The Trouble with Lexie

by Jessica Anya Blau

From the beloved author of The Summer of Naked Swim Parties and The Wonder Bread Summer comes the jaw-dropping story of Lexie James, a counselor at an exclusive New England prep school, whose search for happiness lands her in unexpectedly wild trouble.

“The problem wasn’t so much that Lexie had taken the Klonopin. And it wasn’t even really that she had stolen them…The problem, as Lexie saw it, was that she had fallen asleep in the bed of the owner of the Klonopin. And the owner of the Klonopin was the wife of her lover….”

Lexie James escaped: after being abandoned by her alcoholic father, and kicked out of the apartment to make room for her mother’s boyfriend, Lexie made it on her own. She earned a Masters degree, conquered terrifying panic attacks, got engaged to the nicest guy she’d ever met, and landed a counseling job at the prestigious Ruxton Academy, a prep school for the moneyed children of the elite.

But as her wedding date nears, Lexie has doubts. Yes, she’s created the stable life she craved as a child, but is stability really what she wants? In her moment of indecision, Lexie strikes up a friendship with a Ruxton alumnus, the father of her favorite student. It’s a relationship that blows open Lexie’s carefully constructed life, and then dunks her into shocking situations with headline-worthy trouble.

The perfect cocktail of naughtiness, heart, adventure and humor, The Trouble with Lexie is a wild and poignant story of the choices we make to outrun our childhoods—and the choices we have to make to outrun our entangled adult lives.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Audiobook, Adult, Literary Fiction

310 pages, Paperback

First published June 7, 2016

About the author

Jessica Anya Blau is the author of the nationally bestselling novel The Summer of Naked Swim Parties and the critically acclaimed Drinking Closer to Home.

Reviews

[Always Pouting · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lexie works at a prep school and is engaged when she starts an affair with the parents of one of her students. This was such a terrible book I don't even know where to begin. None of the characters are likable and not just because they have faults but because I can't find anything redeeming in any of them. Lexie literally self destructs for zero reason and I didn't feel sorry for her at all. Also what the heck was that ending. I don't understand why it ended that way. I don't see why half the things that end up happening had to happen at all. What was the point of this book?

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"All right. This is supremely f***ed up, but I think you'll be able to get out of it." -- the best friend Amy, being uncharacteristically (and misguidedly) optimistic about Lexie's situation, page 278

Novelist Ann Hood is quoted on the back cover of the dramedy The Trouble With Lexie with the lethally accurate phrasing "[It] will make you laugh, make you scream, make you grimace", and boy howdy, she is correct on two of those three actions. (I did not scream, but then I am a somewhat reserved person . . . and I did not want to attract any undue attention from my neighbors - it's a relatively quiet street, y'all!) Anyway . . . Lexie James is a thirty-three year-old California native working as a combination student counselor / health teacher at one of those prestigious but snobby New England prep schools. Life seems fairly good, if not uneventful - it's a solid job with a decent paycheck, she's engaged to a unexciting-but-dependable guy, and she has a very small circle of trusted work friends. However, Lexie decides to throw caution to the wind - or more like toss manure at a fan - and have an affair with a student's parent, a handsome rich guy (supposedly in the process of obtaining a divorce from his wife) who is twenty years her senior. To say things steadily spin out of her control would be an understatement. Some readers will think the plot is a too-uneasy or unsuccessful mix of drama and comedy, but I was oddly fascinated with Lexie just making one questionable or unwise decision after another. I did not find her an object of ridicule, but actually felt something akin to actual empathy - she really was not a 'bad' person, more like one doing some 'bad' things. Another GR reviewer noted this book was "frustratingly addictive," and I truly agree!

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to write negative reviews, but this was terrible. Lexie is an extremely unlikable character - she is shallow, cruel, naive, irresponsible, and entirely unsympathetic, with no redeeming qualities. Don't know why I even finished this.

