ARC Review: “Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms” by Crystal Frasier, Val Wise

“Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms” by Crystal Frasier, Val Wise (Illustrations)

Publishing Date: August 10, 2021

Page Length: 130 pages (electronic review edition)

Genre: LGBT, Graphic Novel, Fiction, YA

Synopsis:

Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleader squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend BeeBee is a people-pleaser—a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life to keep their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped up social pressures (not to mention micro aggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they’d lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms is a Queer romance graphic novel that follows the story of Annie who ends up reluctantly joining her high school’s cheerleading squad to help make friends. Her blunt nature has a way of turning others off and as a result, she’s left feeling isolated. On the other hand, Beatrice feels like she has to be a people pleaser due to her popularity and personal feelings surrounding her identity. Can the two former friends make up and start over once again?

I love the variety of Oni Press titles and this graphic novel is such a solid release for 2021. Not only does the book open up honest and deep discussions surrounding sexuality and identity, but there’s also an overarching theme of self-discovery. Annie, and Beatrice, among the many other central characters of the graphic novel, are struggling to discover who they are, what they want for their future, and are trying to navigate daily life and relationships. The novel also has a central theme of friendship with a specific focus on friendship breakups and how it can be difficult to mend relationships. Both Annie and Beatrice, have to work on breaking down their walls to open up and let people in. Annie is tired of being alone but is scared to show her vulnerability and Beatrice is afraid to express her true feelings and speak up for herself.

The art style is very colorful with aesthetically pleasing panels that will hook readers into the story. I appreciated the diversity of characters and having them come from different backgrounds which added depth to the narrative and discussions that the story presents. Most of all I thought this comic was very sweet and I loved seeing the cheer squad come together as a whole and bond together as one big family.

Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms was an overall enjoyable read! I will note that there are some trigger warnings for transphobia but as a whole, the story is very lighthearted. It manages to pack a lot of important themes and conversations that were handled carefully. I recommend this to readers who enjoy romance and stories surrounding teamwork.

Final Verdict: