This was cute! I've previously read Laura Gao's Messy Roots and so I was already familiar with Gao's art style and storytelling. I really enjoyed this one as well. I think Gao does a great job of portraying the various intricacies that come with life especially how people can choose who they invite in their life. Kirby and Bex were nice opposites in some ways and similar in others and were a great way to show these differences in life. One storytelling aspect that I think worked better in Messy Roots than here, is Gao's habit of jumping around in time. I think it worked well in Messy Roots with the memoir aspect but it was a bit more confusing here where we're in a fictional story and trying to keep track of the time passing.

Thank you to NetGally for the e-book ARC.

I wanted to like this more than I did. It is not a bad book, but was a somewhat predictable YA romance. Further, as is sometime the case with graphic novels, the narrative was somewhat choppy and hard to follow with the visuals not always filling those gaps.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for me to review!

I think the most I struggled with was that the font was so dang tiny that I was zooming in on the file just to read it (which was annoying, so it took me ages to commit to reading it... oops...). The art is nice, the plot holds itself together, and also it's QUEER!! not anything outstanding imo but plenty of fun. :)

Once a star rock climber, Kirby Tan’s injury lands her in the school newspaper—writing astrology-based love advice with free-spirited Bex Santos. As sparks fly, Kirby questions if their stars align. But with family and faith at stake, can she navigate love without losing herself in the ultimate balancing act?

This was a different kind of sport to read about: rock climbing. I wasn't a fan of the relationship between Kirby and Bex and the whole joining the newspaper. The rest of the cast of characters was solid. The relationship between Kirby and her mom was a typical teen one, with the added stress of being a single mom and living with/taking care of an elderly, ill parent.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was really touching. I like how the author handled all the aspects of Kirby's life. How balance not only plays apart of every day life, but also in climbing.

This didn't entirely live up to my expectations, and honestly I ended up with mixed feelings. I thought this story was good, but it didn't stand out to me as something that will stay with me. I feel like I've read similar stories before and have enjoyed some of them more. It didn't help that I struggled with the art style - I didn't find the characters very recognizable, so I struggled to tell them apart and keep track of who's who, which made it harder to follow along with the narrative. I did enjoy the writing, the humour and the colour scheme, but it wasn't enough for me to really enjoy this.

Kirby Tan learned to love rock climbing from her dad, but his loss and an accident that sidelines her has her feeling like her life has no foothold. Add the fact that she has a crush on the quirky girl she's working with on the school newspaper, and Kirby will have to decide if she can balance her wants and her family and community.

I love the story's themes and how deep Gao goes into all the hard topics. There are some truly emotional moments that hit all the right spots, be they sad or happy. Following along as Kirby regains her balance in a world where everything and everyone around her is pulling her in different directions and giving her mixed signals is an extreme flashback to teendom. Even if your situation wasn't as charged and complicated, you will connect to the things Kirby and friends face. I'd like to think it shows teens that everything can be overcome if you're open to listening and talking things out.

The art is cute and expressive, but the way the panels and text are arranged is sometimes super confusing. Nothing major, but it's a little annoying.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and HarperAlley for the emotional read!

Kirby's Lessons for Falling (in Love) follows rock climber Kirby Tan after she breaks her arm in a fall. Kirby is roped into joining the newspaper club as the co-author for its astrology romance column with Bex. The two initially butt heads as Kirby comes from a religious home and Bex is very into astrology, but quickly begin to understand each other better. The two start setting people up for their column, but realize there are feelings between themselves too. I enjoyed all the different characters in this, especially Kirby's grandfather, but I did struggle with the art style feeling too unfinished.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAlley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Beautiful artwork overall. I thought the diversify of the characters were also great. I don’t know if it’s just me but I got confused multiple times trying to follow the storyline. I tried several times to read it and ended up not finishing it.

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