[Laura.125Pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original review @ 125Pages.com

The Trouble with Lexie by Jessica Anya Blau had some amazing moments, funny and real, these points really shone. However this book heavily features a general no-go for me, adultery, so I just didn’t click with it. Lexie is the counselor at a prestigious high school and is engaged to be married. Then a chance encounter with one of her student’s father changes everything she had planned for her future. As she sets on a path to her new happiness, Lexie will need to reevaluate all of her choices.

It was hard for me to root for a main character that was determined to ruin lives and relationships to get what she wants. While I really enjoyed the writing style and the very sharp turns of phrase the author used, I did not like any of the characters. It is hard for me to get into a read where I just don’t connect. There was a nice array of emotions in the read but it just wasn’t for me.

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m apparently in the minority in thoroughly enjoying this book. No matter how you feel about the characters or their choices this book begins with a bang and really makes you feel what the characters feel. I mean, I thought I was going to need a Klonopin. I listened to an audio version of this book and my husband was looking at me funny as I repeatedly muttered “oh no...oh no” and gasped at one point, I am not typically vocal while reading/listening so I think that speaks to how on edge this book made me. Are any of these characters a moral compass? Probably not. Amy was a real gem of a character and everything everyone should hope for in a best friend. And Dot? She was amazing.
In the end, it was funny, sad, thought provoking and really kind of darkly fun.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stick with Lexie if you're questioning her at the start. She, and her life, will surprise you. Don't expect to use Lexie, or any of the characters, as a moral example. Expect to be entertained and horrified, as you would be while watching Bad Teacher or Guidance.

"Maybe what we hope for in our imaginary personae can be realized through what we throw on our exteriors. Elegant dresses, silky underwear, and good shoes might be the pathway to the ideal self." (103)

[Erica Paré · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline is a little cliché but the characters are relatable. Unfortunately for Lexie, the rich win again leaving her to restart her life while he goes about what he has been doing repeatedly. I wish the ending was somehow different...maybe Daniel recognizes her and feels fear for once. Is there a next book tying up loose ends? So many unanswers questions remain. I did love the friendship built between Lexie and Amy. They were there and supportive of eachother no matter what.

[Clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustrating, inexplicably addictive... It's like the feeling you get while watching reality TV. At least the writing style was decent & there was consistency.

[LInda L · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a private school counselor who is more immature than her students. Has an affair with a student's father, does unspeakably stupid things during and after that, ends up in trouble with everyone except the school nurse, who is apparently the world's best friend. She is there for Lexie through it all, and gives her excellent advice, which of course she ignores. In the meantime, Lexie breaks her engagement -- and her fiancé's heart - and there are other equally stupid choices. Makes you kind of embarrassed to read them!!

[Adriana Delgado · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read books where the main characters are deplorable and just plain monsters. But if the writing's good and the narrative compelling, the hatred for the character is subdued when you have a good plot in the background. It's not the case with this novel.
Lexie is an immature woman in her thirties going on fifteen. The choices she makes from the very beginning are stupid, justifiable only if she were suffering from some kind of mental disability, which is not specified other than her love affair with anti-anxiety medication.
Her mistakes are major, and just keep growing and growing until she makes the ultimate bad choice which the author wants to make us believe redeems Lexie. In truth, the novel's ending and Lexie's supposed "redemption" of sorts reads like an over the top telenovela. I did not feel any sympathy for her; the truth was right there in her face and she simply chose not to see it, and decides in a drug and alcohol induced state to commit an ultimate vile act, which is sickening and not in the least purposeful within the plot, except for convincing us that Lexie actually deserves worse than she gets. Get this one from the library; don't waste your money.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this 2 1/2 stars but I rounded up since it was free. A lot of other reviewers did not like this book because they hated the main character, Lexie. I was reading that she was a terrible person, an adulterer, no redeeming qualities, they couldn't root for her. Wow, how sexist! Lexie is not the villain of this story, DANIEL is. Why is it always the woman's fault when there is an affair? Yes, Lexie was selfish, naive and more than a little stupid. I'm not saying she's innocent. But she was masterfully manipulated by an older man with much more life experience who had done this many times before! Why were these reviewers not more angry with him? I did find Lexie to be a bit frustrating and overly trusting and forgiving. And I wasn't thrilled with the ending. I don't like when the bad guy doesn't get what he deserves and he definitely did not in this case. But Lexie ended up happy and she seemed to grow and mature, so I liked that. It was a good read and I generally liked it.

