Upside of Falling

Fans of romance novelists Gayle Forman or Jenny Han are sure to enjoy Canadian author Alex Light. Light’s writing career began through online writing forums in her teens, supported with a BA in English Literature. Today, with over 100 million reads on her Wattpad forum, this young author clearly understands what teens crave in the romance genre. The Upside of Falling, her debut published novel, supplies all the goods for those who enjoy reading a satisfying romance (and who doesn’t!) - especially when presented with some fresh playful twists to the standard formula.

Let’s break it down. What are the usual elements of a good romance?

For starters, the cover art alone is sure to attract teen readers who are looking for a light, flirty contemporary romance. One glance says it all - our two main characters are drawn leaning against school lockers: she appears slightly awkward, hiding behind a book; he’s clearly the handsome and confident athletic type, and is casually expressing an interest.

Next, we meet our sympathetic and quite believable heroine, 17-year-old Becca Hart, a senior at Eastmont High. She’s been through the emotional wringer of her parents’ divorce, watching her mother pick up the pieces after her husband unexpectedly walked out of their marriage. Becca now holds definite misgivings about the concept of real love, retreating into the safe world of fictional romance novels which she reads (and rereads) voraciously. Becca describes her habit of drowning herself in romantic novels as self-therapy, a way to live vicariously and have “all the fun, without the pain”. Raise your hand if you’ve been there!

This coping strategy seems to work for Becca until the day her former best friend, Jenny, confronts her in the hallway at school and grills Becca about her over-the-top reading obsession and lack of any real-world dating expertise.

I don’t know what had these next words spilling from my lips so effortlessly. Maybe it was the hurt I still felt over Jenny choosing popularity over me. Maybe it was the years of her snarky comments relating to my lack of relationships. Or maybe it was to protect these books I clung to like a lifeline, the only reminder that some sort of love could exist.

Whichever it was, I found myself saying, “My mom doesn’t have to pester me about being in a relationship because I’m in one.”

As Jenny demands to know the name of this “fabricated” boyfriend, who happens by and overhears the conversation but the über-popular Brett Wells. Brett is the talented captain of the football team, tall, good looking, and oozing charm – basically the fantasy swoon of every female on campus. Brett, however, doesn’t quite fit the standard characteristics of our male lead. He isn’t dating a cheerleader – in fact, he wants to avoid the pressures that come with the casual dating scene entirely. His parents have been madly in love since they first met in high school; Brett figures he’ll follow their lead one day. Right now, he’s all about focusing on improving his football game and maintaining his B average, as opposed to finding a date to prom. When it comes to dreamy leads, could this guy get any more interesting? Yes!

On a literary note: Brett could simply be our hero, but the author has cleverly included his point of view by alternating the first-person narrative. Most YA romance don’t include both voices – so having insight into Brett’s thoughts every other chapter instantly makes this novel a heck of a lot more fun.

Our storyline is now off to a whirlwind start with Brett’s timely arrival at Becca’s locker:

Right when I was about to give up, I felt an arm wrap around my waist. Felt fingers loop through mine.

I looked up to find Brett’s eyes. He was smiling.

“Hey, you,” he said, staring right at me.

I felt like I had just woken up from a nap and missed the past few minutes of my life.

“Hi,” I said slowly, staring at his hand in mine. How did that get there?

Brett was giving me this look, like c’mon, Becca, get with it.

Jenny was glancing between the two of us, looking as confused as I felt. Her eyes zeroed in on Brett’s arm on my waist and she said, “You guys are dating?”

Brett’s chivalrous actions as he jumps into the role of Becca’s mystery boyfriend totally sidesteps the typical slow burn of emotional tension where girl meets boy (or boy meets girl?). The new “couple” decide that the fake romance they’ve fabricated might actually be a workable solution. What a great way to brush off the social pressures from peers and well-intentioned parents who tend to live vicariously through their lives. Of course, in order to add credibility to this staged relationship, the teens decide they should invest some time getting to know one another - and that also means meeting the parents.

Becca’s mom coped with her divorce through stress baking, then took a chance on opening a small bakery. The bakery develops into a very endearing and reoccurring scene-stealer throughout the novel. In some sections, the reader practically smells the fresh-baked aromas and wants to pull up a chair and taste Mom’s latest confectionary creation. She is beyond thrilled to see her daughter finally stop reading romance novels and give real love a turn.

Brett’s parents offer a glimpse into a more grounded world. They are well-off, with a huge home and a loving marriage – all the clichéd trappings of a happy-ever-after tale. Dad has a successful career in the hotel business, mom lunches with friends, and they never miss any of Brett’s football games. Brett’s dad, who has been pushing Brett to date lots of girls, is thrilled when girlfriend #1, Becca, finally enters the picture. But there are also recent indications that the parents’ relationship isn’t all that it seems.

The action ticks along at a fast page-turning pace as Brett and Becca rather awkwardly, and quite adorably, negotiate their faux romance and learn more about each other’s worlds. In a great scene, strategically placed, Becca helps Brett revise his English essay and explains the literary elements of rising action, climax, and its role in contributing to the story. The fun surprise for the reader is that, as the novel’s following chapter unfolds, it cheekily illustrates all these elements.

Through a series of original getting-to-know-one-another events, the teens realize that their friendship has blossomed into a crush and then into a genuine relationship. Brett is the first to confess to his true feelings:

“And I like this. Without the pretending.”

“Me too.”

Brett smiled. His eyes crinkled at the corners. “You do?”

“Yeah.” Maybe it was the darkness of the quiet that made my lips a little bit looser, because then I was saying, “I like you, Brett. Which was never supposed to happen. That’s why I was okay with our relationship being fake, because it was safe. It was supposed to prevent all of this so I wouldn’t have to worry about getting my heart broken. And now we’re here and everything feels too real and it’s scaring me.”

“Tell me why you’re scared,” he said.

“Because relationships never work out. Look at my parents. I always thought they were so in love, that they’d last forever, and then one morning my dad woke up and decided that we weren’t enough. That his life wasn’t enough. People always talk about falling in love but no one ever talks about falling out of it...”

Which reminds us of the next element in the romance formula: when any relationship is going smoothly, it’s time to shake things up by testing true love. One shortcoming of The Upside of Falling is that the depth of romantic tension caused by this inevitable break-up is given rather short shrift. It’s hard to believe that our total gentleman Brett would step so far out of character to abandon Becca mid-date and not ensure that she gets home safely. However, the conflict that keeps the teens apart also offers the perfect segue for Becca to reconnect with her former BFF Jenny. There is one notable scene as Becca drags a bag of her romance novels to a nearby bridge, rips them up, and throws them into the stream below as she tearfully confesses to Jenny that her life has been reduced into one of the romances that she reads. The scene’s wacky but totally relatable to those also guilty of using romantic novels as escapism.

The split, itself, is rather short-lived and anticlimactic, with Brett and Becca reconciling for a happy-ever-after ending. Despite this, YA readers should appreciate the fact that Brett and Becca work through their issues independently and make decisions without any major interventions by the adults in their lives. The Upside of Falling also explores not just the boy-girl teen romance but the complications experienced navigating relationships with parents and friends.

This contemporary romantic novel is a fast-paced read, and the dialogue is snappy and captures an authentic teen voice. The reader won’t need a Kleenex, there’s no ugly crying, no clichéd love triangles, just a fresh and engaging read that gently pokes fun at romance novels in general. Head to your nearest bakery, grab a cup of coffee and a doughnut, and enjoy The Upside of Falling!