Review by Booklist Review
Annie and Bebe (short for Beatrice) are on a journey that will resonate with anyone familiar with the uncertainty and awkwardness of high school. In order to appease her mom and guidance counselor, Annie, a white, antisocial loner and honor student, reunites with her friend Bebe, whose father is Cuban, at cheer tryouts. Bebe is the first trans girl cheerleader at school, so she has to work overtime to placate worried parents and stay out of the spotlight. While Annie helps Bebe stand up for herself against well-meaning but dismissive teammates, a creepy boy, and overprotective parents, Bebe shows Annie how to make amends with those she's wronged, how to leave her comfort zone, and how to trust her new friends. Together, they come to learn how deep their feelings are for each other--and how to share a dance. Much like Ngozi Ukazu's Check, Please! (2018), which shares similar notes of sweetness and heart, Frasier's story is more about relationships than sports. Wise's art features a variety of wonderfully realistic and expressive teens and adults. Annie's frustration and stomping, the cheerleading flips and tosses, and Bebe's insecurity are communicated clearly in fluid lines. Readers will root for these girls as they navigate the waters of self-confidence, love, and cheerleading.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This sharply observed graphic novel overturns high school archetypes to present a nuanced portrait of queer cheerleaders. Frasier seamlessly integrates the backstories of Annie, a chubby, white, sarcastic brainiac, and Beatrice (known as Bebe), a Latinx-cued teen who rose to school popularity as the state's first trans cheerleader and who worries about putting people out. The former childhood friends reacquaint when Annie, needing extracurriculars, reluctantly tries out for cheerleading. The team tries to support Bebe, but as Annie notes, "they're treating you like a mascot, not a person." Meanwhile, Bebe's overprotective parents make their support of her transition contingent on getting good grades. Bebe admits she feels pressure to be perfect to avoid conflict; she'd rather brush off passes from creepy schoolmate Jonah than confront him. As Bebe schools Annie in being a team player, and Annie tutors Bebe in history and self-advocacy, their friendship evolves into a romance and leads to a memorable homecoming night. Wise's fine-lined illustrations add to the novel's specificity of character, from the rose tattoo emblazoned on Annie's mother's shoulder to Bebe's koala-shaped phone case. Sweet without being saccharine, this short work is a wise, funny look at the distance between queer rights and real acceptance. Ages 14--up. (Aug.)■
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up--Cheerleading meets girl-girl romance in this sporty rom-com. Annie is "the best student this school has ever seen," but her guidance counselor worries that her lack of extracurriculars will hurt her college chances. Her mom, a tattooed former cheerleader, suggests that Annie join the cheerleading team. The squad doesn't want her at first--antisocial Annie's reputation precedes her--but head cheerleader Bebe, Annie's former friend, changes their minds. Bebe, who struggles balancing grades, popularity, and being the first trans girl at their high school, finds Annie a welcome change to her routine. As the girls rekindle their friendship, they also start to feel something more. But will Bebe's overprotective parents, who worry about their daughter getting hurt, be OK with it? "Wholesome princess" Bebe and devil-may-care Annie form a classic romantic pairing. Frasier's dialogue and Wise's full-color art create some dynamic scenes, and the quiet, wordless sequences that show the two gradually falling for each other take the story into swoon-worthy territory. As several well-intentioned characters learn to stop treating Bebe like a mascot, the story also demonstrates good allyship amid microaggressions. Annie is white, Bebe is tan-skinned, and the ensemble cast is diverse in skin tone. VERDICT In the vein of Ngozi Ukazu's Check, Please! or C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad's Fence, this peppy yet angsty graphic novel irresistibly reclaims sports for queer and trans audiences. Recommended for all teen collections.--Alec Chunn, Eugene P.L., OR
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two high school cheerleaders learn from each other while falling for one another. Annie and Bebe were close until Bebe suddenly became popular, a change that happened to coincide with her gender transition. Now uber-academic, anti-social Annie needs some extracurriculars to beef up her college applications, and Bebe advocates to bring her onto the cheerleading team in the face of universal opposition. Brash, assertive Annie learns teamwork from people-pleasing Bebe, who in exchange learns to stand up for herself. Rather than the coming-out process, the story addresses some of the more subtle, everyday challenges of being transgender, and it tackles these themes simply and sweetly. It shows how being a trans girl can mean constant behavior policing, even from one's closest friends and family. Bebe's parents are supportive, but they see transitioning as a luxury that can be taken away: They tell her that she is not a "normal girl," and they fear to let her out of their sight. The cheerleading squad members use Bebe for progressive points, but they don't always act like real friends. Even Annie, who wants to stick up for Bebe, projects what she thinks is best for her. The art is cute and expressive, with tons of personality in the characters' faces and bodies. The supporting cast is diverse not only racially, but in body type and gender expression as well. Annie reads as White; Bebe is cued as Latinx. Wholesome and heartwarming. (Graphic fiction. 12-17) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
