They plan to call off the ruse and have Wes date Alex, a girl who is rumored to have a crush on him, leaving the path clear for Michael to ask out Liz to prom. However, this backfires when he repeatedly encourages Liz to date Wes. Part of their scheme involves making Michael think Wes has feelings for Liz in order to make her seem like a grown-up, potential romantic partner. Meanwhile, Liz lies to Joss about her scheme and growing closeness with Wes. They bond by hanging out in their “Secret Area” behind Wes’s house and reliving their amusing childhood memories. She previously believed he was a shallow jock, but she realizes he is kind and funny.

Wes takes her to the hospital, and Liz is surprised by his attentiveness. They go to a basketball game, Liz hoping again to make progress with Michael, but her plan is hindered when a ball accidentally hits her in the face. After Wes helps her clean up, he advises Liz on what to wear and how to act around Michael, promising to praise her in front of him whenever he can. He takes Liz to the party where she hopes to get closer to Michael, but she ends up humiliated when a girl vomits all over her. Wes is skeptical Liz’s plan will work but agrees to help. She asks Wes for help winning him over in exchange for the parking spot. When Wes invites Michael to a party, Liz realizes that Wes’s friendship with him can be the way to Michael’s heart. She has recently found it hard to cope with her mother’s death in the face of senior year milestones and the thought of leaving for college when Joss asks Liz to go prom dress shopping, Liz invents an excuse not to go. Liz is determined to make Michael into the rom-com hero of her love life she believes this would make her mother proud. Liz also does not let the rumors about Michael having feelings for apparent mean girl Laney discourage her-Liz has despised Laney ever since grade school for Laney’s cruelty.

She makes it her mission to go with him to prom, even though her best friend Jocelyn (Joss) warns about romanticizing him. When Liz’s childhood crush, Michael, returns to town after seven years, Liz is immediately infatuated again.

They currently have an ongoing war over the only available parking spot on their street, and he constantly teases her for her fashion sense and optimistic belief in romance. Before she died, Liz’s mother taught her that the charming “bad boy” is not the man to aim for instead, she should seek a nice, dependable man for her “happily ever after.” Liz believes her hero cannot be Wes Bennet, her annoying next-door neighbor who has tormented her since childhood. The protagonist, Liz Buxbaum, explains in the Prologue that romance movie binge-watching is a tradition she and her late mother shared.

This guide references the July 2022 paperback edition of the novel. Painter is the author of other bestselling romantic comedies, both for teens and adults, such as The Do-Over and Mr.

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