Better Than the Movies
A USA TODAY and New York Times bestseller Perfect for fans of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, this “sweet and funny” (Kerry Winfrey, author of Waiting for Tom Hanks) teen rom-com follows a hopelessly romantic teen girl and her cute yet obnoxious neighbor as they scheme to get her noticed by her untouchable crush. Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet. The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in. But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew a
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Romcom-obsessed Liz Buxbaum talks her grumpy childhood neighbor Wes into helping her get the attention of the boy she has been writing about since fifth grade, who has just moved back for senior year.
Yes. Better Than the Movies is YA contemporary romance, suitable for readers 13 and up. There is no explicit content. The book leans into romcom tropes and pop-culture references.
Yes. Lynn Painter wrote a sequel, Nothing Like the Movies, which continues the story of Liz and Wes after the original. The sequel was released in 2024.
Better Than the Movies was written by Lynn Painter, published in 2021 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.
Better Than the Movies is 368 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Better Than the Movies takes most readers 6 to 8 hours to finish.
Better Than the Movies is a standalone novel by Lynn Painter, not part of a series.
Better Than the Movies is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.