Better Than the Movies By Lynn Painter

laura

“Enemies-to-lovers—it’s our trope, Buxbaum."

4.9/5 :)

~the actual soundtrack of Wessy and Libby~

A rom-com with rom-com references, fake dating and enemies to lovers, all while the MCs are neighbors and childhood ~~friends~~ frienamies??! This was like a dream come true.

A certain someone didn’t realize why he was calling her Buxbaum until like halfway through the book… and then they realized that’s her last name… ~~totally not me~~

~cons that I remember~

Unfortunately I think this book just spoiled the entire plot of The Great Gatsby…

Also, I wish the characters could stop thinking "what the hell", please. That phrase can get annoying after a while. Maybe change it up each time or just say something like "why not".

Sometimes I don't understand how Liz thinks because I can't connect with her. But I guess when the supposed 'love of your life' is standing in front of you, it's hard to always act rationally. She might seem a bit 'not like the other girls', but that's part of who she is and I like her for it. She could be a little slow and oblivious sometimes (especially when it comes to her love life…)

~pros that I can think of right now~

I know it'll never happen to me, but the story actually sounds realistic. Some girl who's been unlucky all her life turns out to be not so unlucky after all… *continues to daydream*

When they were stargazing and eating s’mores in his backyard, OMG IT WAS SO CUTE!

I love the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The rom-com references also fit in very nicely, ~~although i never seen/read any of them.~~

Helena is my favorite character in here. She's such a cool and chill person, yet she was treated so unfairly for something she can't even change. She seems more like a good friend than a mom. I wish I have a friend like her…

I was really shipping Wessy and Libby so the minor flaws doesn't really affect me. It shows how much I liked this story :)

Recommend to everyone!! Especially fans of
Tweet Cute! (not to be that person, but this reminded me of it)

Overall, an amazing rom-com that made me cry and laugh and smile. A cute book with a cute cover. This book is now my favorite rom-com ever. :)

03/12/21

are rom-coms supposed to make you cry? or am i just too emotional while reading…?
i’m genuinely curious 👀

━━━━━━━━━━━༻༻❁༺༺━━━━━━━━━━━

if only my life were better than the movies...

Haley pham

Books don’t get better than this 😭

jessica

as far as YA contemporary books go, this pretty much ticks all the boxes.

- family lessons and growth. check.
- clashing with best friends and learning to forgive. check.
- making college plans. check.
- prom. check.
- navigating crushes and first loves. check.

very reliable, very safe. so if you want something that delivers what it promises, this is it. fans of morgan matson and kasie west, rejoice.

i just, however, wanted more. i mean, this is honestly nothing i havent read before. again, a cute and dependable story, but nothing new.

↠ 3.5 stars

Jonathan

i give them three months into college max before they break up

crystal

“she’s. isn’t. you.” SCREAMING CRYING FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS!!! THIS IS ONE OF THE CUTEST BOOKS IVE EVER READ AND IM CRYING THAT ITS OVER GOODBYE (first time reading review)

(second time reading review)

“you look best when you’re you” SCREAMING CRYING FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS X2 i will never get over the cuteness and wholesomenesses that is liz and wes😭🤍

Melanie (MelReads)

i actually cried? what the hell😭

aleksandra

“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."

I love this book soo muchh! Even though the plot was predictable, the story gave me so much happiness that I smiled throughout the whole book. Liz and Wes were so cute and funny, I can only wish to have something like they have one day. Couldn't put this book down, amazing read.

Larissa Cambusano

GOODBYE THIS HAD NO BUSINESS BEING THIS CUTE. it combined all my favorite things: music, playlists, romcoms & romance novels. it had me smiling the entire mf time. wes was an angel and liz was all of us in book character form. i’m still guiddy over it.

“enemies to lovers, it’s our trope buxbaum” <3

Ali Goodwin

Ahhh SO GOOD! I'm obsessed. The characters, the plot, the romcom references, the romance. Every aspect was so good and so well written. Once I hit the middle I stayed up super late and read the whole second half of the book in one sitting. What I would give to read this book for the first time again.

annie

➳ 5 stars

now i need a neighbor who annoys the hell out of me but has been secretly in love with me since our childhood. is it too much to ask?

Layla

It was cute but the writing, humor, dialogue, and pop culture references in this book literally took 5 years off of my life.

