Better Than the Movies

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. What books, movies, or activities help you feel connected to loved ones in your life?

2. Consider the novel’s depiction of grief and the way it affects one’s everyday life. Have you ever noticed grief or other strong emotions influencing your choices in unexpected ways?

3. Liz struggles with accepting Helena in her mother’s place. Reflect on a time when you’ve had to adapt to an uncomfortable change in your family or close relationships.

4. When have you realized you were idealizing someone instead of seeing them for who they truly are?

5. Music plays an important role in the novel. What songs would appear on the soundtrack of your most significant life moments?

6. Wes encourages Liz to change her appearance to appeal to Michael but later admits he prefers her authentic self. Have you ever changed yourself to impress someone else? What did you learn from that experience?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Discuss how classic romantic comedies from the 1980s and 1990s shaped contemporary expectations of love and relationships. Have you noticed shifts in the tropes and plots common to these earlier romantic comedies in more contemporary works? Discuss the implications of these changes.

2. Consider how the novel illustrates the differences between romantic comedies and real-world expectations of romance. Does Better Than the Movies ultimately challenge or reinforce the unrealistic relationship expectations often found in classic rom-coms? 

3. The novel depicts the pressure to find the perfect prom date as a meaningful high school milestone. To what extent does this accurately reflect teenage social experiences you’ve observed or experienced?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. Choose one or more of the prevalent symbols in Better Than the Movies. What symbols in the novel most effectively represent the evolution of Liz and Wes’s relationship?

2. Analyze how the author uses fashion and style choices to reveal character development throughout the story.

3. Trace Liz’s changing relationship with her mother’s memory throughout the novel. What moments mark significant shifts in how she processes her grief?

4. The cardinal that appears at Liz’s mother’s grave in the epilogue serves as a powerful symbol. What meaning does this moment convey about Liz’s growth?

5. Analyze the novel’s development of Wes’s character. Why might Painter have chosen to subvert the “bad boy” stereotype through his development?

6. The title Better Than the Movies suggests that real life can surpass fictional romance. In what ways does the story support or complicate this idea?