39 pages 1 hour read

Lynn Painter

Better Than the Movies

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2021

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 9-13Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 9 Summary

The next morning, Liz asks Helena to join the prom dress shopping trip with Joss, and Helena happily agrees. They spend the morning at a coffee shop, where Liz tells Helena about the scheme with Michael and Wes after Helena reveals she knows Liz snuck out the previous night. Liz admits that Wes is “a little bit dreamy” but not for her (204). Helena points out that it seems like fate is keeping Liz from Michael and pushing her toward Wes.

At the mall, Joss and Liz try on dresses for Helena and Joss’s mother. Joss catches Liz texting Wes and accuses her again of having feelings for him. She also warns Liz not to ditch her as a prom date for him. Liz feels guilty because she is still hoping Michael will ask her. When Wes reminds Liz that white is her color, Liz tries on a white dress and falls in love with it. She texts him a picture of it, and he approves. When Helena calls Liz “Libby,” Liz shuts down at the memory of her mother’s absence and rudely ends the shopping trip. On the way home, she reminds herself of her goal to date Michael and vows to not get taken in by Wes’s charms.