Review: 4.5 stars -- a surprising journey
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 2, 2014
Breaking Alexandria is a story of one girl’s journey of self. Seventeen year old Alexandria is walking a line of rebellion her parents are sure will find her in jail. Her 22 year old boyfriend, Joel, is a drug-dealer, and in their opinion, a bad influence on their daughter. The arguments and groundings escalate until Lexi’s parents send her to spend the summer on her grandparents’ farm in West Virginia. No cell service, no Joel, no fun.She hasn’t been to the farm in several years. But when Lexi arrives, she finds her grandfather as prickly as ever and her grandmother as welcoming as ever. The only thing that has changed is the addition of a couple farm hands to help out. The summer on the farm begins a series of events that will have Lexi questioning everything she knew about herself and the people around her.The first part of the book, I wasn’t sure if I was even going to like Lexi. She was completely argumentative with her parents, though was less confrontational with her dad. Her rebellious streak was a mile wide and it seemed like her hold on her temper was becoming shorter every time she found a hard situation. But once she got out of Ohio and into the hard work of the farm, she started to reflect on her choices from the last several years and I softened towards her. She was still quick to anger, but something shifted when she was away from her parents and her grandmother pulled a side of her out that I think even Lexi had forgotten was there.Joel was written in such a way that I wanted to not like him. I wanted him to be wrong for Lexi. But no matter what he did, what situations he led Lexi into, he was not the person he projected on the outside. There was the Joel that threw parties, dealt drugs, and lived a rough life, but when he was with Lexi, he was a completely different person. At his core he protected her and loved her.Landon was the friend Lexi needed while she struggled to get her feet under herself at the farm. He knew why her parents had sent her there, but didn’t judge her looks or her past. He accepted her for her, pushed her to find the girl inside, and had a little fun introducing her to all her farm chores. (I’ll admit those first work scenes from the farm were read through a grin at Lexi’s reactions to the animals and the jobs she had to do.) I liked the banter they found early on and that he was a good friend to Lexi while she figured out what was going on back home with Joel.I don’t know how many times I had tears running down my face for everything happening around Lexi and the situations she created. There were times I was so angry at her and others that I just hurt for her. This was an emotional read with a couple twists that only served to ramp up the emotions. The emotional highs and lows are what really made this book for me. It was a great journey, for all the characters, that left me feeling the pain they had endured to get to the end.Thanks to KA Robinson for provding me with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.