It is described by The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature as "far bleaker" than the first book, as Alex "turns against friends, family and the conformist, patriarchal society around her".

Alex was Tessa Duder's third novel, following Night Race to Kawau (1982), which also featured a strong young female protagonist, and Jellybean (1985), about the relationship of a mother and daughter.

[3] The novels in the quartet were originally published by Penguin Books New Zealand, by Oxford University Press in the United Kingdom and by Houghton Mifflin in the US.

[5] Duder herself had a swimming career, including winning a silver medal for New Zealand at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.

As a swimmer training for selection for the 1958 Empire Games, I had no serious rival for my place on the team, no broken leg, no melt-down resulting from exhaustion, no devastating loss close to a big race.

[11] The School Library Journal in 1990 noted the lack of sports literature for girls at that time, and highlighted the first book of the quartet as containing "well-developed, realistic, three-dimensional characters", with Duder's writing style "hook[ing] readers from the outset".

[13] A review of Alessandra: Alex in Rome by The Horn Book Magazine said it stood well as a standalone novel despite references to events of the previous books, and noted that "numerous details about Rome, competitive swimming, and the Olympic experience add a sense of vivid immediacy and help to draw readers into the dramatic plot".

She recalled criticism from fellow New Zealand author Jack Lasenby for what he saw as an inappropriate inclusion in a children's book, but said she did not see the references as ground-breaking: "it was just part of her story growing up as a 15-year-old in a competitive sport".