Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter is a young adult romance book. The main character, Liz Buxbaum, is in her senior year, and her childhood crush, Michael Young, has just moved back to town. Unfortunately, Young has become friends with Wes Bennett, the next-door neighbor who has been tormenting Buxbaum since they were kids. Bennett and Painter grew out of their pranks and switched to fights over having the same parking spot. 

If Buxbaum wanted Young to be her prom date, she needed Bennett’s help. Buxbaum and Bennett make up and scheme to obtain her dream prom date but in the process, Buxbaum realizes her true feelings for Bennett. This resulted in her rethinking her true feelings, which were for Bennett. 

This book was a relaxing read with many good laughs and swoon-worthy moments. The relationship between Bennett and Buxbaum is a classic, rooted in their long hatred of being forced to get to know each other because of location. The book gives classic rom-com vibes. The school has the stereotypical mean girls, jocks and nerds, which gave the book a sense of nostalgia to readers. Throughout the novel, Buxbaum is in the process of grieving her mother’s passing and rebuilding her relationship with her father and stepmother.

Buxbaum is a hopeless romantic with an optimistic view of the world, with her bubbly personality and feistiness. Buxbaum had dreamed of her happily ever after since she was a child. She and her mother would watch movies such as The Notebook, Bridget Jones’s Diary and 10 Things I Hate About You. Buxbaum dreamed of falling in love just like all the characters from these movies. Bennett is a very outgoing character, makes friends easily and is always seeking to help others. Bennett and Buxbaum’s banter is witty and gives a good laugh. 

The main characters start with romantic feelings for someone else; typically, the authors make it easy to dislike the “someone else”. Younge was an enjoyable character and a realistic person. Painter took all the tropes that people love about rom-coms and added a modern setting and current problems that teenagers face.

Typically, in books, female main characters get off track from their goal at the beginning of the story quite easily. Buxbaum denied her feelings for Bennett at first because she always thought boys like Young were the ‘perfect’ boyfriends. Buxbaum developed her idea of the ‘perfect’ boyfriend through the rom-coms she watched with her mom. Overall, this book was one I look back on quite often and have recommended to many friends who have different tastes in reading, but all enjoy it. This is a wonderful read for those who are trying to get into reading or simply want a cute romance to enjoy.