On the surface, Alex, Approximately seems like a generic young adult contemporary romance, but it is so much more than that. Nevertheless, these quotes and references at the very least add to the characters’ personalities if not the plot itself. Bailey and her dad also make many film references throughout the book, most of which I didn’t understand. I love the movie quotes before each chapter, and I especially appreciated them once I realized how said quotes tie into the chapters’ events. However, these oddities did not minimize my enjoyment of the novel. Since these aren’t actual words, it’s odd to see them in writing. She also spells out sounds like “pfft”, “mmphrm”, etc.

Apparently, according to the audiobook narrator’s interpretation, the two syllables should be emphasized separately.

When I saw the word “killing” written as “K-I-L-L-I-N-G”, I thought it was meant to be spelled out when read. Though I enjoy her generally simple writing, there were times when I didn’t grasp how she intended certain words to be expressed. Jenn Bennett expresses her unique writing style in Alex, Approximately by giving the text outside of the dialogue a natural, conversational flow. 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. 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.Īnd 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. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth-a.k.a. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.įaced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life-or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown.

March 11th, 2018 – March 25th, 2018 Rating: Format:Ĭlassic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex.

Alex approximately