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Overview
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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies, Lynn Painter, comes a rags-to-riches rom-com about a small-town girl whose family inherits a fortune and moves to New York City, where she meets a big-city boy hiding an explosive secret.
Julia is just a small-town girl from Nebraska who loves her peaceful life. But when her elderly next-door neighbor—who just happens to be a secret multi-millionaire—leaves everything to Julia and her family after his passing, Julia is swept away to live in a historic brownstone in New York City and attend an elite private school for the super-rich.
It should be a dream come true. Wrong. Julia doesn’t fit in at her new school; worse, she’s failing. Enter Damion, the mysterious and handsome tutor who will get Julia back on track. Except Damion has a secret. He is the great-nephew of the man who left everything to Julia’s family. Damion doesn’t buy for a second that the person who was like a father to him would leave his home to strangers. And he’s determined to prove it.
To uncover the truth, Damion schemes to earn Julia’s trust. Not an easy task with Julia unsure about this rich boy with a rebellious personality. But the more time Damion spends with Julia, the more his plan begins to backfire. Because he is falling for the enemy—and the enemy is falling for him.
As Damion and Julia figure out where they belong, can they see past their differences and act on their feelings, or will the trust Damion has worked so hard to gain fall apart?
Details
- ISBN-13: 9798347100217
- ISBN-10: 9798347100217
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publish Date: September 2026
- Dimensions: 8.52 x 5.72 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.06 pounds
- Page Count: 416
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- 1
If there’s one lesson to be had in Lynn Painter’s New York City-set contemporary YA romance, Trust Fall, it’s that first impressions aren’t everything. It is a book of dichotomies, both between Julia Lowell and Damion Rutledge—grumpy-sunshine, big city boy-small town girl—and in ideals.
Julia’s family is living a quiet, peaceful life in Nebraska when a cultured stranger appears with news of an unexpected inheritance from a man named Lou, who lived in a fishing shack outside of town. In order to claim it, their family must move to a five-story home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for six months, and Julia must attend the exclusive Gardenview Academy. If the Lowells decide not to uproot themselves, they lose it all. But if they do, they gain millions.
Damion’s family is part of the Upper West Side clique. He’s already a senior at Gardenview Academy. He’s already got millions. He’s already living a noisy, chaotic, big city life. But he doesn’t have the house that Julia’s family has—the one he grew up playing in with his favorite great-uncle, Remington, whom the Lowells knew as Lou.
While all these differences will create a natural tension between the two, the unexpected pull between Julia and Damion is delightful. The pair officially meet when she desperately needs a math tutor, and in comes Damion, muddying the situation further. He’s cheeky and flirty and keeps forgetting she’s the enemy. She’s quiet and anxious and slow to extend her trust. And in Greenwood Academy, Painter has crafted a modern-day ton, where the halls and classrooms are peppered with intense, gossipy social minefields, making Julia’s upended life all the more complicated to adjust to.
Painter’s use of a dual perspective in Trust Fall gives the reader great insight into Julia and Damion’s trajectory. The stakes are high in this fun coming-of-age story with great character development and enjoyable pacing. In a perfect world, Julia’s new friends would step in more effectively to dissuade the bullying, and we would’ve gotten a little more background about Julia’s family before they relocated to the Upper West Side, but in the end, the witty banter wins the day.
If there’s one lesson to be had in Lynn Painter’s New York City-set contemporary YA romance, Trust Fall, it’s that first impressions aren’t everything. It is a book of dichotomies, both between Julia Lowell and Damion Rutledge—grumpy-sunshine, big city boy-small town girl—and in ideals.
Julia’s family is living a quiet, peaceful life in Nebraska when a cultured stranger appears with news of an unexpected inheritance from a man named Lou, who lived in a fishing shack outside of town. In order to claim it, their family must move to a five-story home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for six months, and Julia must attend the exclusive Gardenview Academy. If the Lowells decide not to uproot themselves, they lose it all. But if they do, they gain millions.
Damion’s family is part of the Upper West Side clique. He’s already a senior at Gardenview Academy. He’s already got millions. He’s already living a noisy, chaotic, big city life. But he doesn’t have the house that Julia’s family has—the one he grew up playing in with his favorite great-uncle, Remington, whom the Lowells knew as Lou.
While all these differences will create a natural tension between the two, the unexpected pull between Julia and Damion is delightful. The pair officially meet when she desperately needs a math tutor, and in comes Damion, muddying the situation further. He’s cheeky and flirty and keeps forgetting she’s the enemy. She’s quiet and anxious and slow to extend her trust. And in Greenwood Academy, Painter has crafted a modern-day ton, where the halls and classrooms are peppered with intense, gossipy social minefields, making Julia’s upended life all the more complicated to adjust to.
Painter’s use of a dual perspective in Trust Fall gives the reader great insight into Julia and Damion’s trajectory. The stakes are high in this fun coming-of-age story with great character development and enjoyable pacing. In a perfect world, Julia’s new friends would step in more effectively to dissuade the bullying, and we would’ve gotten a little more background about Julia’s family before they relocated to the Upper West Side, but in the end, the witty banter wins the day.