Hilarity and angst ensues as Porter and Bailey go from frenemies to an item without realizing that they’ve been talking, and continue to talk, online. So very long story short, Bailey has an online ~thing~ with a dude named Alex (of course they’re both using screen names because #internetsafety) and then she moves out to California to live with her dad and meets Alex IRL except she doesn’t realize it’s him- she just knows him as Porter Roth, surfer/beach bum/museum security guard/general pain in her behind. However, once I got pushed through the typical YA romance set up in the beginning of the book I really feel under the story’s charm. I will admit I pre-ordered this book mainly due to a combination of cover love and succumbing to the hype since EVERYONE seemed to have read it early, but I’ve never seen You’ve Got Mail (I know, I know) so I really didn’t know what to expect, or why people were flailing so hard. I was actually feeling super into the romance, which let me tell you, is getting harder and harder for me with high school settings these days (#I’mgettingold). It took me a while to get into this one, but when I finally did, I fell hard. 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. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.Īnd as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth-a.k.a. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.įaced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life-or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams-she just doesn’t know it yet.Ĭlassic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Also by this author: Starry Eyes, Chasing Lucky

Alex approximately book 2