Starred Review In this delightful YA riff on King Lear, retiring cheer captain Leah demands her potential replacements do an impromptu cheer celebrating her captaincy, but her friend Cora declines, while Rae and Gabe launch into flashy and ingratiating routines. From there the betrayals and reveals of the bard play out in this queer teen dramedy. Add in a bit of Midsummer Night's Dream happening in the background e fairy queen and king (i.e., drama club presidents Tanya and Ron) are having relationship issues that alter the weather d the result is a wonderful set of twists even to those familiar with the inspiring material. The art here is beautifully expressive, catching Leah's expressions as she deals with her own inner demons and lack of self-confidence while angrily pushing her friends away, as well as Cora's respite with the French club. Deceptions at a costume party, violent exclamations in a blizzard, and heartfelt talks in a shed are all needed before friends can reunite and figure out how they've been manipulated. Highly recommended for fans of Crystal Frasier and Val Wise's Cheer Up (2021), other cheerleading dramas, modern Shakespeare interpretations, or heartwarming stories of friends supporting each other.

Gr 7 Up— In the second book of the "Arden High" series, King Lear offers Booth and Strohm the perfect narrative framework. Leah, the cheer squad captain of Arden High, is stepping down to focus on her senior year and has the hefty burden of appointing her replacement. Similarly, basketball team captain Gladys is worried her team will lose momentum if they forfeit practice time to the cheer squad. TwinsGabe and Rae fill Leah's cheer captain spot and, not surprisingly, turn out to be irresponsible bullies who care more about winning cheer competitions and stealing gym time from the basketball team than promoting inclusion and teamwork on their squad. Leah is having an existential crisis about her murky future while she watches her cheer team fall apart, and Gladys is tipped that her own sister is trying to take her captain spot. All manner of high school drama is going on while the Lear plot plays out, including romantic breakups, blended-family politics, Valentine's Day, and college application woes. Readers of the first installment will enjoy the same quirky characters depicted in illustrations by Green, who gets the cheerleading motif just right, along with a realistic portrayal of contemporary high school students who happen to attend class with fairies. LGBTQIA+ representation is ubiquitous in the story. VERDICT This graphic novel will fit nicely into the collection that already has graphic novels with LGBTQIA+ characters and where the previous volume is popular.— Kim Gardner