Kirby's Lessons for Falling (in Love)

Starred review from December 16, 2024
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. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group.

January 15, 2025
"Queen of Balance" Kirby Tan knows what to do on the rock-climbing wall, but she struggles with navigating the rest of her life. After sophomore Kirby, a champion climber, injures her wrist in a fall at an invitational, she's unable to climb for at least two months. In need of an extracurricular, she joins the newspaper club in hopes of bringing up her dismal English grade. Kirby teams up with Bex Santos to write an astrology-themed column to help their fellow students find love. Kirby isn't sure she believes in the premise behind "Ask the Universe," but she gets swept up in the adventure of guiding their classmates toward the romance they desire. In between matching others, Chinese American Kirby deals with her growing attraction to Bex, who's Latine, and what that might mean for her relationships with her family and her church. Missing rock climbing, combined with grieving her father, who died eight years ago, and worrying about her immigrant grandfather's worsening health, leaves Kirby feeling on edge and readers filled with empathy for her. Gao's predominantly black-and-white illustrations feature bold lines and pops of salmon that emphasize strong emotional moments. The panels vary in shape, layout, and perspective, creating fresh, compelling visuals for this work that's filled with powerful images of struggle but also of joy. A refreshingly raw and vulnerable exploration of grief and hope.(Graphic fiction. 13-18)

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Starred review from March 1, 2025
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Kirby Tan is falling, her body leaving the climbing wall and crashing onto the mat as her ears fill with the sound of broken bone. Injured and unable to keep climbing, she needs to join another student club, but who's looking for newbies? A new astrology column in the student paper needs a coeditor, though astrology is not Kirby's forte. Neither is love, but her first day in the newsroom is a twister of just that, as she meets coeditor Bex Santos, who's out, proud, and carries a list of anxieties. In a new space so not like the climbing gym, can the Queen of Balance find her footing once more? Featuring a queer Asian American lead, this story is set in a dynamic North Texas, where trans icons, pride nights, church ladies, and Jesus freaks exist side by side. Gao beautifully illustrates a connection to another land, with Chinese fields full of jicai mirroring the iconic bluebonnets in bloom. Gao's enchanting drawings are atmospheric, with carefully drawn line art giving way to brilliant climbing walls and blossoming flowers, with a pallet of blues, pinks, and blacks that pop from the page. Gao's ability to create a realistic depiction of adolescence--of teenagers troubled with grief, familial expectations, spirituality, and what comes next--is exceptional. As Bex tells us "y'all means all," and all libraries serving teens need this comic.

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