transphobia, microaggressions, harassment, fatphobia

A sweet, wholesome, fast-paced bubble of joy.
Two former friends who seem to be as different from one another as possible, reconnect when one of them joins the cheerleading team - and eventually, fall in love. Do I need to say anything else? Okay, then: One of mc's is a trans girl of color, and the other is a fat lesbian. And they both do sports. And fall in love. I feel like I'm pushing it but it's really such a sweet story, with fun art and important lessons to be learned.

Thank you netgalley and oni press for the opportunity to read this book.

This graphic novel sends a beautiful message, that we shouldn't be afraid to be ourselves, a message that I love so much, something I found very interesting was how the book explored pre-judgments and how we often say things with the intention of helping but that end up making the situation worse.

First let's start with the positive points, which are the majority, the message of the story is very beautiful and I loved the way in which such important issues were dealt with, in a simple to understand and natural way. We also cannot deny the importance of stories like this and with this level of representation and inclusion.

Negative points for me, I found the story short, this can be both positive and negative, it means that I would like to read more, however in my point of view the story being short hindered my ability to get attach to the characters, the story has long time cuts that I would have liked to read about, the story between the two characters and how they connected and came together has never really been told and that disappointed me, this is something that could have been explored further.

I recommend this book to everyone, I think it's a very interesting read with a very important message.

This graphic novel was so sweet and precious and adorable and beautiful and- *deep breath* I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS. A precious sapphic romance between a fat, punk, antisocial girl and a beautiful, shy, sunshine-n-rainbows trans girl? Be still, my heart. The art is lovely and sweet, the story is wholesome, the character cast in inclusive and varied, and I just adored this with my whole sweet-queer-girls-getting-the-happy-endings-they-deserve obsessed heart.

Above all else, Bebe's character and the commentary brought up by things she was facing: the hyper-exposure of trans women, the way trans women are held to unfair standards and expected to be flawless 100% of the time, the struggle of having parents who are trying to be accepting but haven't quite figured it out yet, the way people can turn their trans loved ones into tokens to be objectified instead of cherishing them for who they truly are... There are so many good discussions within this short little story. ♥

✨ Representation: fat sapphic MC, trans questioning biracial MC, multiple BIPOC and/or queer side characters

✨ Content warnings for: transphobia, fat-shaming, sexual harassment (all challenged)

Cheer Up was an amazing exploration of identity and love. Bebe and Annie are such great protagonists and I related to them so much. The graphic novel explored so many themes such as micro-aggressions and transphobia, yet still stayed hopeful and heartwarming. I recommend if you're looking for a wholesome, queer graphic novel with lovable characters.

Gorgeous coming of age graphic novel 💜 recommend to people who like Alice Oseman books or who enjoyed Running with Lions.

Cheer Up! is simultaneously touchingly sweet in its romance aspects, as well as completely honest about the struggles that come with being openly trans- especially as a teenager.

Bebe’s everyday struggles felt real and had a weight to them. While this book is overall hopeful and happy, it’s just as vital to the plot to show the pain and frustrations that BeBe experiences: The micro-aggressions she has to put up with, and feeling like she has to be perfect and likeable to be viewed as respectable by her peers and parents. I appreciate the way the author is able to show these aspects without upsetting the overall “feel” of the book.

Most of all, I loved Cheer Up! having real character growth. The romance aspect of this book, the relationship between Annie and BeBe, wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying if these two girls hadn’t matured in the ways they did. The outcome gives us a sweet relationship with mutual respect and understanding.


It’s a quick read at a little over 100 pages, but does a fantastic job at wrapping up the story in a satisfying way. It’s a perfect fit for any library that already has a diverse graphic novel section, or a library looking to grow that section.

5/5 stars, trans librarian approved!

*A slightly different review can be found on my Goodreads.

Bebe is the first transgender in the school, and she is learning to live with overprotective parents, over encouraging friends, and over-annoying boys.
Annie on the other hand has to learn how to trust people and give people some space in her life
Bebe and Annie were friends, then life came and did its job and they got away from each other. Thanks to Annies loudmouth and her habit of not being a good sport, she is forced to try out for the Cheerleading team. Bebe being the Captain of the team she manages to convince the others to let Annie be a part of the team.

With completely opposite personalities, both girls learn how to navigate throughout this academic year. They also learn how to live with others and with themselves, in this sweet, sweet story no one is truly bad, no one is completely nice. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone learns. The bond between the cheerleading team makes my heart all warm and fuzzy inside. It's nice to see a story in which people own up to their mistakes and we can actually see them grow from them. We see people learn and move on in a healthy way.

Also, the fact that the story makes it clear that everyone is allowed to stand up for themself the way they prefer. Whether it is silent or loud, all feelings should be valid, for the way this point is being made in this graphic novel, I can only advise it to all the young people out there to read this.

This book was such a delight to read! I recommend this book to all! The cover alone is adorable. Annie and Bee-bee are some of my favorite characters I have ever read from. This is book gives me all the Heartstopper vibes :) It is most definitely a delightful queer teen romance!