•❅Avery (Taylor's version)❅• Kishimoto-Brekker-Greenbriar-Whitethorn-Havilliard

Reread

I love this book sm and I think it got me out of a reading/mental slump and I'm so grateful. This was the first book I've ever annotated and it was pretty great, I just need more and better supplies.

(edit: it didn't get me out of my slump, i'm still sick of everything so that's fun. but i still love the book <3)

I will forever be jealous of Wes and Liz's love as I curl up into a ball and cry myself to sleep while listening to The Soundtrack of Wes and Liz

<><><><><><><><><><><>
“Enemies-to-lovers—it’s our trope, Buxbaum.”

AND ENEMIES TO LOVERS IS MY FAVORITE TROPE, WHAT A PERFECT MATCH.

This is one of my comfort reads now, it was so freaking adorable and fluffy 🥰 I now want to go and rewatch rom-coms all day

Also, I made it my mission to finish this book in July, and I DID. I feel very accomplished now.

This book was basically everything I wanted: A book about rom-coms (there were quotes from rom-coms at the beginning of each chapter !!), an ENEMIES TO LOVERS, FAKE DATING, sooo much denial, and drama, drama, DRAMA.

Liz is relatable in the sense that she's just trying to live life and garner the courage to ask out her life long crush and also she LOVES listening to music, something I relate to on a spiritual level. Also, you bet that I'm gonna be making a playlist of the Wes and Liz playlist shown in the back of the book. And she also loves rom-coms and SO DO I.

“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.”

Now. Wes. I loved him so much, and he had me screeching MULTIPLE different times. He's the bad boy next door but he's also so sweet and kind, and not really a bad boy at all, it's just that he's portrayed that way because Liz despised him. I love him so much and I want him for myself.

I also really loved the family connections in this. Liz had a slightly rocky relationship with her step-mom Helena, but I love that they were able to connect, and talk, and really get the chance to learn more about each other.

The friendships in this were also GOLD. Joss seems like a great friend, and I can understand her frustrations when Liz was being a neglectful and sucky friend. Wes's friends were also really nice and sweet to Liz.

Now, it was pretty chill through the book, but near the end, the drama just came pouring in and then I was reminded: Rom-coms are filled to the brim with drama. That's why I love them, besides the cute romances and cliche tropes that I just so happen to love.

Also, Wes's 'big hands' were mentioned a lot. I mean, I don't mind but it was a little repetitive, if we're gonna get nit-picky.

Liz's internal denial of her feelings was hilarious, and it just had me shouting at the book, telling her to just kiss him already!

Also, I screamed at that moment in Wes's car.

This book was also funny too: a lot of the lines made me laugh, and though it could be cheesy, cringey, and cliche, isn't that what you want out of a rom-com?

I loved Wes from the beginning, and while Michael seemed like a great guy, Wes was just better.

I will definitely be rereading this when I am either sad or want something cute, or just want to reread this.

5 stars

“She’s not you.”

“What?”

“She. Isn’t. You.”

😭😭 This scene killed me and brought me back to life at the same time.

<><><><><><><><><><>
I'm going to listen to the Wes and Liz playlist in the back of the book on repeat and no one can stop me

Rt

Phuong ✯

– 4.5 stars

it feels illegal to simp for a 18 yrs old and i’m pretty sure the police is 5 seconds away from knocking on my door, but Wes Bennett is perfect and this new obsession with Wes & Liz hit me came out of nowhere who allowed them to be so cute 😭🤚

nahh but why am i such a whore for the heroine pining for another man while the Hero helps getting her crush’s attention while secretly pining for her for years … the teenage angst in this one it’s so good 😩🤌

"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.

lizwes officially own the childhood-frenemies-to-lovers trope now and might be my new favorite young adult contemporary romance, cuz it was just the cutest! ♡

human

(2.5/5)

To say that I disliked this book would be somewhat of an understatement.

My first problem with this book was that Liz, the main character, was absolutely infuriating. The writing read like it was a not-like-other-grills YA contemporary romance from 2010, which, honestly, except for the year, is exactly what this book is.

Ever since her mother died when she was young, Liz has been obsessed with rom-coms and finding her movie-worthy happily-ever-after. Enter Michael, the neighborhood boy she was (and still is??) in love with when she was literally in kindergarten, and Wes, the infuriating boy-next-door. One of them is going to help her get the other. You know where I'm going with this.

