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A review by snaillydia
Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
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.