[John Gilbert · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the last novel of Ms Blau that I have read, having read all her older ones after loving Mary Jane so much. This was the first one with a clearly adult narrator, who happens to be a private boarding school counselor. When she sleeps with one of her student's father and throws away her fiance, who is a very decent, but unexciting man, I did not like the story or narrator much. Having experienced such in my own life, I did not enjoy watching someone else self destruct. Gave up on it at 50% DNF.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a painfully accurate journey into a life-derailing avalanche of emotion and impulse. But, just when a real person would recognize the difference between reality and romanticized fantasy to put the brakes on the craziness, somehow Lexi stands on the gas.

It’s a cringe-filled ride and anyone with exposure to gaslighting will feel Lexi’s story in their bones — kind of like you’ve been in a car wreck.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't know why I finished this book. I didn't like the way Lexie lived or treated people she so called loved. She was self centered even though she did have some good quality friends. One review called out the book was had some funny parts.....really? where?

[Leslie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this book, it essentially is a story of "if you treat other people like crap your life will still turn out okay" I think the author was trying to write a strong independent character, but it just didn't land right for me.

[Susan Schutte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not complete this book. It was a little too self-indulgent for my tastes. The idea that Lexie can be so naive about having an affair made me not want to keep reading.

[chels marieantoinette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe a former drugged-up, unfaithful version of myself would have loved this book, but happy, healthy, committed me did NOT. The trouble with Lexie is that all Lexie does is make HORRIBLE decisions. Constantly. It’s infuriating. And, oh, sweet-loving-innocent Peter... I’ve had a peter and mistreated a peter. All I felt was sad for Peter while all the other male character annoyed me with their idiocies. The female characters were hilarious, though. And I loved their dynamics together. Overall, this book was really well-written, quick, and funny- an easy read. But if you’re not into cheating and you’re past that wild, messy stage of young-adulthood, you’ll probably just face-palm and roll your eyes a lot.

[Bo Frazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy cow! I really liked Mary Jane, so I thought I’d check out the only earlier novel I could get my hands on. This was even better. Much more adult and with a very satisfying plot from start to finish. Very well developed characters. New favorite author!

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another a high-spirited, racy novel from this delicious author — a triple fudge sundae with sex, drugs, and money on top. This time, we’re at a fictional East Coast private school called Ruxton Academy, where guidance counselor Lexie James, 33, has gotten herself in a heap of trouble. Like Blau’s other novels (The Summer of Naked Swim Parties, Drinking Closer to Home, The Wonder Bread Summer), the first paragraph starts with a bang:

The problem wasn’t so much that Lexie had taken the Klonopin. And it wasn’t even that she had stolen them. … The problem was, as Lexie saw it, that she had fallen asleep in the bed of the owner of the Klonopin. And the owner of the Klonopin was the wife of her lover.

Do you think you'll be able to stop after that? Nope, you won't.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books tells life as as it happens for Lexie - filled with humor, hard decisions, and the aftermath of some of those choices. The chapters immediately draw you into Lexie's life by the variety of people she meets and through the stories she tells. Wealth and power mean nothing to Lexi, that is, until she has it. While the story moves along, Lexie ends up making different decisions and ends the story in a positive light.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The trouble with Lexie is that she was a twit!

[Christine]

This was a waste of time. Did not finish.

[Sofia Wren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh this was ok. I think the main character had potential, I think it really started to go off the rails though. I suppose that is the point of the book but I didn't really see any fulfillment from reading the story (like a romance) or any literary meaning from it.

[Fredrika · Rating 2 out of 5]

No to the ending

[Liz R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel should be called The Troubles With Lexie because there are too many to just be one? Does trouble begin when Lexie first encounters Daniel Waite or going further back to her chaotic past and thinking in retrospect about her actions?