Honestly speaking, it was painful to see Liz adamantly going after Michael even after a) it seemed like fAtE wAs TrYiNg To KeEp ThEm ApArt, and b) his most appealing trait was his SoUtHeRn DrAwL. Like, umm, no thank you? And then there's the fact that Liz hadn't actually seen him or talked to him since elementary school, but was still in love with him. ~~Seriously. Liz is better at romanticizing her life than me when I have six assignments to finish for school and three hours to do them all.~~

It was even more painful to see how she was slowly isolating herself from everyone around her, except Wes, and how somehow, in some way, most of her problems stemmed from the fact that she never really got any closure from her mother's death. That part might have actually been tragic, but it wasn't addressed very well until the end, and everything else was annoying.

Specifically, all of her gushing over Michael was just not it. I was disgusted and cringing every five minutes, to the point where I had to pause the audiobook and do history homework to attempt to burn the scenes from my mind multiple times. It was not fun, to say the least.

That being said, the audiobook was actually quite good. I think I would have jumped out a window if I was actually reading this book in text format, but somehow, the audiobooks narrator's ability was enough to keep me from taking such drastic methods of escape. The narrator was magically able to keep me at least somewhat interested in the happenings of the book, and their voice is one of the two saving graces of my reading experience.

The only character I could really tolerate was Wes. Poor, poor Wes. I'm going to say it right now: Wes did not deserve everything that Liz made him go through. The dude has been simping after her since they were children, and agrees to help her get another dude just because he likes spending time with her?? Get this man a medal. ~~And maybe a back brace for carrying the entire book on his shoulders.~~

I won't deny that Wes and Liz's relationship was cute, but at the same time, while it was developed a lot throughout the course of the book, I never felt that we were given the outcome of that development. It was always very two steps forward, three steps back with them.

There were a lot of tropes both used and spoken about in this book, and I felt that they were alright, but nothing too special. The plot in general was actually quite nice, the only thing that really ruined this book for me was Liz's character herself, and her inability to communicate with literally anyone in her life.

Overall, I felt that this book had a lot of potential to actually be a cute and interesting, light-hearted story. Unfortunately for us, the main character makes you want to tear your hair out and then set it on fire, even if her love-interest is the human equivalent of cotton candy. I'll be honest and say that I was expecting more, especially from the MC, but if you're able to ignore that sort of stuff, I'd definitely recommend this as a sweet, quick romance if you're looking for one.

emma

i'm having an existential crisis.

this is not quite as serious as it might sound, because my general and in fact preferred state of being is "in the depths of some sort of active breakdown," but still. i have a flair for the dramatic so i encourage you to take this seriously if at all possible.

the existential crisis is this:

do i like ya contemporaries???

for years, the answer was no. a quick synopsis of my reading journey for those of you who are mercifully new here: i got back into it around 2015 thanks to ya contemporaries, i got into reviewing thanks to hating everything i was reading, within the last half-decade or so i put two and two together and stopped reading them.

but now, here we are.

i liked a
ya contemporary by this author after being sent it by the publisher, thought surely it was a fluke, picked this one up, and ALSO LIKED IT?!

it was cute? and fun? and readable? i enjoyed it top to bottom and was a little bummed when i very quickly finished it?

what is happening to me.

bottom line: i'm in my grinch character arc.

Nicole

4,5/5
Jakie to było kochane!

aly ☆彡 (slowly catching up)

"A girl will never forget the first boy she likes"
"But she'll also never forget the first boy she hates"

Would you look at that?
When I first saw the cover reveal. I thought this was very cute and I know I need to read the book! Admittedly, I was expecting a cute fluffy romance and some of the illustrations on the book cover to be depicted in the book. Unfortunately, I was too hopeful as I get nothing alike but unwarranted angst and emotional mess.

Better Than the Movies is about a hopeless romantic Liz, who tries to ensure a happily-ever-after moment with her longtime crush, but instead finds herself captivated to the lad next door.

Elizabeth or Liz Buxbaum is quite an interesting character — a perpetual daydreamer who loves rom-com but deep down, was grieving over her mother's death. Reading this during Mother's Day almost felt coincidental because this book really showed how Liz love and cherish her memories with her late mothers.

However, she started to irk me even at the beginning of the book with the immature and delusional act, which I believe was rooted from her grievance towards her dead mother. Liz's mixed feelings were both genuine and heartfelt but her major communications issue can be very aggravating. I wouldn't inculpate this on Liz alone since I believe it's just how teenagers are and at some point, we have all certainly behaved like that. It is understandable and relatable. But this is where outlining the history of Liz and Joss's relationship essential to help readers be more understanding. The story lacks emotional weight since the reader does not get to know Joss very well.

