I love that Bailey not only adores classic movies, just like Porter, but she also leaves her house with the best hair and outfits that mirror the style of Lana Turner. But apart from being completely oblivious, Bailey’s character is actually well-crafted and, crucially, relatable; you’ll be hard pressed to find any teenager who can’t see a bit of themselves in Bailey, from her tendency to overthink to her desire to completely avoid any kind of uncomfortable situation, choosing instead to keep her head low and avoid confrontation. Sure, he does shitty things and I'm not saying that he should be let off the hook, BUT I was shocked at the amount of victim blaming going on there. Jenn Bennett is the author of over a dozen books for children and teens, including: ALEX, APPROXIMATELY; STARRY EYES; and GRUMBONES. I thought it was absolutely perfect, and I loved how it had a bit of a hate-to-love feel to it in the beginning.

NOTE: I was not provided a copy of this book by the author or the publisher in an exchange for a review. The two main characters in Alex, Approximately, Bailey “Mink” and Porter “Alex,” are both awkward, smart, hilarious, and they both own up to their own unique style.

Then there’s love interest Porter who is a quiz-loving, weather-obsessed, surfer who works as security guard and also nerds our about movies. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush. This breath of fresh air keeps the story from focusing on will-they-won’t-they angst and lets the characters’ relationship grow. In essence it’s a retelling of the classic “You’ve Got Mail”, except it’s set in California and full of surfing and museums - it’s utterly.

Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “Alex. Readers get the novel through Bailey's perspective, but we also get a look at her conversations with Alex/Porter through snippets of their message exchanges. Jenn Bennett is an award-winning author of young adult books, including: ALEX, APPROXIMATELY; STARRY EYES; and SERIOUS MOONLIGHT.Apparently, according to the audiobook narrator’s interpretation, the two syllables should be emphasized separately. If you like to play it on the safe side, I'd recommend the book for upper middle grades (8th) into high school. Only Bailey is a lot more cautious than that so she doesn’t actually tell Alex she’s moving to his hometown, despite his invitation to meet him at the annual film festival at the end of the summer. While there are a few aspects of this book that could have been handled with a bit less bias towards its leads – Porter’s childhood friend Davy exists purely as antagonist, when actually his story and situation could have been explored with a bit more nuance – in all, Alex, Approximately builds off the idea introduced in a classic and well-loved rom-com and turns it into an engaging YA novel. 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.