Alex, Approximately - Jenn Bennett

Alex, Approximately by Jean Bennett
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.
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.

MY OPINION: ******

This is a six-star book, surprisingly. I rarely give six-stars but I really really loved this. It was so good and real and honest and true and beautiful.

I loved it.

This book is about a girl named Bailey who has been crushing on her online friend, @alex for a pretty long time. She moves to the town he lives in to stay with her dad but she chooses not to tell him. She's still doubtful about who he really is (is he a creepy old dude who wants to attack her?).

She gets a job at the local museum with a little help from her dad. She is constantly being annoyed by the irritating security guard/surfer dude, AKA Porter Roth, who also happens to be uber hot. She hates him from the start but there's a problem: after a lil while she's starting to fall for him. How can she tell Alex???

HERE IS THE BIG PLOT SPOILER THAT REALLY IS NOT A SPOILER BECAUSE THEY STUPIDLY TOLD US IN THE BLURB (WE ACTUALLY DO NOT FIND OUT THIS UNTIL THE END SMH) Alex is Porter. Or Porter is Alex.

WHAT?

I mean, did they HAVE to spoil this in the blurb?

Anyways, it was PREETTYY obvious but still.

One issue with this book was the fact that Alex and "Mink" don't really have the best conversations. From the little we see of their online chats, it wasn't deep or anything and they never even shared real names.

All of the backstories of the characters were really detailed though. Porter's dad's story and his grandad's story. The reason he's afraid of sharks. The reason why he surfs.

Bailey's parent's divorce. The Greg dude. Her physical and mental scars.

Davy's drug addiction. His accident. His sickness.

Wow. It was all pretty detailed and complex and it was surprising how much in depth it was.

I kind of want to watch some of these movies that they mentioned in this book now. Maybe not the really old ones but some of the newer ones...

The romance in this book was so sweet and gorgeous but it's probably because I'm just a sucker for these kinds of things.

PANGBORN. 😢😢 DEAR SWEET PANGBORN.

Bailey's character was sweet and endearing but also annoying at some points, such as at the end. She jumps to conclusions way too easily, expects everyone to listen to her but doesn't do a really great job of listening to everyone else, and is kind of a whiner. However, I did like some aspects of her, such as her bravery and loyalness.

GRACE WAS SO ANNOYING I CANNOT STAND HER. I HATED HER. I mean, your BF is not that important to almost break a friendship and it all ended well anyway!

Okay, I would recommend this book to YA and romance lovers.

Main Character: Bailey
Sidekick(s): Porter, Grace, parents, etc
Villain(s): Mistaken identities, sharks, Davy, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.