Meanwhile Wes despite the bickering he always had with Liz, is actually a nice character who, unsurprisingly: is misunderstood. For the time Liz asked him to help her with Michael, he had been nothing but sweet and understanding. However, in all fairness, I find his character quite flat and too nice for my liking. Because, in no way, you're liking that girl for years but showed no animosity when you see her getting close to her goals of getting her long time crush in asking her out. Like, he really HELPED her, doing the angel's works. Where's the tiger in you Wes?

Also the tiger in Wes:

Best to say, I'm not a fan of this work or just maybe, I have come around to outgrow YAs. I really thought when they finally kissed, I would get my cheesy romance from Wes and Liz. So, imagine how flabbergasted I am when it was nothing as such.

Then, there were parts in the book that I believe should be paid more attention to. I got quite baffled when Liz went to Wes' house to ask for help (about Michael). In the middle of the rain might I add but took no time to bring an umbrella with her and let herself getting drenched while negotiating with him outside the house? You literally lived next to each other. Just grab the umbrella first! (｀△´＋）

Nonetheless, the good thing I like about this book is:
⤷ The message of grieving teen’s devotion to romance films itself. It was soul stirring.
⤷ The quotes from every rom-com movie at the beginning of every chapter. That was cute and fitting.
⤷ Liz and her love for retro dresses. I relate to that and had no judgment on her fashion sense despite the contrary belief by other characters in the book.
⤷ Wes' consistency in ruffling Liz' hair. They both can be cute when they are not stupid.
⤷ The playlist at the end that goes with the story of the characters.

Other than that, I have to say, my expectation was high but went down the drain. It was not bad but definitely not good either. And of course, the ending comes when both the MCs get together which I find them below the belt. Where are all the things that they should do like in the illustration? I want what's in the cover! This is such a clickbait [utter disappointment].

[3/5]

Corina

BETTER THAN THE MOVIES is a rom-com about rom-coms and it's really well done.
A must read contemporary YA novel for anyone who loves this genre, loves enemies to lovers, and swoon heroes.

The story is about a girl needing the help from her bad boy neighbour to get noticed by a childhood crush. Of course this plot is nothing new and has been done before. But I couldn’t have cared less about that, because it was done in such an adorable and fun way. The novel was light hearted, entertaining, and sure a bit predictable too, but that didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment.

I LOVED the couple. Really loved them. I loved their enemies to lovers neighbour vibe. And I loved their banter, especially their banter. They had such a great connection. Both just knew how to push the other’s buttons. And Wes was one of the swooniest YA heroes I had the luck to come across.

The entire novel was delightful. From the rom-com quotes at the beginning of each chapter, to the many rom-com references. This is such a great book for any rom-com fan. Also the writing was just so on point. It was fun, flirty, and smart. The novel was an easy read and enjoyable from beginning to end. I had fun with it. From the cast to the plot it’s been one great read. It’s a book I can easily recommend, especially if YA contemporary is your kind of jam.

___________________________________
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Gamar ❤ [on stupid hiatus]

Reread 01/09/2022 I came back wanting more wessy and liz bcz i am OBSESSED but got too much Michael and not enough Wes . (still squealing tho)

Shoot me with a gun , push me off a cliff , tear open my chest because you will find nothing there . This got my heart swelling until it EXPLODED . Be warned: this isn't a review its my incoherent ramblings and thoughts because this book was too ADORABLEEE with or without warnings . my expectations were through the roof

"Enemies to lovers - its our trope buxbaum"
"You poor deranged little love lover"

An amusing, feel good story with great characters . They each had personality and stories to them , yes some bits were cheesy/cliché but no one cares . lizzie was a vintage , flowery dresses kinda girl whos a hopeless romantic , she has flaws and strengths and WES ....cutie extraordinaire . please hand him over . They had great chemistry with lots of banter , sarcasm and such sweet scenes . I couldn't help but wonder why the P&P bits were thrown in , I didn't feel like we needed them at all . to sum it up *endless squealing*

"The universe likes Wes better"
don't we all

ps: in the beginning I could not help but hear Wes's name being said by Nicole Byer from nailed it every time he was mentioned

callie ✧*･ﾟ*

MY EXPECTATIONS ARE WAY TOO HIGH NOW. I WANT A WES BENNETT.

paige

"You look best when you're you."

