Alex, approximately

Format:

Book

Title:

Alex, approximately

Author:

Bennett, Jenn author

ISBN:

9781481478779

9781481478786

Edition:

First Simon Pulse hardcover edition.

Publication:

New York : Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2017.

Physical Description:

390 pages ; 22 cm

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Bailey moves to California to live with her father and, perhaps, finally meet an online friend and fellow film buff, but soon finds herself attracted to an annoying co-worker.

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 hoemtown. 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 in the movies, especially when Bailey discovers those tricky fine lines dividing 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. -- From dust jacket.

Reading Level:

AD750L Lexile.

Program Information:

Accelerated Reader UG 5.1 14.0.

Subject(s):

Identity (Philosophical concept) -- Juvenile fiction.

Dating (Social customs) -- Juvenile fiction.

Fathers and daughters -- Juvenile fiction.

Moving, Household -- Juvenile fiction.

Identity -- Fiction.

Dating (Social customs) -- Fiction.

Fathers and daughters -- Fiction.

Moving, Household -- Fiction.

California -- Juvenile fiction.

California -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

California -- Juvenile fiction.

California -- Fiction.

Genre:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	Bennett, J.	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Dallas Public Library	YA FICTION - BENNETT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Independence Public Library	YA FICTION - BENNETT	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Newberg Public Library	TEEN BENNETT	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

In this delightfully charming teen spin on You've Got Mail , the one guy Bailey Rydell can't stand is actually the boy of her dreams--she just doesn't know it yet.

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.

Author Notes

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 (5)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-When Bailey Rydell's parents divorced, she chose to stay with her mom but after a year watching her mother and stepfather fight, she's ready to brave moving to the California coastal town her dad now calls home. Alex, her online crush and a fellow movie geek, lives there, but Bailey's a bit of a coward. She's afraid of meeting Alex in person, so she moves there without telling him. Her dad gives her a Vespa scooter to get around on, and she gets a summer job working at the Cavern Palace, a local tourist trap. Her job comes with some interesting people. Surfer and security guard Porter Roth irritates her from day one, Grace is a feisty coworker in the ticket booth, and elderly hippie Pangborn is deceptively nice. Bailey continues talking online with Alex but can't confess she's already in town. She's trying to sleuth him out in her free time. As her relationship with Porter grows into attraction, her guilt about confessing to Alex increases. It's easy to see where the story is heading early on, but that doesn't matter, because readers are treated to a smart and engaging ride. Amy Melissa Bentley's narration is terrific, and the quotes from movies at the start of each chapter are spot-on. -VERDICT An excellent audiobook for libraries with romance-loving teens.-John R. Clark, formerly at Hartland Public Library, ME © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

A year after her mother divorces to marry a lawyer, Bailey Rydell decides to leave Washington, D.C., to live with her father in California. One of her primary motives for going is to track down Alex, a boy she met online but has never seen in person. Like Bailey, Alex loves old films and, coincidentally enough, he lives in her father's neighborhood. But after Bailey settles in and starts a job at a quirky local museum, her mission to find her "film-buff soul mate" is sidelined as she becomes absorbed in a love-hate relationship with Porter, her arrogant, surfer coworker. As might be expected, Bailey's and Porter's fiery retorts soon kindle passion, and the two start dating despite Bailey's guilt about keeping him a secret from her online pal. In what's essentially a YA version of You've Got Mail, Bennett's (The Anatomical Shape of a Heart) contemporary romance offers sympathetic characters and plenty of drama. Although the climax is forced and predictable, the protagonists' backstories shed light on their respective anxieties, adding depth to their conflicts. Ages 14-up. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

When Bailey moves to her online crush/fellow film aficionado Alex's California hometown, she chooses not to tell him. Plans to surreptitiously track Alex down go awry when Bailey lands a busy job and lets cocky surfer-boy coworker Porter get under her skin. But readers know what the protagonists do not, and watching "Alex's" true identity surface is the fun of this breezy, movie-ready romance. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

A movie-obsessed teen moves to her dad's beach town and unexpectedly falls for an edgy surfer rather than the "film-buff soul mate" she was expecting to meet. The summer before senior year, 17-year-old Bailey Rydell moves from D.C. to her father's small beach town on the Central California coast. The one perk of moving is that "Alex," her favorite chat-mate on a classic-film fan forum, lives there too, and she plans to surprise himnot that they know one another's real names (she goes by "Mink" online). Her first day working at a mansion-cum-museum, introverted Bailey, a white girl who sports platinum-blonde Lana Turner pin curls, meets Porter Roth, a "ridiculously good-looking" but cocky 18-year-old security guard from a legendary local surfing family. Porter, who's Hapa (half Polynesian/Chinese, half white), has a unique way of exasperating Bailey. As she futilely attempts to find Alex via chat-transcript clues, readers will figure out his identity long before she does. There's definitely a The Shop Around the Corner buildup to the romantic chemistry, but in addition to their charming banter and online-quiz exchanges, Bailey and Porter also tackle substantive issues such as anxiety, PTSD, drug abuse, cheating, and sexual experience. Bennett creates an authentically multicultural ensemble, from Bailey's Nigerian-by-way-of-London new bestie, Grace, to her dad's Mexican-American girlfriend and Porter's references to Hawaiian cultural beliefs. An irresistible tribute to classic screwball-comedy romances that captures the "delicious whirling, twirling, buzzing" of falling in love. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* You've Got Mail gets a teenage spin in this story of Bailey, classic film buff and product of divorce, who moves across the country to live in a California surfing town with her dad. Bailey's been swapping movie facts with online pal Alex, a boy who happens to live in that same California town. Alex, though, still thinks she lives on the East Coast and doesn't know her real name Bailey's mom is a high-powered divorce attorney, and Bailey is all too familiar with the value of privacy. A summer job at a local museum has Bailey finding a new best friend in spunky, British Grace and a new nemesis in Porter, a security guard and member of a legendary surfer family plagued by tragedy. It's not long before Bailey and Porter's verbal sparring turns into something more, and while it becomes clear to the reader that Porter is Alex, neither he nor Bailey have any idea. Strong character development makes this a must for romance readers: bottled-up Bailey has plenty of secrets in her past, and Porter's family dynamics, plus his Hawaiian background and disintegrating friendship with a troubled fellow surfer, give him depth. There are a lot of different, sometimes dramatic threads here, but the plot never feels overcrowded. Movie quotes kick off each chapter, and the California backdrop is an ideal setting for this uncommonly nuanced summer romance.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2017 Booklist