Novel Melodies: Better off Friends - Elizabeth Eulberg

Title: Better off Friends
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Pub Date: February 25th, 2014
Publisher: Point
Page Count: 288

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?

From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love?

Title: You Belong with Me
Artist: Taylor Swift
Album: Fearless
Release Date: November 11th, 2008
Record Label: Big Machine Records
iTunes

May include spoilers, read at your own risk! (I'm really bad at going spoiler-free as much as I try. there are probably spoilers.)

 

Better off Friends was a book that I actually REALLY liked! It's about whether guys and girls can be best friends. Are they more? Or are they not? And really they both like each other, but don't know how to express it. Is it friend like or is it not? I felt like that indecision was really something that fit with You Belong With Me. However, the difference is that You Belong With Me is with Taylor knowing she likes the guy.

"You Belong With Me"

(1ST VERSE)
You're on the phone with your girlfriend—she's upset,
She's going off about something that you said
'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do.
Levi is dating Macallan (his best friend's) best friend, Emily. Emily is continuously upset because she doesn't have the same relationship Levi and Macallan have.

I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night.
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like.
And she'll never know your story like I do.
You Belong With Me is more about Taylor not liking Lucas's girlfriend because a) she's a bad person b) she's not right for him. Macallan is more secretly wishing she had Levi but Emily will never really understand Levi because they aren't best friends like Macallan and Levi.

(PRE-CHORUS)
But she wears short skirts
I wear t-shirts
She's cheer captain
And I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time.
They're literally beside each other half the time, as their relationship is so strong. Emily is more of a girly girl and she's very pretty, as Macallan describes. Macallan is more of a nerd than Emily is, even though Macallan is definitely pretty in her own way.


(CHORUS)
If you could see
That I'm the one
Who understands you.
Been here all along.
So, why can't you see—
You belong with me,
You belong with me?
This is pretty straight forward. It's absolutely adorable how much/well they know about each other. The only difference (again) is that it isn't Macallan who knows she likes Levi and it isn't really Levi who knows he likes Macallan. So it's just both of them being kind of annoying about the whole thing.


(2ND VERSE)
Walk in the streets with you in your worn out jeans
I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be.
Laughing on a park bench thinking to myself,
"Hey, isn't this easy?"
YES! This is their relationship in a stanza. They're both so chill with each other and never really thought about their relationship as romantic. It's so easy to be themselves with each other and that's evident in the book.

And you've got a smile
That can light up this whole town.
I haven't seen it in awhile
Since she brought you down.
Emily didn't really "bring Levi down" but she did some things that make her questionable. And when Macallan had to choose between Levi and Emily, you can only guess what she chose. The rest is pretty straightforward. 

You say you're fine—I know you better than that.
Hey, what you doing with a girl like that?
If he and Macallan are such good friends, why would he date a girl who's completely opposite of his best friend? 

(PRE-CHORUS)

(CHORUS)

(BRIDGE)

Standing by and waiting at your backdoor.
All this time how could you not know, baby?
You belong with me,
You belong with me.
The feels.

Oh, I remember you driving to my house
In the middle of the night.
I'm the one who makes you laugh
When you know you're 'bout to cry.
I know your favorite songs,
And you tell me about your dreams.
Think I know where you belong,
Think I know it's with me.
Okay I lied. THIS is the stanza that describes their relationship. So you decide, would two people with this relationship be better off friends?

(CHORUS)

This one was so much fun to write because there's a lot of substance about it! It very closely relates to the book. In fact, I was listening to this while I was reading, which gave me the idea in the first place. Hope you enjoyed the paring, whether you've read the book or not or like T-Swift or not.

Elizabeth's Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Website |

The short and sweet version:
Elizabeth Eulberg was born and raised in Wisconsin before heading off to college at Syracuse University and making a career in the New York City book biz. Now a full-time writer, she is the author of The Lonely Hearts Club, Prom & Prejudice, Take a Bow, Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality, and Better Off Friends. She lives outside of Manhattan with her three guitars, two keyboards, and one drumstick.

To check out the long version, head over to my webpage: http://www.elizabetheulberg.com/bio.html

Also, I'm not checking e-mails on my Goodreads, see my website for information on contacting me! http://www.elizabetheulberg.com/conta...

Happy reading!