°•*⁀➷

If you saw me slander this book when I first started it, no you didn't. I was naive. I had no idea I was about to read the most entertaining young adult romantic comedy ever written. Entertaining, yet also incredibly moving and layered.

This was not at all what I expected it to be, and I think that's what made me fall so entirely in love with it. The surprising ones always get you with one line. Mine was the quote above.

Before I get to that, though, I will never be able to say enough how important it is to write grief in a way that is so raw. I can no longer say that authors don't do it justice because I keep finding books like this one... books that understand. Books that feel like a hug rather than a tug. To see Liz recognize, handle and cherish her loss in these pages was a gift. I will forever be jealous of teenagers that read this book and know they have Liz to lean on while wishing they never had to feel grief at such a young age.

Adding to that, I can't even begin to explain how special it was to hear my own thoughts reflected back at me. I've never lost a parent, but I did lose two people just as special, my Mimi and Papa. There's nothing like knowing you're going to keep making memories that person isn't a part of. And that's truly what tipped me over the edge in this book.

I wasn't just in love, I was experiencing it as well. Every thought that passed through Liz's brain was one I experienced near the end of my own Senior year of high school. I remember so clearly what it was like to miss someone so much you sometimes got lost in a moment.

The difference was that I had the most wonderful friends, the most wonderful love, and the most epic Senior year a person could dream of. I had people who knew who I was, just as Wes knew Liz, and loved me because of it.

Did I have moments where I felt like I didn't belong? Always. It's human nature to feel out of place. But I always had my own Wes ready to tell me that I was my best when I was me.

Which brings me to the true joy of this book. Wes Bennett. Even when I didn't think I loved this, I loved him.

"I could say these unfiltered things to him because he didn’t care. Wes Bennett knew what a mess I was underneath it all, and there was a little bit of joy in knowing he saw the real me. Freedom."

The way he knows she's a weirdo and loves her for it will always reflect my high school years. The way she feels free and completely herself around him is how we should all feel every day. This book began as a cheesy rom com and ended as a true lesson in life.

Don't accept less than what you deserve. Don't let one moment of life pass by without GOING BIG. Don't let fear and opinions and farfetched dreams hold you back, GO BIGGER. If movies have taught us anything over the years, it's that even our wildest imaginings can be true in one way or another if we will them to life.

Stop playing games with your future. Be true to yourself. Never accept less than Wes Bennett. Feel everything.

Be you.

- Paige

abi ♡

Maybe straight people aren’t so bad.

spotify playlist <3

h

3.5 stars, wes “she’s not you” bennett is the STANDARD.

Charmel

First of all, i need a wes bennet in my life. he's a gentleman, he's caring, he's funny, and he knows his girl.

Second of all, the soundtrack of wes and liz is amaaziing!

Third of all, i didn't expect to be so lovey-dovey about this but now im swoooning. yes, it's unoriginal and there are a lot of books like this, but who cares?

Fourth of all, i cannot believe i finished this in a night. i've been in a slump for months and yaayy i think im finally and officially getting out!

Lastly, i felt a weee frustrated at the ending, like there was a missing piece to it. but no worries, im still melting from this kanxksksjjs <333

“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.”

rylee!!

“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.” LITERALLY KILL ME NOW

❦ jazmin

“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.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

⇢Better Than The Movies in under 25 words

- SO ADORABLE
- MC who loves romance movies (aka lots of irony because she’s a romance expert in a romance book…)
- Fake dating & Childhood rivals

⇢General Thoughts

STOP THIS BOOK WAS LITERALLY THE CUTEST THING EVER AND NOW I’M QUESTIONING MY WHOLE EXISTENCE. WHY DO I NOT READ MORE YA ROMANCES WHEN I KNOW I ALWAYS END UP LOVING THEM AHHHH

Okay, I can form coherent thoughts now. This book was so good. It blended familial conflicts and loss and friendship and romance in a way that was just perfect, and the fact that the main character was so relatable (but also so cool in a way that I could never hope to be) was just the icing on top.

⇢The Romance

ONCE AGAIN, childhood rivals to friends to lovers SUPREMACY!!! I know the characters kind of say that their romance was an enemies-to-lovers one but that’s not how I interpreted it at all, so do with that what you will.

