Published: 2021
Author: Lynn Painter
Genre: Young Adult Romance / Realistic Fiction
Audience: Grades 9–12 (High School)
Number of Stars: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Goodreads Link: Better than the Movies
Content/Trigger Warnings: Underage drinking, brief mentions of sex, and the historical death of a parent (grief themes).
Review by: Stephanie Kenific
Publisher’s Summary
Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum 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—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennett.
The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. 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. And 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.
Review
This book was an absolutely perfect palate-cleanser after reading some pretty intense books right before it. Better than the Movies is a cute and predictable—but still thoroughly charming—romance set entirely in the weeks leading up to Liz Buxbaum’s high school graduation.
Liz protects and honors the memory of her late mother by constantly rewatching classic romantic comedies, the exact same movies that the two of them used to joyfully watch together. From these cinematic marathons, she has completely absorbed an incredibly idealized, romanticized view of relationships. She sets her sights squarely on her former childhood neighbor, Michael, who has recently returned to town and fits everything she thinks she wants in a perfect dating partner.
However, fate quickly intervenes in the form of Liz’s other next-door neighbor and low-key enemy, Wes Bennett. Wes was one of the neighborhood boys who relentlessly teased her growing up, and their current relationship mostly involves an intense daily competition to grab the single available street parking spot between their houses. Unfortunately for Liz’s plans, Wes happens to be a great friend of Michael’s. She decides to enlist Wes’s help to hype her up to Michael, bribing him by surrendering the coveted parking spot.
In true rom-com fashion, Liz never thinks twice about why Wes would actually agree to help her in this endeavor. She systematically misses nearly every obvious signal that Wes is genuinely interested in her, and that Michael is simply not. Miscommunications abound, but Liz does grow to acknowledge that Wes is no longer just the annoying neighbor boy who once left a decapitated lawn gnome in her Little Free Library. In fact, she realizes that someone—definitely not her, she claims—would be incredibly lucky to date him.
I read this book specifically to see if it would make a strong summer reading choice for students, and it totally is. Romance books are exceptionally popular right now, and this one will carry a very broad appeal. Although the overarching plot is highly predictable for those of us who are already familiar with the genre’s tropes, the author does a fantastic job of building intense romantic tension between Liz and Wes. At least twice during my reading experience, I found myself yelling aloud to my own, very confused partner, “I just need these two to kiss now!” I don’t think it will win major awards for originality or the inclusion of diverse voices, but I do think the book is a fun, light-hearted journey that will appeal to many!
🎒 Classroom & Curricular Connections
- English Language Arts & Media Literacy (Deconstructing Pop-Culture Tropes):
- Activity Idea: “The Trope Tracker.” Introduce students to common literary and cinematic archetypes (e.g., Enemies-to-Lovers, Fake Dating, The Childhood Friend). Have students map out the specific conventions Painter uses in the book. Ask them to write a short analysis paper on why these predictable formulas remain satisfying to audiences over time.
- Creative Writing & Drama (Writing Dialogue with Subtext):
- Activity Idea: “The Parking Spot Subtext.” The reviewer notes that Wes drops numerous hints that Liz completely misses. Have students take a scene of standard, everyday banter between two characters (like arguing over a parking spot or a locker) and rewrite it twice: once where the characters genuinely dislike each other, and once where one character is secretly hiding a massive crush, focusing on how subtext alters the tone of the dialogue.
- Social-Emotional Learning (Grief, Memory, and Coping Mechanisms):
- Activity Idea: “The Comfort Playlist.” Liz uses romantic comedies to keep her mother’s memory alive. Lead an age-appropriate discussion on how people use art, music, or movies to process grief and transition. Have students curate a personal “Comfort Playlist” of 5 books, movies, or songs that help them feel grounded during stressful transitions (like high school graduation), writing a brief justification for each choice.
