Alex, Approximately

By Jenn Bennett

Life is a whole lot messier than the movies...

Bailey Rydell has found the boy of her dreams. They share a love of films and talk all day - Alex is perfect. The only problem? They haven't actually met...

When Bailey moves to sunny California to live with her dad, who happens to live in the same town as Alex, she decides to track him down. But finding someone based on online conversations alone proves harder than Bailey thought, and with her irritating but charismatic (and potentially attractive?) colleague Porter Roth distracting her at every turn, will she ever get to meet the mysterious Alex?

One of MTV UK's 35 hottest YA Beach Reads for Summer 2017

"An irresistible tribute to classic screwball-comedy romances that captures the "delicious whirling, twirling, buzzing" of falling in love." - Kirkus, Starred Review
"If you like Rainbow Rowell, Jandy Nelson and John Green, then you are going to want to check out Jenn Bennett." - Sugarscape
"A charming read, and uplifting story and a Hollywood ending worth staying up for" - Culturefly

A modern-day YA reminiscent of You've Got Mail, Alex, Approximately, is a story of summer, first love, and hidden identity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Apr 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781471161056

Jenn Bennett

Jenn Bennett is an award-winning author of young adult books, including Alex, Approximately; Starry Eyes; The Lady Rogue; and Always Jane, 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

[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.

[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.

[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.

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

Super cute.

[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.

!

[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.