Alex, Approximately & You’ve Got Mail / Book & Movie Review (non-spoiler)

 

Alex, Approximately / short book review

• Contemporary (You’ve Got Mail retelling)
• 391 pages
• 4.5/5 stars
• Published April 4th 2017

The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

This book follows Bailey, also known as Mink, who is a big film buff. She has been interacting with this boy called Alex on a forum about movies. She decides to move to California, where her dad and Alex live. She doesn’t tell Alex about her moving to his town and tries to figure out who Alex is. She also gets a summer job at a local museum where she meets Porter. Their first meeting doesn’t goes great so she hates him. Porter is snarky, annoying but has a ‘dark’ past. Little does she know that Porter and Alex might have more in common. This story is loads of fun and adorable. If you love You’ve Got Mail, you’ll love the similarities (modernized) in this book.

My pros

• sex positive
• modern You’ve Got Mail retelling
• boyfriend respects his girlfriend
• great quotes from movies
• Californian laid back setting (sea & surfers and food)
• diverse characters
• amazing female friendship
• positive family portrayal

My cons

• The ending/reveal a little dragged out & too dramatic

= Highly recommended!

You’ve Got Mail / mini movie review

• Comedy, drama and romance
• 1998
• Actors: Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan
• 4.5/5

While reading Alex, Approximately, I realized that I had never seen You’ve Got Mail. I wanted to know their similarities so I immediately started the movie. I am by no means a movie reviewer but I really enjoyed this movie. Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors so it was an instant hit for me. The movie goes very well with the book and I appreciated Jenn Bennet’s book even more because I saw small hints from the movies that she very well adapted to our time. The movie is about two business rivals (bookstores!) who despise each other in real life unwittingly fall in love online. The progression from hating to loving each other is so swoon worthy.

= Highly recommended!

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe

My review (short & non-spoiler)

In this story we follow Dante. Dante is a hispanic boy with a identity crisis. He can’t find his place in this world and doesn’t know how to handle his feelings. The book starts off with Dante meeting Aristotle (Ari) at a swimming pool. They hit it off immediately. Ari learns Dante how to swim. They form an amazing and unique friendship.

Sadly enough, Ari has to move after the summer holidays with his parents. They start corresponding via letters. At the end of the school year Ari comes back with his parents but things have changed. That summer they have an adventure were they discover their secrets deep inside themselves.