Kirby’s Lessons for Falling (in Love)

Gr 8 Up–After talented rock climber Kirby Tan is injured from a fall that prevents her from participating in the rest of the climbing season, she begrudgingly joins the newspaper club to help raise her low grade in English class. Kirby is partnered with Bex Santos, an enthusiastic and chaotic writer whose astrology-inspired relationship column needs help getting off the ground. While initially skeptical about the project, Kirby is drawn into the drama of matchmaking and begins to fall for Bex along the way. This coming-of-age graphic novel tackles the complexities of identity, religion, and family relationships while capturing a lovely romance that persists despite the protagonists’ insecurities. The art, featuring grays, pinks, purples, and blues, contains well-developed and creative panels that are occasionally mixed with drawings that look hurried and less defined. Kirby is Chinese American, her best friend Eric is Korean American, and Bex is Latinx. Gao, the author of Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese American, returns fully with another story focusing on the intersection of queer, Asian American, and Christian identities.