This couple caused me so much stress, but god, was it worth it. Libby and Wes were so great together I only wish that they go together earlier so we could have more of their dynamic. Just… literally everything about them: their banter, their conversations was amazing.

“And I think I regret all of it. I miss your clothes and curly hair. You look best when you’re you.”

Let me tell you, this quote had me SCREAMING. Also, it was the reason I picked up this book in the first place LOL.

⇢Romance Movie Aspect

So a large part of the book was the MC’s relationship with her mother who passed away, and how they had watched romance movies together, and I have to say… I liked it? As much as I love romance books I’ve never enjoyed romance movies nearly as much, and this made me kind of regret that. Need to go watch the movies referenced that I haven’t seen asap!

*4.5

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

MY LINKTREE ❦

BOOKISH PRODUCTS: USE MY CODE JAZ10 ❦

BOOKMARKS, BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK ETC: USE MY CODE JAZ10 ❦

Roz

4.5 ⭐️

edit: it's been TWO WEEKS since I listened to this book and I can't stop thinking about it. I already want to relisten/ reread this. I want to LIVE in this book.

ALSO, THIS WOULD GO HARD AS AN ADAPTATION!! imagine it as a show and every episode starts with a quote, like the chapters, but they show the actual scenes from the movies they're from.
imagine the episode plays and you hear Julia stiles saying "But mostly I hate the way I dont hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all." UGH CHILLS. INCREDIBLE. i need that in my life asap!!

____

I listened to the audiobook and it was amazing! All the movie references!!! This book makes me want to binge all the movies mentioned. also, THEIR PLAYLIST!🥺

Jacob Proffitt

I'm out really early on this one. A couple chapters in and I just can't. Liz is naïve to the point of idiocy. She's a senior in high school, so seventeen/eighteen, but she comes across as years younger. Like, she's expecting anything in real life to be like in the romcoms she loves? Really? And I don't mean simply that she's romantic or sees things too rosy because that'd be actually possible. I mean that she literally thinks she just had a meet cute and insists on referring to it as such, using it to fantasize that the relationship is inevitable—they had the meet cute so obviously, the romance is a go!

But her background doesn't really gel, either. She's in a feud with Wes over a parking space and he's using things too heavy for her to lift to hold his space. Like an engine block. And big-truck tires. Things every teen boy has access to, obviously, so no need to explain how he has these things lying around. And while its just barely possible that a mother (Liz's) would watch endless romcoms with her prepubescent daughter (no mention of dad. Anywhere. In these first chapters, I can't even tell if she has a resident dad), I can't quite see the whole mean-girl scenario as anything but authorial air-dreaming.

I don't remember her name, so let's call her Malificent. So Liz hates Mal because they had assigned seating in the lunch cafeteria (really?) in fifth grade and Mal's mom always sent home-baked treats and a note of love and support that she signed with, gasp, hearts and stuff! And Mal read those notes out loud to the other kids and that made Liz sad because her mom had just died. And I'm all, um, can I get a fact check here, please? I mean, a) a mom that does this every single day has too much time on her hands and b) an eleven year-old who reads this to her classmates every day isn't so much an eleven year-old as she is an aberration we should study for purposes of science. Have you met eleven year-olds? Or observed them with their peer groups? Oh, and what a completely insensitive jerk Mal is for sharing her loving home life with her friends. I mean, hate that girl! Such a jerk! We should definitely hate her for the next seven years even though every other indication is that she is nice to others and has lots of friends. Liz isn't even thinking about bad things Mal has done to her. She's all "Mal sometimes looks at me funny".

Also, Wes is a jerk.

So anyway, I found Liz uninteresting and that gave me lots of time to pick holes in everything else. And seriously, where is her dad? Sigh. This is one star though I'll admit this is lots of little nits I'm picking. I like my YA to be at least a little bit possible, but I can see that if you engage with Liz it'd be totally different. I just didn't and that made everything else stand out in bad ways.

Rose

I am absolutely obsessed with this book. One of my favorite Lynn Painter books.

heather

THIS WAS SO CUTE IM ACTUALLY CRYING

Title	:	Better Than the Movies
Author	:	Lynn Painter
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1534467629
ISBN-10	:	9781534467620
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Hardcover
Number of Pages	:	356
Publication	:	First published May 4, 2021

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

Better Than the Movies Reviews

Better Than the Movies Reviews

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