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smartinez9's review
4.0
3.5/4 stars
I loved this so much? It kind of snuck up on me. I think I read so much dark shit that sometimes a solid YA contemporary romance is exactly what I need.
Alex, Approximately is essentially a West Coast You’ve Got Mail, swapping teens and classic film for adult bookstore owners on the Upper West Side. The characters were well-developed and genuine, with separate personalities and real interests. Bennett managed to make them feel exactly their age without overdoing it on the teen-speak or resorting to cliches. I feel like many YA novels fall into the trap of either oversimplifying characters to make them fit teen movie tropes or having them behave with the maturity of a toddler. I feel old saying this, but I was still a teen a year ago, and I will vouch for them (us?) being complex human beings capable of higher-level reasoning, even if our prefrontal cortex is not yet fully formed. The book retained the intensity of the characters’ emotions without getting ridiculous. That said, Bailey does take an absurd amount of time to connect the dots, but the point about how she deliberately represses contentious situations could excuse her. The diversity is fair, with some Polynesian/Hawaiian and Nigerian representation. Also for some reason I always enjoy surfing books, despite never having surfed in my life, so I enjoyed the little insights into the Roth family.
I also liked the inclusion and treatment of very real issues—cancer, drug abuse, gun violence—without it getting either trauma-porny and over-the-top or black-and-white. Complexity was always acknowledged.
I loved this so much? It kind of snuck up on me. I think I read so much dark shit that sometimes a solid YA contemporary romance is exactly what I need.
Alex, Approximately is essentially a West Coast You’ve Got Mail, swapping teens and classic film for adult bookstore owners on the Upper West Side. The characters were well-developed and genuine, with separate personalities and real interests. Bennett managed to make them feel exactly their age without overdoing it on the teen-speak or resorting to cliches. I feel like many YA novels fall into the trap of either oversimplifying characters to make them fit teen movie tropes or having them behave with the maturity of a toddler. I feel old saying this, but I was still a teen a year ago, and I will vouch for them (us?) being complex human beings capable of higher-level reasoning, even if our prefrontal cortex is not yet fully formed. The book retained the intensity of the characters’ emotions without getting ridiculous. That said, Bailey does take an absurd amount of time to connect the dots, but the point about how she deliberately represses contentious situations could excuse her. The diversity is fair, with some Polynesian/Hawaiian and Nigerian representation. Also for some reason I always enjoy surfing books, despite never having surfed in my life, so I enjoyed the little insights into the Roth family.
I also liked the inclusion and treatment of very real issues—cancer, drug abuse, gun violence—without it getting either trauma-porny and over-the-top or black-and-white. Complexity was always acknowledged.
snaillydia's review against another edition
2.0
Alex, Approximately is a retelling of the classic romcom You've Got Mail, given what I would call a millennial makeover. That premise sounded great to me, because You've Got Mail is one of the few romcoms I can stand. However, I quickly realized this book was kind of bad.
The thing that excited me about this book initially, the premise, is barely present in the plot. I would say that 80% of the story would have been exactly the same if the whole internet pen pals thing had been dropped. But I guess "california surfer love story" doesn't sound as interesting as "You've Got Mail retold". Fair enough.
The plot in itself was disappointingly formulaic. It seriously felt like Jenn Bennett saw one of those plot progression graphs you find on writing forums and based her novel around that. And that's fine, if it's not as obvious as it was here. It felt like Bennett said "okay, we've reached the third act, now there has to be a misunderstanding between the lovebirds" or "it's the middle of the second act, something sad must happen now". It was predictable. It was just bleh.
You could say the same thing about the main characters. They're exactly the same as every other cast in most YA contemporary novels. The naive but goodhearted, shy protagonist who everyone seems to find incredibly hot. The love interest that's a bit of a dick at first but he's compassionate and gentle and charming and hot. Spunky best friend, token minority. A parent that's messy but doing their best. Need I go on?
Sometimes it's relaxing to read a book that doesn't challenge you. A book where you know exactly what's going to happen. And I enjoyed parts of it too, the chemistry between the characters was great, the dialogue wasn't cringy, the romance was steamy, it didn't make me want to pull my hair out. But I still feel like I wasted my time and I could have been reading something better.
If you're interested in the You've Got Mail aspect, just watch the classic movie, or read Simon vs. the Homosapiens by Becky Albertalli, which executed this concept a lot better with a gay love story.
The thing that excited me about this book initially, the premise, is barely present in the plot. I would say that 80% of the story would have been exactly the same if the whole internet pen pals thing had been dropped. But I guess "california surfer love story" doesn't sound as interesting as "You've Got Mail retold". Fair enough.
