Imagine a town centered around the fall time. This town not only has a name that screams fall, but it also hosts all the fall events one could hope for, such as apple picking, corn mazes, a fall-themed scavenger hunt, and fall activities unique to this town. You might meet a special someone in this town, fall in love, and never want to depart.  Falling Like Leaves by Misty Wilson follows Ellis Mitchell as she and her mom move from Manhattan, New York to a small town in Connecticut called Bramble Falls because of her parents separation. Ellis does not want to be in the town, as her life, goals, and father all reside back in Manhattan. Bramble Falls is a sweet little town that thrives off the fall season, and Ellis soon finds herself going to all the different fall activities. Along the way she reconnects with handsome Cooper Barnett, who she spent a summer with in middle school.

This book was marketed well on social media, at bookstores, by the cover, and by the blurb on the back. It has fall in the title, the cover is very fall themed with orange-leaved trees and pumpkins, and the book is set in a town that has all kinds of fall festivities like “The Autumn Spice Sprint, the Boots and Blankets Bonfire, and the Pumpkin Prom.” (24) The content of the book itself stays true to this fall theme. Almost every chapter has some sort of fall event Ellis is going to. The fall part helped move along the plot rather than overshadow it, and was a nice addition to the setting. 

While it had good marketing, Falling Like Leaves tried too hard to push diversity. Our culture today can often critique any form of media for not having enough representation. A fault of this is that sometimes books and movies try too hard to be diverse, to the point where it makes no sense. Falling Like Leaves had a bit of that with the presence of the character Sterling. Sterling is a side character that is black, plus-sized, and identifies as they/them. They are only mentioned two or three times throughout the book and it seemed like Wilson felt the need to add diversity so she made a character that ticked off three boxes on the diversity list. It felt like she was only including them because she had to. While it is very important for books to include diversity in them, it needs to be done well. The characters need to be more than a side character mentioned only a couple times. If Wilson was going to have Sterling as a character of diversity, I wanted them to be fleshed out more. Have them one of the bigger side characters instead of a minor one. A book with good representation fleshes out the side characters that represent minorities by having them a bigger part of the plot, talking about those issues, and having their character more mulit-faceted. 

Another issue with this book was that it made references that were way too modern. One such example was: 

“I don’t know the first thing about football.” 

“I’ll teach you, and then you can come cheer me on.” 

I continue grimacing at him, and he laughs. 

“Listen, Taylor learned a thing or two about the sport, and now she loves it. So, don’t knock it till you try it.” 

I arch an eyebrow. “Taylor…?”  

“Swift. Obviously.” (101-102)  

This is seemingly referencing Taylor Swift and her fiancee Travis Kelce, who is a football player for the Kansas City Chiefs. The two started dating in summer of 2023, making this reference very modern and current for the time period now. There is also a reference to the famous dance scene in the TV show Wednesday, which came out in 2022, also fairly recent. (206) People who read this book when it first comes out might relate to these modern references and find them enjoyable to read, but they also date a book severely. Someone reading this book ten to fifteen years in the future is probably not going to care about all the Taylor Swift references or the reference to a show made back in the day. It could take future readers out of the story and make them deem the book “old” rather than “timeless.” Even for readers of this time who read the book, the modern references to things of pop-culture make the book less of a fun escape and more of a book that reflects the society of today. 

For the most part, this book is simply a cheesy rom-com. From the very first chapter, you can tell that this book will be mostly light-hearted and simply a good time. There are a lot of cringey moments, and it definitely felt like a Hallmark movie simply in book format, but the romance is very cute. The male main character, Cooper, is super sweet and kind to everyone around him and makes for a likable love interest. Another aspect of this book that was done well was Ellis’s relationship with both of her parents. This is something that is explored throughout and was one of the deeper, more interesting aspects of her character. How Ellis feels about her mom and her dad changes drastically throughout the story. This helped the story feel more full and deep, yet it wasn’t woven enough throughout the story to make the book one full of depth. 

Falling Like Leaves is Misty Wilson’s first young adult novel. She has only written one other book, which was a middle-grade graphic novel memoir called Play Like A Girl. As this is only her second novel, I’m sure she will continue to improve and grow as she writes more books. For only her second published book, Falling Like Leaves has done very well. It is currently on the New York Times Bestseller list for young adult paperbacks.

The young adult genre is definitely the best fit for Falling Like Leaves, as the book is geared towards young adults. The writing style was easy to comprehend and I was able to understand what Wilson was trying to say. The plot was laid down plainly on the page, Wilson telling the reader what was happening in the present and what was going to happen next.  Because of this the book was both a quick read and one that doesn't take too much brainpower to understand. 

Adults reading this book would most likely get bogged down in the modern references geared towards younger people, the cheesy and cringey aspects, and the way the characters act because of their ages. The perfect audience for this book is younger readers who want a fun rom-com, especially if they are desiring one set in the fall season. I would definitely recommend it for people who want an easy read and a fun time.