Alex Approximately
By: Jenn Bennet
Published Year: 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 388
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.
Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is a whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.
And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.
First Impression
I LOVE this cover. Everything about this cover makes me want to jump into this picture. I wish that I lived in this cover. This book was also described as a young adult version of You’ve Got Mail. I watched You’ve Got Mail when it originally came out, so I was really young. I don’t remember much of the details, but have since read one or two other books that claim to be modern day retellings of You’ve Got Mail and have greatly enjoyed them. My favorite romantic trope is when hate turns into love, so I think that helps too. When I saw that this was a YA version, I knew it had to go on my summer TBR list.
What I thought
Bailey lives in DC with her mom, while he dad lives in California. Her parents divorced about a year ago and while initially she decided to live with her mom, she has recently changed her mind and decided that for her senior year of high school she wants to live with her dad. In addition to wanted to get away from her mom and life on the East coast, she has an online film buddy who lives in the same town as her dad. They’ve been flirting and talking for a while and he’s been asking for her to come visit him for a while. Now that she is there, she decides that she doesn’t want to let him know right away, but instead scope him out secretly first. At the same time, she has started working a summer job at the museum The Cave where she meets a new friend as well as a boy that piques her interest.
I absolutely loved Bailey, Porter, and Grace. I wish that there had been a bit more of Bailey and Grace as the female friendship gets very much thrown to the side. It’s there in the background but I think it would have been nice if it had been more instrumental to Bailey’s growth. What I enjoyed about Bailey is that she is a stay in the shadows type of character. I liked that she knows that she enjoys staying in the shadows and moving quietly and she uses it to her advantage.
Porter is also my book boy crush of the summer! He is the perfect summer book boyfriend. He is a surfer who, while seemingly having it all is actually damaged. The banter between Bailey and Porter was a lot of fun and I’m glad that it didn’t stop once they started dating. I do wish that there had been a little more of a buildup, but I understand why it moved as quickly as it did.
The one issue that I did have with this book was some of the comments on Bailey’s style/look. At the beginning it seemed like there was a lot of focus on her style and her “Lana Turner” style curls. If I ever have to read the description “pin curls like Lana Turner” one more time I might scream. While I appreciated that she had a unique sense of style, it didn’t bring much to the story and I didn’t feel like it was necessary to describe it the same way every time she met someone.
This book was such a fun summer read. It’s light and fun and the romance is adorable. If you enjoy beach time romances or if you like retellings of You’ve Got Mail, then I highly recommend this book. It’s a quick read that is enjoyable from beginning to end. While I had a few issues with the writing, overall it was a well-written book and I definitely think you should check it out.