The plot in itself was disappointingly formulaic. It seriously felt like Jenn Bennett saw one of those plot progression graphs you find on writing forums and based her novel around that. And that's fine, if it's not as obvious as it was here. It felt like Bennett said "okay, we've reached the third act, now there has to be a misunderstanding between the lovebirds" or "it's the middle of the second act, something sad must happen now". It was predictable. It was just bleh.
You could say the same thing about the main characters. They're exactly the same as every other cast in most YA contemporary novels. The naive but goodhearted, shy protagonist who everyone seems to find incredibly hot. The love interest that's a bit of a dick at first but he's compassionate and gentle and charming and hot. Spunky best friend, token minority. A parent that's messy but doing their best. Need I go on?
Sometimes it's relaxing to read a book that doesn't challenge you. A book where you know exactly what's going to happen. And I enjoyed parts of it too, the chemistry between the characters was great, the dialogue wasn't cringy, the romance was steamy, it didn't make me want to pull my hair out. But I still feel like I wasted my time and I could have been reading something better.
If you're interested in the You've Got Mail aspect, just watch the classic movie, or read Simon vs. the Homosapiens by Becky Albertalli, which executed this concept a lot better with a gay love story.
teeggzz's review against another edition
4.0
Just the book I was looking for. Light-hearted and fun but still dealt with some important topics.
✨✨✨
I don't have too much to say about this book other than it was pretty good? I really liked our main character and delving into her backstory. She's suffered through a lot in the past couple of years and I liked seeing how that affected her actions in the present time. Although the author kept telling me that she was an 'artful dodger' but then never really showed any signs of her actually avoiding things. I just wish there was a little more hesitation or rejection on Bailey's side.
✨✨✨
Porter was also another interesting character. Although I have NO IDEA how Bailey didn't guess that his scars were from a shark attack, I mean come on, he's a surfer! I really liked how Bailey could get Porter to surf again after so many years after the shark attack. I can understand Porter's backstory but he was still a bit of a dick
✨✨✨
I don't have too much to say about this book other than it was pretty good? I really liked our main character and delving into her backstory. She's suffered through a lot in the past couple of years and I liked seeing how that affected her actions in the present time. Although the author kept telling me that she was an 'artful dodger' but then never really showed any signs of her actually avoiding things. I just wish there was a little more hesitation or rejection on Bailey's side.
✨✨✨
Porter was also another interesting character. Although I have NO IDEA how Bailey didn't guess that his scars were from a shark attack, I mean come on, he's a surfer! I really liked how Bailey could get Porter to surf again after so many years after the shark attack. I can understand Porter's backstory but he was still a bit of a dick
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
3.0
3.5/5
Ugh I feel like most of the books I’ve read recently haven’t really been good. This one when I was reading it I was going to give it a 4 but the romance was all over the place to me.
Ugh I feel like most of the books I’ve read recently haven’t really been good. This one when I was reading it I was going to give it a 4 but the romance was all over the place to me.
fayetree's review
5.0
revisiting this book and realizing it’s literally me
even down to the dedication:
“for the evaders, avoiders, dodgers, and side-steppers. you probably have a good reason for hiding.“
like my love for movies and books and tendency to avoid things instead of dealing with confrontation, all in one place??? i think yes.
bailey is literally me. i am THE Artful Dodger. and i am in love with porter.
they’re so invisible string by taylor swift. and every other one of her songs.
also the fact that i didn’t find the connection between this book & ‘You’ve Got Mail’ until the last chapter is so embarrassing for me… like i literally LOVE Nora Ephron… sorry queen.
even down to the dedication:
“for the evaders, avoiders, dodgers, and side-steppers. you probably have a good reason for hiding.“
like my love for movies and books and tendency to avoid things instead of dealing with confrontation, all in one place??? i think yes.
bailey is literally me. i am THE Artful Dodger. and i am in love with porter.
they’re so invisible string by taylor swift. and every other one of her songs.
also the fact that i didn’t find the connection between this book & ‘You’ve Got Mail’ until the last chapter is so embarrassing for me… like i literally LOVE Nora Ephron… sorry queen.
trappedinfandomland's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
wishfulfillment's review
3.0
silver_anchor4's review
3.0
Such a great book. I didn't think I would like it, but it was incredibly entertaining and I just couldn't put it down. This is how cheesy and predictable is done.
Extra points for featuring one of my favorite places in the world: the Pacific Grove Aquarium
Extra points for featuring one of my favorite places in the world: the Pacific Grove Aquarium