Summary:
It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.
Brett Wells has it all. Being captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be her mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not dating and she can keep up the ruse.
Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. When the line between real and pretend begins to blur, they are forced to answer the question: is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?

Title: The Upside of Falling
Author: Alex Light
Publication Date: February 18, 2020
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Review:
This story was a cute, somewhat typical, YA romance novel. It’s told from the POV of Becca and Brett. Becca had problems throughout the book that I feel like are relatable to many teens these days dealing with divorce or lack of a parent in their lives. Brett had family issues as well that we get to see throughout the book.
While I somewhat enjoyed this easy read, I felt like most of the book was lacking detail. It would just kinda say what the characters did without really showing us and letting the reader be apart of it. Scenes would come and go and leave me wondering why it was in the book or how come it felt so surface level. Many times, as well, instead of me getting to learn things through dialogue between characters, it would just say, “I told him yes.” Or “he explained to me that…”
Also, I wish I could have seen more conflict in the relationship between Becca and Brett. Things were so easy going throughout almost the entire book. It kinda felt like they just loved each other for the whole book and that was that.
Lastly, there are established best friends for both Becca and Brett, but we almost never see them. Brett always talks about how he doesn’t trust his best friend and we just hardly ever see Becca’s. It made me wonder how either of them had “best friends” if they never hung out.
I wish I could have liked this book more. It was a good read, but it won’t be at the top of my list of recommendations
Rating: 3.5/5
To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Alex Light, go to her GoodReads profile or her Instagram.
Leave a Reply