Today in the rom com showdown, we’ve got YA author Melissa Walker here! Melissa is the author of some of my favorite books, including Unbreak My Heart and Lovestruck Summer (which I love for being one of the only books I’ve ever read that gets roller derby right!). So let’s hear what Melissa’s favorite rom com is.

I’m going to go ahead and say that I identify as a late Gen-Xer and like my love stories with a bit of drama in them, so my pick may not be a rom-com in the strict traditional sense, but I maintain that with Janeane Garofalo’s one-liners and Ben Stiller’s mere presence, it qualifies. Reality Bites was released in the winter of my 16th year, when I had a job at… my local movie theater. I saw the film roughly 47 times. Well, maybe not the entire thing, but I did plan my clean-up shift perfectly so that I could walk into the darkened cinema just as the strains of U2’s “All I Want Is You” filled the speakers and Winona’s Lelaina slowly smoked in bed as Ethan’s Troy smoked in the hospital and couldn’t bring himself to speak when he called her on the landline (She wasn’t sure it was him! That was a Thing!). Watch this and just TRY not to feel something. Then watch any scene with Ben Stiller in it and try not to laugh. See? Rom-Com.

Great pick, Melissa! Reality Bites-era Winona was my fashion and hair idol for ages (I could never get that artfully mussed shaggy pixie down like she could, which is one of my life’s great tragedies). And to celebrate #30DaysofRomComs and my favorite Melissa Walker books, I’m giving away an e-book of Lovestruck Summer, which trust me, you definitely want.

Comment below with which rom com star you’d trade places with and be entered to win! Contest ends October 16, US Only. 

This is the story of Quinn, an indie rock girl who came out to Austin, Texas for a music internship. She also plans to spend long, lazy days in the sun at outdoor concerts–and to meet a hot musician or two. Instead, she’s stuck rooming with her sorority brainwashed cousin, who now willingly goes by the name ‘Party Penny.’ Their personalities clash, big time. But Sebastian, a gorgeous DJ, definitely makes up for it. Sebastian has it all: looks, charm, and great taste in music. So why can’t Quinn keep her mind off Penny’s friend — cute, All-American Russ with the Texas twang? One thing’s certain: Quinn’s in for a summer she’ll never forget!

My Unscripted Life
Out October 11!
Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Indiebound