Lynn Painter Wants New YA Novel “Trust Fall” to Feel Like a Classic ‘90s Rom-Com (Exclusive)

The bestselling author has two film adaptations in the works. Her latest romance book is a nod to the seasonal films we love

NEED TO KNOW

• Lynn Painter’s new romance novel, Trust Fall, is the ultimate autumnal read
• The bestselling author speaks with PEOPLE about being inspired by ‘90s rom-coms, writing romance for young readers and her upcoming film adaptations
• “I just want to write a good love story,” Painter says

Lynn Painter wants her readers to feel the cozy comforts of autumn this year — and her latest novel, Trust Fall, delivers.

Out now from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, the book follows Julia, who has lived her entire life in a small town with her parents and her twin brother, Liam. After her elderly neighbor dies, however, Julia’s life is upturned. It turns out that neighbor was a multi-millionaire, who has left Julia’s family a fortune, forcing them to leave Nebraska for a new life in New York City.

Fitting into prep school is hard enough, but Julia makes a quick enemy of Damion, a tutor who just happens to be the great-nephew of Julia’s former neighbor. Damion is convinced that Julia’s sudden inheritance is a mistake, and their rivalry only gets more complicated when romantic feelings start to arise.

The author of bestselling rom-coms including her 2021 debut Better Than the Movies and the 2025 hit Fake Skating, Painter’s books already feature a certain cinematic flair. But New York always had allure, the Midwest native author explains to PEOPLE. On one FOMO-inspiring winter trip, Painter and her husband spent time walking through the Upper West Side, where she drew inspiration for her next novel among the park and houses along Riverside Drive.

“There is nowhere else like it,” Painter says. “Every time I go there, the second you walk out of whatever subway station you arrive in or come out of the airport, you just take a deep breath of air that maybe doesn’t even smell great, and it’s so wonderful.”

Putting the city to paper was its own journey, but Painter faced some unexpected joys throughout the writing process. She had the most fun writing the character of Damion’s great-uncle Remington; an omnipresent grounding force amidst the antics of the book’s teen protagonists.

“I’ll hear authors speak who are super plot-driven — people who write suspense — and they have to have it all tacked out. And I’m always in awe of their intentionality,” Painter says. “As a romance writer, it’s a lot more characterization … I’m often taken aback by the surprises that just show themselves.”

But it’s Julia and Damion’s frenemy relationship that grounds Trust Fall. Their eventual romance is not unlike those of Painter’s other novels, which have sold more than 4.3 million copies worldwide.

“A lot of adults like to be like, ‘Oh, teens are emotional,’ and make it sound like it’s a chronic issue,” Painter says. “But I feel in those younger years, you lean into your emotions … There’s something really precious about that time when you let yourself feel all of those things. There’s not a lot of time in our life where we open ourselves up that much.”

“In Trust Fall, I really had a great time leaning into the enemies-to-lovers trope,” she continues. “A lot of times, especially in high school, there are people that you absolutely don’t know a thousand percent until they slam into your life. It was really a lot of fun to take these two people [whose] life experience is just worlds apart from each other and to throw them together.”

Painter also wanted to highlight the softer parts of Julia and Damion’s connection with one another. It’s a tribute to her own favorite rom-coms, like When Harry Met Sally and You’ve Got Mail. “The idea of somebody ever getting the comfort that I’ve gotten from watching and rewatching those so many times is mind-blowing,” she says. “That is absolutely always a part of my writing.”

Even though Painter grew up as a voracious reader who loved her literature classes, she didn’t originally seek out a writing career. The idea hit her late in adulthood, when she was married with children. Her sister mentioned seeing an author on TV, and thought Painter should give it a go.

“I don’t know why I listened to her,” Painter says. “But I started writing and I just found my absolute favorite thing to do.” She spent 15 years developing books and trying to find an agent, but was met with rejection. It wasn’t until she read John Green’s 2005 novel Looking for Alaska that a future writing for young people materialized.

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“There’s something about that time in your life that is just magical to write about,” she says. “You call it coming-of-age, but it’s so much bigger than that. It’s joyful to write about. I just don’t ever want to leave that space.”

As such, Painter is expanding her literary universe even further. Better Than the Movies and Fake Skating are both in development as major films, from Netflix and Sony and Olive Bridge Entertainment respectively. The entire process still feels “so surreal,” Painter notes.

“The overwhelming response has been fantastic. Everybody’s super excited,” she says. “They just did such a good job of casting perfectly. But I just always have to keep in mind, I don’t really worry too much about reactions … I just trust the process and trust that eventually everybody will see how brilliant the people who know what they’re doing are.”

Writing for today’s teens is another task that Painter takes seriously. She largely stays away from the online abyss of BookTok but still finds other ways to connect with her readership.

“A lot of times, teachers give you books, you’re not necessarily feeling it. And so reading seems like work,” Painter says. “I’ve met a lot of readers where they’ll just find their thing. But it’s amazing to me when I’ll meet some college student. They’ll be like, ‘Yeah, I started reading your book in junior high’ … It’s so lovely. I can’t believe I get to be a part of it.”

“When I sit down to write a rom-com, I just want to write a romantic comedy. And if they happen to be in high school, great,” Painter adds. “I don’t want to get in my own head about, ‘Is this what teens should be reading?’ I just want to write a good love story.”

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And Trust Fall may just take that one seasonal step further.

“It really did feel like for me, my attempt, my intention at creating a book version of one of those fall rom-coms that we love,” Painter says. “It’s a book about being a fish out of water, about not fitting in, but also fitting in by knowing yourself — knowing what matters.”

Trust Fall is now available, wherever books are sold.

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