The Upside of Falling by Alex Light is a contemporary YA worth-reading romance novel that follows 17-year-old Becca Hart. She is a teenager with a very cynical attitude towards love in real life but loves reading romance novels. One day, her former best friend Jenny McHenry accuses her of knowing nothing about love because she has never had a boyfriend as opposed to Jenny.
This prompts Becca to lie and claim she knows about love because she has a boyfriend. When Jenny calls her bluff, jock, and football player Brett Wells comes to the rescue pretending to be Becca’s boyfriend. She plays along immediately. Brett and Becca create a contract where they have to pretend to be the other person’s boyfriend or girlfriend. Becca needs a fake boyfriend to prove to Jenny that she knows about love, and also because when Brett swooped in to save her, he said that they had been dating for a while.
So Becca needs to keep up that charade, and Brett needs a fake girlfriend because his dad has been on his case. But why has Brett not had a girlfriend in his entire time in high school? The reason is that Brett wants to focus on football and doesn’t have the time for girls. Keep scrolling if you’re going to read novels like The Upside Of Falling.
10 Books Like The Upside Of Falling (Romantic Fun)
The Upside Of Falling is a comedy and romance book with two teenagers. Both teens have varying situations at home that understandably make them both reluctant to enter relationships. We get to see how those situations play out and how they affect the fake relationship that Becca and Brett have.
This book is written in the first person from two perspectives: Brett and Becca’s points of view. The main protagonists are both in high school, so it’s not like their innermost thoughts are super complex and profound. I will discuss ten rom-com books similar to The Upside Of Falling. If you enjoyed “The Upside of Falling,” which explores the intricacies of love and friendship, you might be interested in the following ten books. Let’s begin!
1. The Ex Talk
It is an adult contemporary rom-com style book set in Seattle, and our main character, Shay Goldstein, is 30 years old. She works as a producer for a public radio show, and public radio has been like her whole life. She’s always loved it as a kid growing up. It was what bonded her and her dad. But she’s always wanted to be a host. Even though she’s been at this radio company for ten years, she’s always been a producer.
The station is struggling, so they’re trying to develop ideas for a new show to get the new buzz and help them out. She came up with the idea to do a relationship show. But instead of having the two hosts be a couple, have them be exes.
So they all love this idea. But the only hitch in this is that they decide her ex will be her co-worker, with whom she doesn’t get along. They’ve never dated. So it’s like the fake dating trope, but they pretend to be exes on this radio show and talk about relationships. Along the way, they have to get to know each other because they pretend to be their exes. So, we get to see fake relationships like The Upside Of Falling.
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Average Rating: 4.2/5
Category: Multicultural & Interracial Romance
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle
2. Love From A to Z
This book is ultimately a love story and is a contemporary romance about two Muslim teens who fall in love on a trip to Doha, Qatar. Zainab is a young activist suspended from school, and Adam is currently hiding a secret from his family. The opening of this novel begins with a third-party narrator, The Upside Of Falling. She remarks on how she has collected the two diaries of Adam and Zainab and will read you their diary entries to formulate their love story with their permission.
It was only brought back into the text twice after, and this ultimately set up a play-like structure with an overture intermission and a curtain call. The other two sections we get are Adam and Zainab’s diary entries. So both Zainab and Adam have a diary, a journal structured in marvels and oddities. It’s one of those structured journals that you can play with, and they are supposed to record marvels as many times as they record oddities. As the story progresses between marvels and oddities, these two frame their mindset as a fun, tiny element.
You got to see how individually they progressed and who experienced and explored those ideas. But then how they played off one another and what is a marvel may be odd to the other. The characters were allowed to flourish so that the reader could settle into a thought process. We got to dive more deeply then and more nuanced into the psychology of both of these teens.
There’s a certain amount of wonder and suspension that you can create in your life when you are putting down forcibly discovery, trying to be as vague as possible. A fight scene happens between Adam and Zainab, and this is when their diary entries exit and this third-party narrator comes in, and it works on its own. With those complexities, they weren’t falling in love with one aspect of each other. Each discovery was another discovery that brought them closer together, and that’s very authentic and delightful to experience.
Author: S. K. Ali
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Teen & Young Adult Romantic Comedy
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
3. All This Time
The main characters of the book are Kyle and Kimberly. Towards the end of the book, the girl in Kyle’s dream state that he fell in love with found closure in real life. Either way, he’s changing for the better or worse, and then time goes backward for him, and it’s hard. So the idea is even though he suffered a tragic loss, he moves on. You’re watching him learn and figure out how to deal with the loss. He’s fine because he’s been in a coma.
Over the time that he had been learning to live his life without his ex-girlfriend, that’s what he kept telling himself. Because a girl in the hospital who is there every day is talking to him, and all of the stories she’s telling him have a good piece of reality within them. So, not everything he learns about her is fake. All of that stuff makes sense. But then, when he wakes up, he can’t let go of this new girl and has difficulty accepting that. So, in the end, everything works out because that’s how we all want books to be, like The Upside Of Falling.
