Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier & Val Weiss (E-ARC) Review

 

Hi! When I saw this on Net Galley Read Now I knew I needed to read it. I try and read books that are new to me or books that I don’t read a lot of expanding my reading horizons. This graphic novel was so cute and I just loved it.

Title: Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms

Authors: Crystal Frasier and Val Weiss (illustrations)

 Genre: Contemporary, Graphic Novel

Pages: 128,

Rep: Trans MC, POC MC, LGBTQ+,

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Characters

Oh, my goodness I fell so hard for these characters. The story follows Annie, who is a senior and needs to get some more extra circulars for college. I adored how no non-sense and how much Annie cared about her best friend Beatrice. The supporting cast of other cheerleaders was also excellent, and I enjoyed getting to know them in this novel. The graphic novel might be short, but the characters really pack a punch. I also loved seeing all the representation in these characters. All the characters being so much fun to read about, and how much they cared for each other as friends is why I added a star in my review.

 

Plot

This plot might seem like something you’ve seen time and time again. A senior needs more extra circulars or credits, and so they suddenly need to do something they might not want to do or enjoy. Where this story takes a turn is that Annie is a character who didn’t really have many friends, and she was sort of distant from her peers. The cheerleaders become Annie’s friends and she ends up really enjoying cheerleading in the end. Another part of this story was finding yourself and finding who you love. I loved both plot elements in this story, and both of them weaving so well together is why I gave a star in my rating.

Writing & Art

Writing in a Graphic Novel is tough to rate because you need to look at the story along with the art, and separate it from the art. The writing in this graphic novel is simple and easy to follow, which is fantastic because it doesn’t take away from the story. When reading a novel or graphic novel, the writing needs to help tell the story, and not take away from the art. In that same vein, the art can’t take away from the writing and needs to help tell the story along with the writing. The art style in this novel was so cute and it really helped to tell the story. Both the writing and art working in tandem earned a star rating in my review. 

Romance

The romance in this book was so sweet. I loved Annie and Beatrice and how they grew to love each other as the story progressed.  I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone, but there is a heavy emotional scene in this novel that was really handled with care and I loved that. The sweet romance, especially the prom scene, is why I added a star in my review.

Enjoyment

I’m going to keep this short by just saying that this novel is just a good time. The story is both funny and heartwarming, and it will just cause you to have so many feelings. Pleasure of a story for me means the perfect balance of light and fun with heavy and real topics. This Graphic Novel has a balance of those so I knew I needed to add a star in my rating.