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Better Than the Movies #1

Better Than the Movies

Lynn Painter

4.65

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 about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.

YAMiddle GradeRomanceContemporary RomanceRomantic Comedy
Pages
356
First published
May 4, 2021
Language
English
Edition
Ebook

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Shelved by 12 Litcadians

Reviews

  • Finished November 27, 2023

  • Anonymous

    Finished June 14, 2023

    I have absolutely no words for this book. When I started it, the extremely long chapters overwhelmed me, and I really didn’t want to read it. But, here I am, 12 hours later, writing a review. I loved this book; specifically Wes Bennett. When he told Liz he’d loved her since the second grade, I full-on BAWLED my little eyes out. There were times Liz annoyed me, a lot, but in the end, I related to her more than anything. Overall, I loved everything about this book, and I rate it 5/5 stars.

  • Started June 13, 2023 · Finished June 14, 2023

  • Finished October 1, 2023

  • Finished December 11, 2024

  • Finished January 9, 2025

  • Finished October 27, 2023

    3.5 stars because of Wes and Helena. -1.5 stars all because of Liz who is one of my least favorite FMCs of all time.

  • Finished September 22, 2024

  • Finished December 29, 2022

  • Finished August 15, 2022