Review: Great coming of age story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 9, 2014
Complimentary copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.Alexandria is seventeen years old and about to finish her junior year of high school. Unfortunately, due to a fistfight, she’s serving out yet another suspension, much to her mother’s disappointment. Alexandria used to be a “good girl”, but since she started dating Joel, she dyes her hair black, has numerous piercings, a tattoo and is sexually active, not to mention the alcohol, weed, and occasional drug dealing. But Alexandria is certain that Joel is the one for her, she only has a couple of months until she turns eighteen, then her mom can’t keep her from the man she considers the love of her life. But when Alexandria gets caught dealing, her mom makes a deal to send her off to her grandparent’s farm in West Virginia. Lexi, as she prefers to be called, is certain her life is over. She hasn’t been to her grandparent’s house in years. It’s not that she doesn’t like her grandmother; it’s her overbearing, outspoken grandfather that is the problem. Will Lexi make it through the summer? Will Joel remain faithful while she’s away? Or will others tempt them both?Joel is twenty-two and a small time drug dealer. He doesn’t have a whole lot of aspirations outside of his current situation. He’s pretty content with life as it is now. He was never one to want to commit to one woman until he met Lexi, however temptation is never really that far away, especially given what some women are willing to do in order to score their next hit. Can he stay true to the woman whom he’s committed himself to? Or will three months be more than their relationship can stand to be tested?Landon is a nineteen-year-old farmhand working at Lexi’s grandparents farm. He lives on the land along with his father. He’s immediately drawn to Lexi upon her arrival at the farm, seeing through her tough girl veneer. After spending time working alongside her on the farm, the two become close. But how close is too close before it crosses the line to cheating? And how come Joel has stopped answering Lexi’s text messages?Ultimately Lexi finds out what she thinks is the truth about Joel and pursues her feelings for Landon. But when a major plot twist happens, Lexi’s world is completely upended and she has to question her entire existence. Her love life, her looks, how she has changed during her relationship with Joel, her relationship with her parents…everything becomes unclear and she struggles to make sense of all of it.Breaking Alexandria was a fast, well-written four star read. It was your typical NA coming of age novel with a slight twist, but nothing too spectacular to really set it apart from similar books. The characters were well developed and the storyline was strong and engaging. I was a little annoyed by the way the parents were portrayed in the stereotypical “mom is the bad guy disciplinarian, dad is the easy going good guy” sort of way, but at least her mom pulled it out in the end. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Robinson and it certainly won’t be my last.