Blau did well in setting up the "Prologue", not as an event that took place before the novel, but foreshadowing what would eventually come. From there, everything that happened was leading up to that inevitable train wreck. Despite knowing the outcome, I was intrigued by how Lexie and Daniel's relationship would end up the way it did. With the presence of the "Prologue", the novel became about what would happen as well as how Lexie's string of thoughts, impulses, and decisions played a role in getting to that point.

Anyone who values any sort of moral code knows that Lexie is not really likable. Her flaws lie in her desire to attain wealth that she never had growing up, both in the forms of money and unconditional love. Ultimately, Peter was the collateral because while he loved her, he couldn't afford to give Lexie the security and the big life that she wanted. These flaws ultimately led to the string of unfortunate events that happened in the Spring Semester. Did Lexie bring these events upon herself by choosing Daniel over Peter or was she the victim of rocky past and duped by a skilled con man? How readers regard this question likely depends on their system of ethics, and whether our fate is the result of our own decisions or if it's more complicated than that.

On the topic of morals and values, Amy is an interesting character. She is fiercely loyal, often defending Lexie's actions because she also has her own questionable set of values. We can say she's a great friend to Lexie because she stands by her through every point in the train wreck, always ready with Hershey Kisses and a conversation; however, when Lexie is too drunk after a night out, instead of staying with Lexie to make sure she's okay, she worries about making it to the movies with her boyfriend. Is she a great person and/or a great friend? That probably depends on the qualities sought in a friendship.

I wish there was more of Daniel in the novel. While he unfolds mostly through other characters' views of him, his words, and his actions, it would have been interesting to see more than four encounters in 309 pages. It's possible that this was done purposely to show how Daniel managed to keep Lexie intrigued while still remaining somewhat absent for periods of time. It seems as though once Daniel knew he had her, it didn't matter how often he actually appeared because Lexie would still be loyal to him. Additionally, if Betsy was a great friend to Lexie in her youth, why did she never make an appearance, other than through narration? They seem like distant friends, but it also seems at one time that Lexie sort of told her what was going on, but it was never clarified.

The novel propelled at a quick speed for me and caused me to have emotional reactions at times, which is rare and welcomed. I enjoyed reading on as the events unfolded and found it to be a page-turner. I also thought the dialogue between the characters was authentic, especially the banter between Lexie and Peter. While some of the details at the end seemed a bit farfetched, it didn't matter that Lexie and Daniel never had the promised conversation; she got closure, just in a different sense.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. I give it a 4.3 rating.

[Tandin JW · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hated the ending

[Hannah Doss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is made for adults, no doubt. Lexie is a counselor at a prestigious boarding school and she finds herself intertwined into the sexual desire of Daniel Waite. The story begins and Lexie is still engaged to Pete. He's a great guy but there's just something missing and I think that's a lot of the reason why Lexie begins pondering different realities. She gets caught up with Daniel, the father of one of her clients at school, ends up leaving Pete, and finds herself battling the demons inside her. She deals with a lot of psychological issues afterwards as most would knowing that they are having an affair with a married man. This story gives a sufficient inside perspective of the life of a cheater, and there are more consequences than just getting caught.

[Sylvia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as an ARC and this is my unbiased review. This was a real quick read but I just didn't think it was that great. Working in education, I thought Lexie's behavior is really suspect. I know its just a book but the kind of selfishness that the main character exhibits really turned me off. I found no sympathy with her despite her back story. We don't get do-overs in life and felt that her expectations and actions were beyond the pale.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I the characters were well-developed and believable, and the writing was very good. That said, I can't say that I loved this - although it did surprise me. The story was interesting, there were some very amusing parts - and yet...I don't know. It was just not great, but I can't put my finger on why.

[Maria Almaguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot how much I had enjoyed this author's debut, The Summer of Naked Swim Parties. I devoured this in two days while home sick with a cold and now I want to immediately read the two books I missed in between. Completely engrossing, real, and poignant. Highly recommended!