Alex, Approximately

Written by Jenn Bennett

Narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley

Classic movie buff Bailey "Mink" Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by "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 arch-nemesis. But life is 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Aug 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781541480384

Jenn Bennett

Jenn Bennett is an award-winning author of young adult books, including The Prince of Mourning, Starry Eyes, The Lady Rogue, Always Jane, and Alex, Approximately and the middle grade novels Grumbones and The Knight Thieves. She also writes historical romance and fantasy for adults. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, won the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® Award, and been included on Publishers Weekly’s Best Books annual list. She currently lives near Atlanta with one husband and two dogs.

Reviews for Alex, Approximately

[keeley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

While the big concepts were predictable, after the first few chapters I could not stop listening. I was bummed when it was over, so I don’t think it was longer than needed to be.

[Anna · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it! The story and narration were perfect! Highly recommend.

[mbillings-623965 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved it! I don't usually read romance novels but I loved the similarities to the film You've got Mail.

[girliebookloverr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

-5 Stars-
This is one of my favorite books! I love how they don’t know each other and it was such a good and enjoyable book. I love the cover (like always) also the writing was impressive. Jenn Bennett is an amazing writer like always.

[completely_melanie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a lot of fun! This is a re-imagining of You've Got Mail. Bailey is a movie buff that lives in Washington DC and has formed this friendship with another movie buff online who lives on the other side of the country in California. Neither use their real names online. Bailey goes by Mink and her friend goes by Alex. Bailey's dad lives in the same area as "Alex" and Alex really wants to meet "Mink", but Bailey isn't certain she wants to. When she discovers that she is moving in with her dad, she decides not to tell "Alex" because she wants to find him first and see if he really is who he claims to be before she agrees to meet him. In the process she starts falling for another boy and things become complicated.

[rutreyes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's an amazing book and underrated; I don't know anyone who has read it. I need to talk about this little gem with someone. 5/5 (Translated from Spanish)

[readingbeader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a fun, sweet, read. I read this in the middle of reading another book that was dark and depressing, and it was just what I needed.

What I loved: Bailey's relationship with her dad, her love of old movies, Hollywood fashion, and her developing friendship with Grace. Porter's love of his sister and her surfing abilities. The summer job at the cave "museum."

What I did not like: Bailey's inability to see what was right in front of her. Good readers will see what she doesn't way before the reveal.

[samnreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reread may 2020, oops
_____original review
I'm going to do a quick summary:
Cute. Adorable. Other Synonyms. All the synonyms.

What made Alex, Approximately more than that though is that the author gave the characters AND relationships in the book depth. It was a treat to read!

[allison_s-802575 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars.

THIS WAS SO CUTE.

!

[D4rK19 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I started this book out of curiosity, and I didn't know if I would like it. I was hooked as soon as I saw that each chapter was titled with quotes from movies (besides my passion for reading, I am also a lover of cinema).

At first, it didn't grab me, but little by little, I fell in love with the male protagonist, and I was constantly wearing a stupid smile and afraid of finishing the book.

I also felt very identified with both characters in some aspects, and although that hurt me a little, I loved it.

I have to admit that for me, everything was very predictable, but I enjoyed the story so much that it didn't matter. My only complaint is that it is so short and that there is only one book. It feels like I was left hanging. Nevertheless, it has been a special book for me; it has undoubtedly left a mark on me. (Translated from Spanish)

[Orne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very funny cliché, I honestly expected the ending but I still liked it a lot. (Translated from Spanish)

[Lixiie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My first romance, yes
I expected something more but I don’t even know what
It was so addictive and I just wanted to keep going and going
Porter is a wonderful character who managed to make me fall in love, how could he not?
I would re-read it a thousand times.

“Both things?” (Translated from Spanish)

[Flor C. · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Porter is everything that is good, it's the only thing I can say. (Translated from Spanish)

[MahiaaPernass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't know why I had abandoned this reading; I think it simply wasn't the right time.

I gave it a rating of 3.5 stars because it's not a world-changing book, but I do recommend it.

It's very addictive; when you want to see it, you've already finished it (I read it in less than 24 hours). The story itself is good; I wasn't really sold on the protagonist, but Porter? Ufff. Who wouldn't want a guy like that? Sensual, funny, and intelligent, in my opinion, he's perfect.

Well, simply put, I liked it. (Translated from Spanish)

[Brisaic · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I liked the book; even though it was obvious who Alex was, I enjoyed the development of the story. (Translated from Spanish)

[NicoleTeran · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is very predictable who Alex is going to be, but I still really liked how the story unfolds. I was very excited when things were done with a lot of suspense. (Translated from Spanish)

[kerilynned · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I felt like this book was a little longer than it needed to be for being a contemporary romance. It was a little long winded at times and dragged on. I did like the little bit of suspense that was included with Davey. The main thing I didn't like was that the reader knows from the very beginning from the synopsis that Porter is Alex. I wish that would have been more of a mystery. I do really like Bailey's character development throughout the story though.

