I really liked this book! The artwork was very visually appealing and demonstrated the characters well. I liked the diversity of all of the characters. They were relatable and interesting. I saw myself in the main character's struggles. I recommend this book for high schoolers who can identify with struggling families and identity.

this was cuuuteee and I appreciate how it showed different forms of love as well but also explored grief, growing up, and getting to know who you are. My favorite part of this though, was the huge lesson of be yourself and mind your own business, everyone's religion is what works out for them, everyone's sexuality and identity is what feels right to them, everyone's chosen family are just that, a choice they made, don't try to take that away from anyone

I enjoyed most aspects of this story, but the slow pacing made it hard to push through. I was hoping for something like Halfway There by Christine Mari, but this was not that.
I wanted this book to be about Kirby and rock climbing. I've never read anything like that before and was excited about that premise, but the school/newspaper plot point was not as interesting. I was sucked back in because of how the author includes how her decisions seem to impact her family and church. The cast of characters were great. I liked experiencing the multicultural aspects of Kirby's life.

I have never understood the want to rock climb. It sounds like I’d sweat too much, fall too much, and I really do not like heights. BUT I look up to anyone that finds that kind of thing exciting. The stamina and strength it takes is commendable… just not for me.

Maybe that’s why I wanted to read Kirby’s Lessons For Falling (In Love). The idea that even if you climb, even if you fall, there are so many ways to pick yourself back up.

This was full of love, as well as sadness. There was more than one death of a family member that happened off page, as well as a lot more drama and sadness that brought many a tear to my eyes. So bring a box of tissues when you read this.

This book was cute and heartfelt, and I really enjoyed it. I love rock climbing, so it was very nice to see that portrayed.

Laura Gao is master of both word and image. I loved the style of this book as well as the human story it explores — a fantastic and accomplished follow-up to Messy Roots.

Laura Gao’s Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (in Love) is a heartfelt and beautifully illustrated graphic novel that balances humor, vulnerability, and the highs and lows of navigating young love. With charming characters and a relatable narrative, Gao explores themes of identity, self-acceptance, and the courage it takes to fall—both in love and in life. A delightful read that will resonate with anyone who’s ever taken a leap of faith for love.

Too many themes: Kirby's passion for rock climbing, loss of her father, mixed feelings towards church, growing same-sex attraction despite parental approval. Black & whiter palette with overtones of pink & purple do not add to the story.

this is a sweet little graphic novel about grief, discovering yourself, and being honest in your own identity too.

kirby tan is a climber, something she started out doing with her beloved dad by her side. years later, kirby's a great climber, largely disciplined by her balance, but her dad has passed on, which is something that's maybe made kirby a little bit afraid of risks. this fear leads her to a hand injury and she's off climbing for a while, but decides to fill the space by joining the school newspaper, writing horoscopes and connecting people.

maybe here's the place kirby finds her people - there's bex, always porting around a broken piece of amber as a talisman from her last relationship and maybe from the world, too. kirby knows all about finding faith in things - she's a member of her church and she likes it, but she also knows that if they find out about her queerness then maybe they won't love her back.

this little graphic novel is about carving out your own identity and how toxic it is to operate out of fear. about how listening to the opinions of others will only negatively impact your own life, not change you into the person that they want you to become. i felt like some of the plot/narrative was a bit murky and unclear at times, which is why i couldn't rate this one a five. but overall a solid, cute read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (In Love) is a graphic novel following Kirby Tan, a climbing prodigy who suffers from a falling injury and ends up joining her school’s newspaper club as an extracurricular while she recovers. She becomes co-editor for the astrology column with Bex who is very loud and opinionated.

Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more if i read it when I was younger. This graphic novel is so quintessentially high school, and it does a really good job of showing how difficult it can be to reconcile being queer with having a religious family. I also liked how it explored the way that some queer people can also be very judgemental of queer people who stay religious, or keep their religious family around.

With that being said, I wasn’t invested in the main relationship. I just didn’t feel the chemistry between them. In part, I think this is because we got a quick montage of them catching feelings, then spent a lot more time on the pining after they already liked each other. There’s nothing wrong with establishing a relationship this way, but it’s not my preference.

