Lynn Painter lives in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband and pack of wild children. She's a biweekly contributor to the Omaha World-Herald's parenting section, even though she is the polar opposite of a Pinterest mom. When she isn't chasing kids, she can be found reading, writing, and shotgunning cans of Rockstar. You can find her online at LynnPainter.com.
Liz Buxbaum has always known that Wes Bennett was not boyfriend material. You would think that her next-door neighbor would be a prime candidate for her romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only proven himself to be a pain in the butt, ever since they were little. Wes was the kid who put a frog in her Barbie Dreamhouse, the monster who hid a lawn gnome's severed head in her little homemade neighborhood book exchange. Flash forward ten years from the Great Gnome Decapitation. It's Liz's senior year, a time meant to be rife with milestones perfect for any big screen, and she needs Wes's help. See, Liz's forever crush, Michael, has just moved back to town, and—horribly, annoyingly—he's hitting it off with Wes. Meaning that if Liz wants Michael to finally notice her, and hopefully be her prom date, she needs Wes. he's her in. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz her magical prom moment, she's shocked to discover that she actually 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 perception of what Happily Ever After should really look like.
There's so much good in Better Than the Movies to dive into. The first thing that I really love is the narrative of Liz's grief about her mother. It's Liz's senior year, and a lot of the usual milestones she dreads because of the lack of her own maternal figure. She avoids dress shopping, avoids her stepmom, and avoids her own feelings about the matter. Instead, she copes by talking to her mom at the graveyard every day, and tries to live her life in a way that she thinks would make her mom happy. Over the course of the novel, as Liz faces some truly horrific hijinks related to her own happily ever after, she comes to terms with who she is, and where her mom fits into the other areas in her life. I love that we get to see this character growth for Liz, as she lets in new experiences without forgetting her mother, and honoring her mother's memory the whole way through. The epilogue does great work to tie that all together, and I really love that we have this storyline all the way through, and that the novel isn't just focused on high school love and high school hijinks.
But of course, high school love and hijinks abound in Better Than the Movies. Liz, a rom-com aficionado, imagines herself in her own romantic comedy as she crafts the perfect storyline to her life. As prom season nears, Liz knows exactly what she needs to do: create the perfect soundtrack, catch the perfect date, all in order to have the perfect night. Naturally, the road to getting there is less-than-perfect, as she has to enlist her horrible neighbor to help her, and he ends up taking up more mind-space than he should. I love all the homages to rom-coms in the book. I mean, the cover is just gorgeous, first of all. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter are so much fun, and I love how sometimes they hint at what the chapter is going to be about. Liz also takes her cues from some of the best rom-coms out there, even when it's not explicitly identified in the text. I am also a fellow rom-com aficionado, so I felt like I caught even the most subtle references and plot devices, which made this book all the more appealing and enjoyable to me.
Liz eventually ends up with her Mr. Right, even though the road to getting there is long. The book itself goes by super quick—I basically read it in two sittings. The prose is super easy, the dialogue is strong and feels real, and the chapter breaks occur at just the right moments that keep you wanting to read. This book is definitely geared towards a younger audience, with all the slang that is prevalent in said dialogue, but I have no doubt that readers of any age will have fun with and relate to the book. While I wish that the ending had been longer, the grand gesture more grand (instead of interrupted!), I truly believe this book is a one-of-a-kind, and I'm so glad that I was gifted a copy to enjoy!
Lynn Painter certainly better keep writing, because these books are perfect for the young adults (and adults!) of today. You can find her online at LynnPainter.com.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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