Every Star That Falls by Michael Thomas Ford is a young adult novel that picks up after the events of Ford's acclaimed "Suicide Notes". The protagonist, Jeff, is back home after a suicide attempt and ready to embrace his true self. This sequel explores what it means to move forward, navigate changing friendships, and find acceptance in a humorous and heartwarming way. The book is praised for its honest portrayal of a young man grappling with his sexuality and mental health. Readers can expect laughter, tears, and a powerful message about staying true to yourself. If you're looking for a coming-of-age story that celebrates individuality and finding your own way, Every Star That Falls might be the perfect pick.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was king and depressing. I did not enjoy and would not rec. I just did not vibe with any characters.

I am so happy that there is now a sequel to Suicide Notes!

The book picks up right after Jeff gets out of the hospital. It explores Jeff's relationships with friends, going back to school, and a new group of people at Cam's Place (which I LOVED! Why can't every town have a place like that?!). He also reconnects with an old acquantaince, which becomes an important part of the book. Jeff learns to come to terms with who he is and loves, and continues going to therapy throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperCollins for the eARC!

Such a touching story! So glad I won this in a giveaway. I cannot wait to read the other books I got. Great story!

When I first read Suicide Notes, the predecessor to Every Star That Falls, many years ago, it was easily a 5 star highly recommended book from me. I recently tried to read it again in anticipation of this one and... it just was not the same book. The way the author has grown and changed, I have too. As lighthearted as the author tries to make such tough subjects, you still have to be in the right mindset to read about those topics. And as of right now, I am temporarily setting this sequel aside to return to at a later date. It is still a high priority for me. I'm so happy the original story is still finding and meaning the world to its audience as it did to me. I also still have my original copy of Suicide Notes. I'm glad this sequel exists.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me with a review copy.

If the mark of a great book is how many people you tell about it, then this one is beyond great. There were so many aspects of this story that made it incredible. The friendships, the past, moving on, learning to take care of yourself, these are just a few of the story lines you follow. It is an incredible mix of relationships - family, friendship, sexual relationships, and other people's relationships around you. It all influences how you react. The author did a great job showing this and the consequences of these relationships.
Readers should know that there are a few parts of sexual thoughts and dialogue between two males. The story would not be right without it as the characters sexuality was central to what happened to them.
I was amazed this was a sequel. I never read the first book but it didn't matter. This book stands alone just fine.
But now I have to get a hold of Suicide Notes - the first book.
Enjoy!

You just like happy endings, that’s why you read all those romance novels.”

I absolutely love the first book so was very excited to read the second. It follows Jeff after everything that happened, and it’s a very healing, sad, funny, real, raw, beautiful and unique story. I wish I’d read this when I was a teenager as it was refreshingly honest about how much actually being a teenager can Suck and be incredibly hard. There was lots of stigma and hurtful general assumptions broken in this book and spoken about which was so important too

One of my favourite parts is when Jeff is introduced to Cam’s Place! Also when his grandma made him rainbow cookies 💛 The humour between Jeff and his sister is so funny. I love the the moments between the whole family and how they all support and love each other no matter what

This book was so easy to pick up and read and I wish I hadn’t finished it so quickly as I miss the characters already. Thank you Pride for sending me both copies of the books for the book tour!

First, a confession. I have not read Suicide Notes. I came to this book not knowing who the characters were and meeting them for the first time in this volume. But I really loved all of them. Often in teen novels the parents can be antagonistic. Happily while they don't always see eye to eye in this case the parents do not go out of their way to control Jeff or force him into a mold. Infact they are fantastic parents with very human flaws but extremely supportive and open to his friends and other at risk youths that come into play in the story. The teenagers are all exceptionally well written and very believe able and likeable. They make mistakes, they have hopes and dreams and doubts and struggle. They try to define themselves and not just Jeff but his friends around him, both homosexual and heterosexual, because everyone at this age is truly still figuring out who they will be. Some of them face bullies at school and at home, or fight against the beliefs of society trying to make them conform, but they bond together in a lovely way. I truly loved all the quiet but intense family moments where the parents talk about their childhoods and allow Jeff and his sister to see who their mom and dad are and the things they have overcome. I loved the development of Rankin and the level of growth through pain he goes through to accept himself. I loved the quirky ness of Jeff's friendship with Allie and Burke and how he helped them so much and how accepting they were of Jeff on every level. But most of all I loved that the message I took away from this book is that when you have a good family, the kind everyone should have, they love who you are and let you know they love who you will become as you grow and become even more who you are meant to be.

An incredible sequel to a really important story!

Jeff gets out of the hospital and has to get back to his life and all the changes that means. He has to navigate being out, the aftermath of his suicide attempt, and his relationships with other people.

As someone who has been hospitalized, Jeff's story of what comes after really resonated with me. It didn't pretend Jeff's mental health struggles disappeared or "got better" but tackled his ups and downs. I loved Chrys and Goldie and what they mean to Jeff. Every character is complicated with their own histories and stories, and they're woven together really well.

Thank you to the author for giving us the sequel Jeff deserved!

A really great and intriguing read, really makes you think. I loved the characters and the story. Will look out for more from this author.