I requested this arc because I read Messy Roots by the author and absolutely loved it (also the title is so enticing!). I won't lie I wasn't super into it at the beginning. I'm not huge into astrology so I found Bex a bit annoying. But when we got more into the story and Kirby's life, I really enjoyed it. This book made me cry but in a great way. I think Laura Gao is just incredible at writing about family.

Content warnings: Grief, Death of a parent/parental figure, Drinking, Sexual Harrasment

Thank you netgalley and Harperalley Books for a copy of this comic.

I've really been enjoying Laura Gao's work. This coming of age story is full of heart, following Kirby Tan, a girl with a lot of pressure and anxiety from her grief stricken family, her overbearing church aunts, her struggles with internalized homophobia stemming from church, a strained relationship with her mother, to the woes of having a crush on a girl in the school's journalism club. I really liked how this story showed all the different aspects of her life as one large beating heart rather than these separate parts, it made it feel like a much more grounded story than other YA graphics I've read. Every character was so wonderful to meet.

Kirby is on hiatus from her rock climbing passion after an injury, and joins the journalism club to have something to do and somehow, starts a love advice column for the club along with her crush. It leads to way more than Kirby ever expected. Not only do we get to see her grow confident in expressing her feelings to her friends and crush, we also get to see her relationship to her mother transform as she becomes more honest with herself. I highly recommend checking it out when it releases!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-ARC of Kirby's Lessons for Falling (in Love)!
4.5 / 5 ⭐

A cute coming of age (and coming out) high school story. Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (in Love) features a slew of dynamic LGBTQIA+ characters, complicated teenage hormones, and a bittersweet ending. In addition to the expected themes, we also have multiple brief depictions of death, illness / medical decline, and grief.

A lovely YA coming of age graphic novel about finding yourself and first love. Kirby has a lot going on - her father passed away when she was young, she recently came out to her mom, her church has certain opinions about homosexuality, she hurt her arm which interferes with her competitive climbing, and she is failing English. To help with her grade she joins the newspaper and meets Bex, the outgoing and eclectic newspaper's astrologer. As the two team up to write a new column Kirby begins to open herself up to living her truth. This is a really fun and sweet graphic novel. Every so often I was confused by pacing and picture placements but overall this is really enjoyable and wonderful intersectional representation.

I really enjoyed this LGBT love filled high school drama with more heart than I thought there would be. The meet cute between the love interests was easy to root for and I look forward to more from this author.

A coming of age graphic novel.

The beginning sucked me in and I was very excited and then it took a turn to Kirby finding a new group of friends through the newspaper team and it just dragged and I wanted it to go back to the climbing. Overall a good story just slow.

Thanks to netgalley and HarperCollins for an eARC

A poignant graphic novel that young adult readers will definitely relate to. It hits all the right notes of the struggles that the target audience typically faces. I think it will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Definitely recommend.

I probably should have read the description more closely because religious themes and trauma take me out of a story to a certain extent. I really enjoyed the romance between the protagonist and the love interest, but the religious subplot made this slightly less enjoyable overall for me personally.

2.5/5 rounded up

I enjoyed #LauraGao 's graphic memoir Messy Roots , so I was excited to read this ARC of #KirbysLessonsForFalling. The story follows Kirby Tan, a teen rock climber who experiences and injury that forces her to try a different club during the school year: newspaper. Here she meets Bex, who helps her write an astrology love column even though it's definitely not what Kirby would normally do. Kirby starts to fall for Bex, but also has to grapple with her feelings as well as her family, family responsibilities, and church community. There are moments of conflict, but overall a tale of exploration of who you are and what you want. A good purchase for HS libraries! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC!

Finished reading Laura Gao’s Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (in Love), a sapphic YA graphic novel about a girl who gets injured during a rock climbing fall and (reluctantly) joins the school newspaper as an alternative extracurricular. While working with a quirky, astrology-loving girl on a new column, Kirby finds herself falling again—but in a different way this time.

This graphic novel had a ton of fun art, with interesting perspectives and uses of panels. And I loooooved the color palette! There was a great ensemble of characters, and I really enjoyed how Kirby’s rival came back into the story in an unexpected way. I liked seeing Kirby’s relationship with her mom and how it progressed from the flashbacks to the present, as they each dealt with the loss of Kirby’s dad.

Publishes March 24, 2025