Given a string s, write a function that returns True if s is a palindrome and False otherwise. A palindrome reads the same forward and backward. Solve it using a direct character comparison approach.
Example 1:
Input: s = "racecar"
Output: True
Explanation: The string is identical when read from left to right and right to left.
Example 2:
Input: s = "hello"
Output: False
Explanation: The first and last characters do not match, so it is not a palindrome.
0 <= len(s) <= 10^5s consists of printable ASCII characters