Cheer Up!: Love and Pompoms

Annie would rather keep to herself, but joining the cheerleading squad might help with both friendships and college applications. It also brings her back into Bebe’s life. Bebe, a trans girl, works hard to meet everyone’s expectations, including those of parents whose support feels conditional. Training together gives the former friends a chance to reconnect, although social pressure and everyday prejudice do not disappear when practice ends. As their friendship becomes something more, both girls must consider how to speak up for themselves and each other. This graphic novel places a developing sapphic romance within the teamwork, boundaries and complicated loyalties of high-school cheerleading.