By Valentina Ceriello
When you go on social media apps such as TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, there is a lot of content about books. More specifically, influencers on these platforms recommend many, many books of all genres. One popular book that has been recommended countless times on the internet is Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter, one of my personal favorites. It is a romantic story containing signature romance novel tropes, references to romcoms, music and everything in between.
Synopsis (No spoilers)
Better Than the Movies tells the story of a seventeen-year-old high school senior in Omaha, Nebraska, named Liz Buxbaum. She has been obsessed with romcoms ever since she was a young girl and she always watched them with her late mother. Liz hopes to experience the perfect romcom love story and swears by the legendary rule which is to never fall in love with the bad boy; always choose the good guy instead. However, Liz is in a bit of a pickle. Liz has indulged in a feud with her next-door neighbor, Wes Bennett, ever since they were kids. While recently, her childhood crush, Michael Young, moved back to town from Texas, and she hopes to ask him out to her senior prom. To do so, she needs to ask the same Wes Bennett she has been feuding with for help. They start to pretend to date, and Liz begins to develop feelings for Wes. Will she realize her feelings for Wes before prom, or will it be too late to confess?
My Opinion
I think this book is great! I fell in love with it from the moment I read it at twelve years old. The things I like the most about this book are the characters and the many music references. Let’s talk about the characters. The main character, Liz, is like many teenage girls; quirky, a little delusional, and a person who loves music so much, they associate songs with special moments. While reading this book, I found myself relating to Liz. However, if I were to pick a favorite character from this book, I would choose Wes. When we first meet him, he is painted to be a jerk and a prankster, but over the course of 384 pages, we get to know Wes as a nice person that really cares about Liz.
As a fan of all kinds of music, seeing that Liz was a fan of music was really great. There is a playlist with every song mentioned in the back of the book. If you’re a Swiftie, there are tons of references to Taylor Swift and her lyrics in the book.
As a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, I really liked how the romance played out. Wes acts kindly towards Liz, which can be seen when he’s giving her his clothes when she needed spare, making an area where the two make smores together and look at the stars, and offering to buy her stepmom fast food when he and Liz go out to eat before going to a friend’s house. The characters, romance, and many references to music make this book enjoyable to me.
What Others Are Saying
The Contented Reader says the romance in this book is “incredibly sweet.” She also says, “There’s also heartwarming and tender moments in this book…Lynn does such a great job at integrating this grief into a romantic comedy and bringing depth to her characters.” According to Read Bake Create, the book lives up to the rom-com formula. So, if you love rom-coms, this book is for you. At the end of her review, the reviewer remarks, “Better Than the Movies is the book you’ll read time and again, much like you watch the same rom-com time and again. It’s all about the comfort it offers!” A school newspaper, The Central Times, says the relationships “touched on the loss of a close one, the struggles of step-parents, romantic relationships, and the bumpy road of a friendship in high school.”, which many readers can relate to. The Rated Reads website says the book is “truly entertaining” and “The more the book went on, the more I enjoyed it.”, perfectly describing how I feel about this book. All About Romance says that their favorite part was when Liz and Wes ate smores over a campfire in his backyard, which he calls “The Secret Area”. Plugged In says, “Better Than the Movies is (a) rom-com-like story that’s cute and fun.” Last but not least, Pretty Little Memoirs says the story, “felt at ease every time I picked up the book” and the characters are “so unflinchingly real that they felt like my friends.”
Conclusion
You should read this book. The characters are relatable and similar to teenagers today and it’s just a sweet story. There are also lots of references to romantic comedy movies and tropes, so that fans of the genre feel like they are watching a rom com while reading this book and can identify the tropes referenced in the book. The romance is very cute, including many sweet scenes between the two main characters and much more. If you enjoy playlists in books, then you’re in luck! The playlist is located at the very back of the book with music that so many enjoy, like Taylor Swift and Adele. So, if you have the chance, buy or borrow this book today!