Author: Mikki Daughtry
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Contemporary Romance Comedy
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
4. Second First Impressions
The main character is Ruthie Midona, and she encounters a gentleman named Teddy Prescott. So Ruthie works at Providence; it’s like an older home for richer folks, and she has been a secretary administrative assistant for about six years. Ruthie is twenty-five and dresses like she’s eighty-five.
Ruthie hasn’t left Providence the grounds of Providence even in a long time. She feels a great devotion to these turtles, which are endangered, and Providence is one of the few places in the world that has the highest concentration of these endangered turtle. Moreover, she hasn’t had a boyfriend or date since maybe her senior prom. She has a co-worker whose name is Melanie. Melanie sees that her friend needs help. She needs to get out of this rut.
So Melanie proposes this new thing she is trying out because she loves setting people up and pairing people together, which she calls the Suzuki method. It’s like an eight-week program where you start figuring out your ideal mate and what you’re looking for.
But in the meanwhile, Ruthie ends up going to the gas station to fill up the car. She ends up lending money to Teddy Prescott, who was on his motorcycle. Little does she know that Teddy is the owner’s son, the new owner of Providence, and he shows up at her doorstep the next day. So Teddy is supposed to be saving money for his tattoo shop.
Teddy has a history of dating someone and then dumping them very quickly, and everyone is warning Ruthie not to get involved with him. He’s not a permanent solution for what she’s looking for. So, do they get together? How do they get together? Are they able to make better second impressions for themselves? There are many questions and mysteries similar to The Upside Of Falling.
Author: Sally Thorne
Average Rating: 4.2/5
Category: Romantic Comedy, Women’s Friendship Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
5. To Love Jason Thorn
The main character is Olive, and she has awkwardness and quirkiness. At the story’s beginning, we meet Olive while waiting to have her novel pitched to a movie production company. She is already super nervous. She has her best friend on the phone, talking her through it.
So Olive goes into the conference room. She researched and prepared for this meeting, so she’s sitting there. Then, as she’s trying to put her best professional foot forward, more people join them in the conference room. Jason Thorn is her childhood crush. So, one of the very first guys she laid eyes on in her lifetime she asks to marry. She claims him as her husband, which is fantastic. She’s trying to do things to cover her face so that Jason doesn’t see her and notice her.
Jason is there to be the male role in her story, and as he’s sitting there. He’s so excited to see her and her. On the other hand, she has some different feelings. She has followed along with his career, and that nature as her family has done the same. So you get background on Jason’s ties to her family, Jason’s ties to her. There’s a little twist in there that you may not see coming. Then you have that classic romance piece like The Upside Of Falling.
Author: Ella Maise
Average Rating: 4.3/5
Category: College Romance & Comedy
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Kindle | Audio CD
6. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Jenny Han’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” introduces us to Lara Jean, a shy and reserved high-school junior. The book offers an intimate look into teen romance, family dynamics, and the angst of growing up. When her secret love letters are sent out without her knowledge, Lara Jean concocts a fake relationship with one of her former crushes, Peter.
The chemistry between Lara Jean and Peter is palpable, and the conflicts are both believable and engaging. Han excels in her nuanced portrayal of family bonds, particularly between Lara Jean and her sisters. Like The Upside Of Falling, it speaks volumes about the fragility and intensity of first love and how it intertwines with our sense of identity.
7. Simon vs. the Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
This book breaks away from the heteronormative romance genre to offer a heartfelt LGBTQ+ story. Simon is a closeted gay teenager who starts an email relationship with another anonymous gay student from his school. The narrative balances humor and depth, making you root for Simon’s ‘happily ever after.’
Albertalli focuses on the struggles of coming out, the fear of being different, and the joy and relief that comes from acceptance—both self-acceptance and acceptance by others. The text is rich in character development, not just for Simon but also for the supporting characters.
8. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Set in the 1980s, this book is a love story between two misfits. Eleanor is a chubby redhead from a broken home, and Park is a half-Korean boy who loves comic books. The story unfolds through alternating viewpoints, allowing readers to enter both characters’ worlds.
Rowell takes her time building the romance, making the relationship feel all the more authentic. The book also tackles serious themes like bullying, domestic abuse, and body image issues without overshadowing the sweet romance at its core.
9. The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green
Green’s novel is a poignant tale of love and loss featuring two teenagers with cancer. While it’s a tearjerker, it also offers an unflinching look into the lives of people with chronic illnesses. Hazel and Gus are the central characters. They meet at a cancer support group and form an instantaneous bond.
Their love story is unique because they both understand the finitude of life in a way most teenagers don’t. Green’s narrative voice is smart, witty, and incredibly touching. He captures the youthful exuberance and melancholy in a manner that’s both profound and accessible.
10. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Set in Paris, this book is a delightful young adult romance about Anna, an American student sent to a boarding school in France. There, she meets Étienne St. Clair, a charming boy with a complicated relationship status. Perkins creates an atmospheric setting, making the city a character in the love story. The book covers friendship, cultural differences, and coming-of-age, skillfully interwoven into the romance. Anna’s character growth and her grappling with her feelings make for an emotionally satisfying read.
Each book offers something unique while retaining elements that made “The Upside of Falling” appealing. Whether it’s the authenticity of first love, the complexities of teenage life, or the nuances of relationships, you will surely find something that resonates with you in these novels.
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