[simplykelina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have heard so many great things about this story, and decided to finally pick it up. I was waiting for something different to happen, as the beginning was your typical YA read. I really did not start enjoying this until around 200 pages into the story. Overall, did not love it and did not hate it. Nothing that stood out to me.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked Bailey - she is a bit quirky and interesting. The author explores real life versus online relationships as well as the idea of taking risks and being honest. I liked that Bailey's dad is involved in her life and that she gets to see a side of him she didn't really know before.

[Clau · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Sadly, I didn't love it. I started reading it very excited, but the characters made the most absurd decisions and it was all very predictable. (Translated from Spanish)

[tessa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

the book is good, but after reading so many books for teenagers you realize within two seconds who alex is, which makes you desperate for most of the book because they don’t notice. although I must admit that I liked it a lot, it is a book full of love and they talk all the time about old movies and I love it. (Translated from Spanish)

[heather_brock-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Super cute.

[donnamariemerritt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another authentic teen voice. Not many pages into it, the reader understands what's happening while the main characters don't. It would have been great for both MS and HS until the sex (nothing graphic, but it didn't seem necessary to the story), so I'd recommend it to mature juniors and seniors. I enjoyed it a lot. Minor quibbles: The cover has nothing to do with anything in the story. There were a couple typos (where have all the good copy editors gone?). There was a reference to something spreading like the chicken pox virus. (That doesn't happen anymore thanks to vaccines, so most teens wouldn't get that.) And there was a scene near the end that was over-the-top considering the trauma one character had experienced, and yet it seemed brushed aside as no big deal.

[annabastos-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am definitely fond of the pen pals plot, and this was not what this book was really about.

So, yes. Bailey does exchange private messages with an Alex at a movie aficionados forum online. Partly due to him insisting, but really because she can't stand her mother's new life with the second husband, Bailey moves to California to live with her father. Even though Alex and she have been great internet friends for a while, she doesn't tell him about the move, in hopes of secretly finding him and making sure of things first. However, before she is able to do it, she meets Porter at her part-time job. The two don't get along at first but it soon changes into something else.

Phew, I think that's it. I mean, the real summary above states very clearly that Porter is Alex but that matters very little and this was my biggest disappointment. I mean, these "You've got mail" revisits in books usually and unfortunately follow a very predictable storyline. Girl and guy exchange mails for a while, girl and guy meet in real life and hate each other, girl is sure guy is someone else but can't feel the same chemistry... This part was all there, indeed. Only the online friendship mattered so little, the plot could have happened the same way without it. Actually, it would have had fewer useless drama, in my opinion. But of course I wouldn't have gotten the book, and this is what infuriated me. I felt baited.

Ignoring the fake plot, my other problem was with Porter—who was so obviously Alex, I knew it before even learning his real name. Porter works as a security guard and is responsible for introducing things form the job to Bailey and her friend. You know, I have read many books in which the main couple is arguing constantly mostly because the girl found the guy to be a jerk. In this story, Porter in fact manages to press all the wrong buttons. Thus, their fights were completely credible but Porter was a jerk for real with whom I couldn't fall in love. I won't say I hated him but he isn't one I'd choose for boyfriend. He's pushy and most of the times insensitive. For Bailey, who had a number of issues in opening up related to past traumas, he was so wrong...

My last con relates to the climax. I will have to be vague and just repeat what I wrote above. When the online friendship plot finally makes a comeback it is to cause the climax. And it is at such a point of the plot that it almost made me toss the book away. Luckily, I did enjoy reading it, so I resisted to the end. But, let's be honest, I could have stopped it right there that the ending would have still been the same, so gratuitous I found it to be.

I feel bad for using the review to speak ill of a book that gave me a good time. Despite not favoring the plot of nice girl meets bad-boy-who-turns-out-to-be-smart-sexy-and-nice boy, the book is a quick read. First, it doesn't focus only on teenage drama so it's easy for most people to relate to the conflicts. Also, the characters are lovely, from Porter's family, to Bailey's father and his girlfriend, and even the old guy at Bailey's job, each character had a voice and a good side that made you smile during each scene. I liked the descriptions of California, as well. I definitely feel like taking a trip there one of these times now, lol.

So, yes. This is a good book. Even above average. But if the anonymous friend trope is what got you interested, you may be as disappointed as I was—on that theme, I loved "Tell me three things" by Julie Buxbaum. If you are here for the other part, go ahead, because you'll probably enjoy this.

Review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. I also want to thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.

[ethel55_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was quick, fun, read about film fan Bailey Rydell, even though she was the last to figure out the truth. And since it's says it everywhere, yes, it's a very charming spin on You've Got Mail or any of the cute old movie comedies Bailey likes to reference. After communicating online with a fellow film aficionado named Alex for several months, Bailey opts to not tell him when she moves cross country to live with her father in the same small California town. Her dad makes her get a summer job at the local tourist attraction, the Cavern Palace, filled with both real and imitation treasures. She spars immediately with the handsome security guard Porter, whose second job at a surf shop brings the story its' California vibe with the surfing community. Both Porter and Bailey have some pretty major issues in their backgrounds and I did feel like Bailey's mother, back on the East Coast, was a forgotten piece in a lot of the book.