Kirby's Lessons for Falling (in Love)
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Mar 4, 2025
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- $12.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“I’m once again blown away by Laura Gao’s ability to make me relate to someone completely different from myself. Get ready to experience the epic highs and lows of high school rock climbing.” —Sonora Reyes, National Book Award finalist and bestselling author of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School
Once dubbed the Queen of Balance as her school’s top rock climber, Kirby Tan suffers an injury that sidelines her for the rest of the season. Now she’s forced to join the newspaper club for some desperately needed extra credit. Worse, she’s recruited by crystal-wearing, tarot-reading Bex Santos for her astrology-based love advice column. As Kirby reluctantly agrees to orchestrate “matches made in heaven” with Bex, she begins to wonder if their own stars could be aligned. But loving who she wants isn’t so easy when her family and church community are on the line. Can Kirby pull off her greatest balancing act yet?
From Laura Gao, the acclaimed creator of Messy Roots, comes an authentic slow-burn romance and coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Heartstopper, lovers of astrology and tarot, and anyone looking for answers on the right way to fall (in love).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
High school sophomore Kirby Tan is a skilled competitive climber, an activity she picked up from her late thrill-seeking father. When her dynamic move at the Texas Youth Fall Invitational goes awry, Kirby must participate in another extracurricular while she waits for her broken arm to heal. It turns out the newspaper club needs a coeditor for its anonymous, horoscope-inspired romance advice column "Ask the Universe," and Kirby needs to boost her English grade if she wants to get into Bellevue University and join its prestigious climbing team. An initial clash with fiery, crystal-carrying coeditor Bex Santos requires churchgoing Kirby to make amends, which she manages with a strategically placed flyer that results in the first "Ask the Universe" request. Romance soon sparks between the coeditors, forcing Kirby to confront her guilt surrounding her queer identity; though her local Chinese church offers vital support, some members have begun espousing homophobic rhetoric. Using soft brushstrokes and a limited color palette, Gao (Messy Roots) approaches this conflict with care, delicately balancing the pros and cons of Kirby's close-knit Christian immigrant community in Texas with the personal agency and meaning-making that astrology and tarot can afford in this soaring addition to queer graphic novel canon. Ages 14–up.
