Sunday, 4 July 2021
Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms | Crystal Frasier, Val Wise | Review
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.
I hadn't heard of this graphic novel until I discovered it on Netgally this month, but I'm so glad I did!
This is a really sweet story about Annie and BeeBee and their friendship. The two girls used to be friends, but have drifted apart a bit over the years. When Annie is encouraged to join a team - cheerleading no less - to try and improve her college applications, she's reunited with BeeBee.
As well as dealing with school grades, parents, and teen drama, they're also experiencing everything that comes with being queer high schoolers; the good and the difficult. The two become close, and eventually discover there might be more than friendship ...
It was such a cute story, while also covering some really important issues that arise through characters. The illustrations are very Faith Erin Hicks-esque, and I loved the style of art created by Val Wise. It's definitely my favourite type of graphic novel; soft and round, rather than sharp and edgy, if you know what I mean.
If you're looking for a sweet tale of friendship and love (and pompoms), then pick up Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms, when it comes out in August.
Thank you to Netgally and Oni Press for the free version of this book, in exchange for an honest review.