Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter on July 26, 2022
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / General, Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings, Young Adult Fiction / Social Themes / Friendship
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
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“Sometimes we get so tied up in our idea of what we think we want that we miss out on the amazingness of what we could actually have.”
“I fell in love with teasing you in the second grade, when I first discovered that I could turn your cheeks pink with just a word. Then I fell in love with you.”
This novel follows Liz Buxbaum, a perpetual daydreamer who gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof, forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar. Maybe snag him as a prom date or even befriend Wes Bennet, the annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor who has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. As they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love, and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like.
I ended up buying this book because it was recommended by one the Instagram book followers. I am usually not a fan of young adult novels because they are a little to cheesy for my taste, but I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. I found myself smiling the entire time and never once being annoyed about it becoming to cheesy or unrealistic. I liked how she talked about romantic comedies and how she tried to force movie moments on her life, while the same time being completely devastated when it wouldn’t work out in that way. Makes me think back to when I was in high school and would want the same thing. This book hit me right in the feelers and I found myself becoming quite nostalgic.
I gave this book a four-star rating for how wonderfully it was written and for how much I enjoyed it. It was a face paced book that was easy to read and I kept wanting more. I was disappointed with the prom chapter but I guess that is sometimes how reality would have went. Not everything it as good as the movies… Sometimes, it can be better 🙂