I very much enjoyed Mr. Ford's Suicide Notes, especially the central character of Jeff. The premise of that book also worked for me, as did the other kids in the hospital. I was definitely up for finding out how Jeff did post-hospital.

This effort did not work as well for me. None of Jeff's fears is realized. Everything works out great for everyone in this sequel. Jeff seems overly self-aware for his fifteen years. He even acts as a therapist for his friends. Everyone opens up to everyone else and by talking things over, everything is resolved--a bit too pat for me. There is alot of processing preaching, and explaining, and too many self-help truisms.--your feelings are valid, the only thing you have is "now;" don't let others define you..

Things were difficult and painful in Suicide Notes, and they did not end well for some of the kids. Here, we are in a world where everyone does the right thing eventually in the face of challenges and all conflicts are quickly resolved--even for the troubled Rankin. Jeff's biggest problem turns out to be that he has too many "boyfriend" options. There is also a weird and unnecessary plot twist involving the school musical toward the end that strains credulity.

I know the author is trying to provide light at the end of the tunnel for LGBTQ teens and that is a laudable goal, but this overly rosy take skips too many harsh realities in favor of a happy ending for all.

All that said, I did enjoy Jeff's voice when he acted like a teenager and I also enjoyed some of the secondary characters, particularly Goldie and Chrys--and the inclusion of the youth group was an excellent choice.

I think I may have been at a disadvantage as I did not realise this was a sequel before my request came through. However, this was an enjoyable read that dealt with topics that can be seen as very sensitive.

I was really disappointed by this sequel. It fell flat in a way that I really hoped it wouldn’t. Perhaps this would appeal to younger readers, but it really just dragged on.

Loved this sequel to Suicide Notes. Jeff is home after cutting himself and winding up in the psych ward. Parents want him to try a different school, but he says no he wants to go back because it might stop someone from feeling the way he did. His therapist had recommended a support group and when Jeff goes he meets someone he thinks he’d like to date. His sister sets him up with a friend’s brother. Jeff now has two guys he’d like to see. He’s reminded that dad says relationships and love are complicated. What does Jeff do?

I'm excited about this one: it's the sequel to Ford's Suicide Notes, which I liked enormously -- it's nominally YA, I suppose, but it felt richer to me than what I think of as a YA vibe.

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Well, what does happen after Jeff gets out of the hospital in Suicide Notes and embarks on life as a young gay man in high school? Without too many spoilers: he joins a queer youth group and makes some new friends, two of whom he would like to date; he encounters Rankin, with whom he had that quasi-nonconsensual sex in the hospital and who is now attending the same high school; he deals with being out, both about his queerness and (to his friends) the suicide attempt; and he negotiates a new relationship with his rigid and overprotective mother, who turns out to have her reasons.

I absolutely LOVED this book! 5 stars is not enough. The reader needs to read the first book, Suicide Notes, first. This book is the perfect conclusion to the story. I don't read many books more than once, but this is one I would reread. I actually miss the characters now.

Did not finish at 15%. The story did not grip me like the first unfortunately.. perhaps too much time has past from the first book to call for a sequel but I didn’t connect to the characters this time around

What happens after Jeff gets out of the hospital in Suicide Notes and embarks on life as a young gay man in high school? Without too many spoilers: he joins a queer youth group and makes some new friends, two of whom he would like to date; he encounters Rankin, with whom he had that quasi-nonconsensual sex in the hospital and who is now attending the same high school; he deals with being out, both about his queerness and (to his friends) the suicide attempt; and he negotiates a new relationship with his rigid and overprotective mother, who turns out to have her reasons.

I'm of two minds about how this all plays out. Some aspects of the story worked really well for me -- the Rankin storyline, in particular, but also the general emotional tone of Teen Drama, which I think Ford nails. Others I was less sure about. Jeff falters a few times, but in general he struck me as rather wiser than is plausible for someone in his mid-teens, despite the maturing effect of his experiences. And there was a certain amount of what I think of as shoehorned diversity: a small cast of characters with One of Every Kind.

The biggest problem from a narrative point of view was that I intensely disliked Chrys for most of the story, because they are a self-righteous little prig, unwilling to make allowances for Jeff's history and the fact that he's coming out in the aftermath of, you know, a suicide attempt. When Jeff and Chrys finally clear the air, Chrys acknowledges that they didn't appreciate how shitty their Very Important Principles made Jeff feel, but there is a looooooong stretch of, well, Jeff feeling shitty because he's not living up to Chrys's standards of outness, and I felt so bad for him that I never quite forgave Chrys.

So: one the one hand, kind of programmatic and implausible; on the other hand, I can 100% see queer kids clutching this story to their hearts, because Jeff is brave and inspirational and encouraging. And this isn't a book for jaded old people like me; it's a book for queer kids and their friends.

So: 3 stars for me, but 4 stars for the readers who need it, deserve it, will take courage and comfort from it.

First off- HUGE thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I have wondered about Jeff since I first read Suicide Notes. I always wondered what the second part of his story would look like. Was everything a little too perfect? Maybe. I am not much of a happily ever after person, but somehow this happily ever after felt right. Happiness, acceptance, recovery, inclusion… is something that I would wish for every child and young adult struggling with their identity. The hope this book brings is much needed.

5 stars! I loved this book!!