Falling Like Leaves

A New York Times bestseller!

Gilmore Girls meets Jenny Han in this "delightfully autumnal small-town romance" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a city girl stuck in a quaint small town who must confront her future and her old flame while the town prepares for an annual fall festival.

Ellis has a plan: spend her senior fall prepping her application for Columbia, get into their journalism program, and set the foundation for a respectable career. So when her parents announce that not only are they separating, but Ellis has to move with her mom from New York City to Bramble Falls, Connecticut, to live with her aunt and cousin, it couldn't come at a worse time.

From past summers spent in Connecticut, Ellis knows Bramble Falls is idyllic and charming. But it also seems to be full of distractions. There's local barista Cooper Barnett, Ellis's one-time best friend and first kiss who now wants nothing to do with her. And then there's the Falling Leaves Festival, a local autumnal celebration run by Ellis's aunt where people from all over come to see Bramble Falls's beautiful foliage. The house is stuffed with decorations, and every conversation seems to center around the festival.

Dragged to every oh-so-charming event from apple picking to pumpkin carving, Ellis can't stop bumping into Cooper...or falling for the quaint town and its quirky residents. As her return to Manhattan gets repeatedly delayed, Ellis finds herself caught between two very different places-and the futures they represent.

Autorentext
Misty Wilson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Bramble Falls series and Play Like a Girl, her award-winning debut middle grade graphic memoir. Misty is a teacher, registered nurse, and a voracious reader. She loves binge-watching television series and adores rom-coms. She lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband and their two daughters.

Klappentext

A New York Times bestseller!

Gilmore Girls meets Jenny Han in this “delightfully autumnal small-town romance” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a city girl stuck in a quaint small town who must confront her future and her old flame while the town prepares for an annual fall festival.

Ellis has a plan: spend her senior fall prepping her application for Columbia, get into their journalism program, and set the foundation for a respectable career. So when her parents announce that not only are they separating, but Ellis has to move with her mom from New York City to Bramble Falls, Connecticut, to live with her aunt and cousin, it couldn’t come at a worse time.

From past summers spent in Connecticut, Ellis knows Bramble Falls is idyllic and charming. But it also seems to be full of distractions. There’s local barista Cooper Barnett, Ellis’s one-time best friend and first kiss who now wants nothing to do with her. And then there’s the Falling Leaves Festival, a local autumnal celebration run by Ellis’s aunt where people from all over come to see Bramble Falls’s beautiful foliage. The house is stuffed with decorations, and every conversation seems to center around the festival.

Dragged to every oh-so-charming event from apple picking to pumpkin carving, Ellis can’t stop bumping into Cooper…or falling for the quaint town and its quirky residents. As her return to Manhattan gets repeatedly delayed, Ellis finds herself caught between two very different places—and the futures they represent.

Leseprobe
Chapter One Chapter One
Caviar is disgusting, and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

Still, I roll the eggs around in my mouth as if they're a fine wine, just like Dad told me to do before he abandoned me in the corner to go talk to one of the many white-haired men at this event. If I weren't at the Street Media Corporation annual gala, I would spit it out in a heartbeat. But I can't embarrass Dad by being the Girl Next to the Fake Plant Spitting Expensive Food into Her Napkin. So I let them sit in my mouth, hoping they'll just dissolve so I don't have to force them down.

A small band plays in the front of the sparkling room full of expensive dresses and tuxedos. Four couples make use of the hotel ballroom's dance floor while the rest of the attendees either stand around mingling or sit at the tables adorned in white luxury linens and orchid centerpieces. Tonight's gala is both a celebration of the company's profitable past year and a networking event with potential investors. Everyone who's anyone in New York City is here, dancing and laughing and meeting wealthy new faces.

And I am simply an intern lucky enough to have an important dad.

"Ah, you've found the rare delicacy," Mr. Street says, startling me as he appears at my side. He nods at the caviar spoon in my hand. There's no way I'm insulting the host of the party-not to mention the CEO and founder of the news conglomerate-so I swallow the melting eggs and shoot him a grin. Or what I hope looks like a grin.

"I have. They're delicious," I lie, holding back a gag.

"I hear you should press them against your soft palate to truly experience the buttery flavor and unique texture." Mr. Street shakes his head. "Personally, I've never understood the appeal, but to each their own."

You've got to be kidding.

I could have been standing here exchanging quippy lines about how repulsive these eggs are, and how everyone in the room is surely faking their enjoyment of them, but instead I'm one of the fakers.

I deflate at the missed networking opportunity.

"How has your internship been so far, Ms. Mitchell?" Mr. Street asks, the light from the crystal chandeliers reflecting off his kind brown eyes and balding head.

"It's been great," I tell him. "I'm learning so much."

This is only half true. It's hard to learn from lower-level journalists and content creators when I've grown up the daughter of Brad Mitchell, president of Street Media. I was five years old when Dad first taught me all about journalistic integrity and source anonymity. And although this is my first summer at the company in an official capacity, I've shadowed him the last two summers, learning the company ropes, interviewing techniques, how to write a compelling article, and how to recognize and filter bias. Dad says journalism is in my blood and that one day, when he retires, I'll take his place. All I need is solid experience and the right contacts.

In other words, the Streets.

"That's fantastic." Mr. Street takes a sip from his champagne flute. "Have you worked on any assignments you've particularly loved?"

The highlight of my whole summer has been tagging along with a reporter covering the Model Icon Fashion Show, but I know better than to say that.

"I've really enjoyed dipping my toes into foreign affairs. Covering the European Parliament election and the situation in Ukraine has been really eye-opening."

"Oh yes, your dad did mention your interest in overseas matters. Did you know I started out as a foreign-affairs reporter?"

I did know that, of course, because a good journalist does her homework.

"Oh wow. I had no idea," I say, leaning in and feigning interest. "Do you have any good stories from those days? Or any wisdom to impart?"

"Now, Ellis," I hear from behind me as my dad joins us, placing his hand on my should