There’s a certain kind of book you don’t just read—you slip into it like an old, familiar playlist. The kind where every note feels predictable… until suddenly, it isn’t. That’s exactly what happened to me with Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. I went in expecting a light, feel-good teen rom-com. Something easy. Something comforting. And yes, it is all of that—but it’s also quietly more observant than it lets on. At the heart of the story is Liz Buxbaum, a girl who
