Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Reviewed by Linnea H.
Do you love cheesy rom-com movies? Well then, you are in luck because Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter is perfect for you. This fiction book is told through the eyes of Elizabeth Baxbuam, or Liz (that’s what everyone calls her). She is an innocent high school girl who is obsessed with rom-coms and believes that love should only look like how it does in the movies (which, spoiler alert, that is not the reality). When her childhood crush, Micheal, comes back to her hometown for senior year, she makes it her mission to get him as her boyfriend. But there’s a tiny little setback; he’s popular, and, well… she’s not. Micheal still sees her as the quirky “little Liz.” Liz’s neighbor, Wes, is one of Micheal’s best friends, and she realizes that he can be her “in.” Ever since she and Wes were little, they have always had stupid arguments and were ridiculously competitive. Liz thinks that she can put all of that aside just to get to Micheal. Wes and Liz make a compromise that if Wes can get Micheal to notice that Liz is not “little Liz” anymore, Wes can get THE parking spot, which is something they have been arguing about for a long time. As Wes and Liz start getting closer to each other, Liz starts to realize that maybe Micheal is not the one for her, and she starts to catch feelings for Wes. Liz has had this fantasy of what love is supposed to be, due to all of the rom-coms she has seen, and she comes to notice that what she has pictured love to look like may not be the reality.
After reading the book, I thought it was pretty good for a cheesy rom-com story. I loved all of the characters, especially Liz. She was so easy to relate to due to her imperfections. No one in life is perfect, and Liz embraces that. She makes mistakes and does not follow the “norms”, which I think many people can relate to. With every chapter, I began to love her more and more by following her personal journey of self-growth. At the beginning of the book, she starts with certain beliefs about love and how it’s supposed to be, and her beliefs evolve as she learns to appreciate real, imperfect love and how it actually feels. And Wes, he is unpredictable and sweet. Even though Liz and Wes “hated” each other at the beginning of the book, Wes has done so many kind and sweet gestures to Liz. For example, he takes her shopping to get a new wardrobe to help her get the boy of her dreams and gives Liz his spare clothes after she gets thrown up on at a party. Isn’t he such a gentleman? All of his actions are thoughtful and genuine. I think every girl needs a Wes Bennet in their life. There were so many parts in the book that made me laugh out loud or even made me cry, which made it such a good book. But the ending was not my favorite. The slow burn was well-written between the characters and was fast-moving, but once I got to the end, I felt like everything was thrown in my face. I did not get the closure I was expecting, and I was left wanting more to happen between Liz and Wes, which was sad because the rest of the book was very well written. So overall, I would rate the book 4 out of 5 stars.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good corny love story. It was a really easy and fast-paced book to read that takes you on an emotional roller coaster while getting to experience it through Liz’s eyes. It is such a light-hearted book that will positively impact your mood.