The Upside of Falling

The Upside of Falling is a young adult contemporary romance novel first published on the self-publishing website Wattpad in 2017 by Canadian author Alex Light. Light quickly gained a following for her short love stories, and The Upside of Falling was originally published on Wattpad under a different title, Rivals. When the story gained considerable attention—and over 40 million reads—Light was offered a book deal with HarperCollins Publishing. Thanks to the team at Wattpad and their connection to HarperCollins, the final version of the novel was published in 2020 under its new and current title. The Upside of Falling might have started on Wattpad as a swoony teen romance that focused solely on Brett and Becca’s dating relationship, but by the time it reached its final form as a full-fledged novel, the story grew to tackle bigger and broader themes. The Upside of Falling addresses the heartache behind divorce, friendship breakups, family expectations, forgiveness, becoming your own person, and taking a chance on love. The version used for this guide is the ebook of the HarperTeen imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Plot Summary

Seventeen-year-old Becca Hart wants nothing to do with love. Ever since her parents’ divorce and her father’s abrupt disappearance from her life, Becca has decided to live out her romantic fantasies in the pages of books, specifically romance novels. Brett Wells, the handsome captain of the Crestmont High School football team, wants nothing more than to make his father happy. After all, Brett’s dad gave up his dreams of playing college football to become Brett’s father at 18: The least Brett can do is live the life his father had to give up. Neither Brett nor Becca is interested in dating for real, but when Becca’s ex-best friend teases Becca for not having a boyfriend, and Brett’s father pushes him to start dating, Brett and Becca decide to start a fake-dating relationship. They agree to date for a few months, just long enough to satisfy the people around them, then they plan to part ways.

Becca’s mother owns a bakery in town, and all she wants is for Becca to be happy. Although Becca’s father only lives a few blocks away from Becca and her mom’s apartment, Becca hasn’t spoken to her father in five years. Becca has started to spy on her father, and she watches as he gets remarried and has another baby with his new wife. Becca is heartbroken when she remembers what it was like to have a father around, and when her grief overwhelms her, Becca disappears into a world of fiction and romance and tunes out the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Brett’s father starts to act suspiciously, and Brett can’t help but notice that his mother always seems to be crying. Over the years, Brett’s father has always attended his son’s football games, but as football season begins in Crestmont, Brett’s father misses two of Brett’s games. His father travels for work often, and although he blames his unpredictable travel schedule for his absences, Brett senses that there is something else going on that his parents aren’t telling him about.

As Becca and Brett continue their dating charade at school, their relationship attracts the attention of Becca’s ex-best friend, Jenny. After years of ignoring Becca, Jenny realizes how much she hurt Becca when she neglected their friendship years ago. Jenny tries to make up for her absence by offering to help Becca promote Becca’s mom’s bakery, give Becca rides home, and talk Becca down when she gets upset. One night, Becca and Brett catch Brett’s father in a car with another woman when he is supposed to be on a business trip, and Brett’s opinion of his father changes forever. Becca is there to support and comfort Brett, and as Brett figures out what to do about his dad, he realizes that he is developing very real feelings for Becca. Becca starts to have feelings for Brett as well.

One night during the grand opening of his father’s hotel, Brett and Becca confess their feelings for one another and decide to date for real. However, their happiness is cut short when Brett’s father arrives with his mistress, and Brett, his mother, and his father end up in a very public confrontation in front of the whole town. Brett breaks up with Becca because he originally started his fake relationship with her to please his father, and he doesn’t want to look at Becca and be reminded of how hard he tried to please his dad. Becca is heartbroken and scolds herself for taking a chance on love and not protecting her heart. Becca throws all her favorite romance novels off a bridge into a river and declares that fictional romance only sets people up for disappointment. Jenny reminds Becca that real love isn’t like fictional love, and Brett needs a friend right now.

Becca decides to help Brett get his grades up because the news of his father’s affair has impacted his academic performance and jeopardized his place on the school football team. Together, they get Brett back on track, and Brett realizes that Becca is the only person he wants to be with as he deals with his new reality. Brett agrees to go to family counseling with his mom and dad, and because his mother loves his father and wants to make things work, Brett is willing to forgive his dad and give him a second chance. Becca confronts her father and tells him how much he hurt her by disappearing all those years ago, and once she lays her heart bare, she feels free. Becca and Brett declare their love for one another, and the novel concludes with Brett and Becca reading together under the oak tree near the high school football field.