For February's Book Review I have Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
This book was published April 2017 by Simon Pulse, and is 391 pages long.
Right off the bat I have to say I don't like this cover. Not just because it looks like every other YA romance, but because it doesn't make sense after reading the book. At no point were they lounging in a pool or body of water. Surfing yes, toe dipped in pools yes, but never lounging ready to watch a film atop a body of water. Much prefer the Canada/UK addition and should have just sucked it up and bought the paper back.
However this book wasn't so good that I feel like I need another copy.
It follows this girl Bailey "Mink" Rydell, a film buff who met a fellow film buff, Alex, online. They live on opposite coasts until Bailey decides to move in with her dad on the West Coast, but she doesn't tell Alex this. Despite having fascinations about meeting him, she's wary to meet in real life. Meanwhile, she gets a job at a museum, a local tourist trap where she is constantly being pestered by her co-worker Porter Roth, who's she's deemed her "arch-nemesis". Her feeling towards Porter are becoming more intense, however, and she's having trouble thinking he's her enemy. Should she risk being with Porter? and what about Alex? Does she forget about him or does she give a chance to something she's not sure she ever had?
So the reviews talk about this book being a re-write of the popular movie "You've Got Mail" starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, and in a way...sure I can see that, that was the potential with this book and Bennett did an alright job with it. Over all this book had great potential, and I wanted to love it. However, there were parts of this story that just bugged the hell out of me. For instance, with people saying it's a "You've Got Mail" retelling, I went in already assuming the Alex and Porter were the same person. Once it was confirmed I felt like the book was really trying to push it's length by making Bailey take too long to figure it out, and due to this, makes Porter an undesirable person.
Bailey "Mink" Rydell- she was a whirl wind of hypocrisy and repetition. Aside from her style she really wasn't much different from Bennett's other female protagonist, Beatrix Adams, in The Anatomical Shape of A Heart (or The Night Bus if you're any where but the US), her temper was the only thing that really stood out as different. Which was ironic in a way because Bailey claimed, and continued to claim that she disliked confrontation and was a "master evader" but did not prove it in anyway, in fact through out the book she criticizes herself because since moving to California she's become sloppy at evading confrontational situations. She also tends to put herself into them. When Porter provokes her, Bailey snaps back until getting frustrated. The fact that the book is in her point of view, didn't really get me to like her either, as most her narration felt very whinny particularly toward the end, I found myself skimming because it all just felt like filler that wasn't needed. Bailey's choice of words distracted me from the story as well. I get the she's a classic film buff, and I would accept if she quoted movies, but she didn't. Instead she seemed to use a random assortment of words that just felt out of place to me: Lame-o, Hootenanny, Dickbag, Doofus, etc... I get, to an extent, the need to vary vocabulary but she doesn't use these words again, and them combined with cursing and having those words being repeated (not overly) just felt odd, like Bennett couldn't quite figure out how teenagers talk so this was her guess at it. It pulled me out of the story.
She wasn't all bad though. I actually enjoyed her style, despite having to look up her constant references to different hair style to actresses in the 1950's, despite it being hard to picture because we don't really get a description of Bailey's features (except blonde hair...I think and "not great but not bad" boobs). I also enjoyed that she had trouble processing a trauma in her past, despite her blatantly refusing to go to therapists because "they don't work" was worry some but I'm glad it got resolved towards the end, but not so much to my liking. She accepts words her therapist had originally told her but I would have felt better if she continued to see a therapist rather than just assume she needed an outlet to hit people. I also really sympathized with her. Towards the end, just before the big reveal, Porter becomes a manipulative ass and it drives Bailey to feel like she's going crazy. I honestly cried during this part, having emotions pulled every which way to prove a point is just terrible. I'd like to say that I wouldn't be able to forgive him after that, but thinking about when it happened with me, I forgave and just let it happen again. So it's a little troubling to me that Bennett put this in the book with out much discussion, even if it was a misunderstanding.
Porter Roth- He's just enough of an asshole and cares enough that I fell for this one. Much better than Jack from The Anatomical Shape of a Heart. Porter feels a bit more realistic, he has flaws, he has scars (mentally and physically.) Though there are a couple things I wish were a little better about his character: He's constantly in Bailey's space, whether he does this to everyone is not said, but I wish he had a little more respect for her personal space, it is revealed later that despite his this flaw he has great respect in waiting until Bailey is ready to do anything. He also has this quick to judge attitude. Upon first meeting he's constantly berating Bailey with rude comments about her privilege, that she's snobby, stuck up or her "champagne tastes" and parent's money could only take her so far. I personally would have a hard time with this, but I'm spiteful so...I understand to a point when someone needs to be given a check on their privilege, but to immediately take it and start harassing them with it with out provocation is a little ridiculous. Particularly when he assumes Bailey is embarrassed of him, when really she lied to her dad about who she was hanging out with and didn't want to blow her cover. In reality that's Bailey's fault for lying, but Porter's reaction is still uncalled for.
Bailey's lying was a bit ridiculous, I'm glad she fessed up, but what happened to wanting to avoid confrontation? I feel like that would only add to a bigger confrontation rather than dealing with the little one if she had told the truth.
What I really liked in the book was that Bailey made a female friend that she wasn't comparing herself to, wasn't competing with, and wasn't putting down. This was a good female-female friendship. Grace Ashebe and Bailey made a good team and it reminded me of my friends and I, teasing each other as the tension between Bailey and Porter became more and more obvious. There was a good learning experience at one point as well, that have Bailey accept her flaws and understand she needs to work on them enable to be reliable, not just to Porter.
On that note though, despite this book being almost 400 pages, it still felt insta-lovey. Yeah Bailey quickly recognizes how cute/hot Porter is, and there's a bit back and forth but I wanted more back and forth tension before they find out they like each other.
Over all 3 out of 5 stars.
And those are my thoughts on Alex Approximately by Jenn Bennett
If you've read this let me know what you think! Would love to discuss!
Until next time!
Litta
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