The Trouble with Lexie audiobook

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)

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. Perfect vacation read about a dysfunctional prep school counselor who blows up her fairly balanced life when she embarks on a disastrous affair with a student's dad. Trust me, it's funny, and even when it's sad and unbelievable, it's funny.

Excellent! Thrilling. Non-stop action. You really understand men and women and what makes them tick. I loved this book. Lexie makes some big mistakes, but you get why when you read through the book. And you love her anyway. Funny, too!

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.

Lexie James is the product of negligent parents in an impoverished part of San Leandro, but at 33, she seems to have left her past behind. She works as a counselor at Ruxton, an elite boarding school, and is engaged to Peter, a sweet, gentle musician. After a shocking prologue (which still doesn't act as a spoiler), the story opens on the first Parents' Weekend at the school, when Lexie notices one of the fathers staring at her. There is instant, unnerving chemistry, and when they meet, she realizes that he's the father of her favorite student, Ethan Waite. Daniel Waite is 53, a successful lawyer, a generous donor to his son's school, and, he assures Lexie, separated from his wife. Once their son graduates from Ruxton (in eight months), he and his wife will break the news to Ethan. Lexie immediately falls for Daniel, breaking off her engagement to Peter and moving into one of the student dorms as a dorm parent. Unfortunately, her life spirals out of control as she finds herself distracted, grief-stricken by the death of a friend, and anxious enough to start taking Klonapin again. The story comes full circle until we're back to the prologue.I loved the intensity of this story and all its characters; there's Lexie, who makes frustrating decisions but is still relatable; Amy, her best friend and confidante; Dot, the 80-year-old teacher who suspects that Lexie won't settle down with Peter; Ethan, the conflicted 18-year-old son of Daniel and Jen; and even Mitzy, Lexie's self-absorbed and negligent mother. There isn't a dull moment from beginning to end.

I very much enjoyed this book. My only reservation about it is that I didn't believe someone working as a counselor would behave/think the way Lexie did. There is a lot of introspection and personal growth that's takes place during the two years of a graduate program in counseling. Plus she would have learned coping strategies to be more mindful in making decisions. I just didn't buy her abrupt breakup with her fiance - especially coming from her background and craving reliability/structure/routine. The story would have made better sense for me if Lexie had been a teacher at the academy. That said, I absolutely hated Daniel for the anguish he caused Lexie. What a sleaze. I have great compassion for Lexie and regret she didn't take the money - she deserved every cent!

I love books with flaws characters and this book had them in spades. We are all flawed and just trying to work through our own shit. I liked this book because the author gives insight as to the main character’s defects. Offers back ground, traumas that make the character who she is. This is something I have worked on, consciously, very deeply within myself for the last few years so I guess this book kind of resonated with me in my own personal experiences.... though very different than what Lexie goes through. But one does reflect and put things in to one’s own perspective.

This book was super entertaining and very unexpected in a number of ways. I struggled for a while in the beginning because the main character was frustrating me with her attitudes and actions but it was all worth it in the end. Very clever story and I laughed out loud and was well surprised in a number of points in the story, and whatever the case, this author is an excellent writer!! She has a great sense of humor included in her excellent prose.

I'm a big fan of bad-girl behavior in fiction, and this novel is rife with it. While I appreciated the main character's snarky attitude, halfway through I grew tired of Lexie's consistently immature choices and kept waiting for some kind of character change or revelation that never occurred. I would definitely read other novels by this author, but this one was not entirely for me.

Very funny book and very archly written. Not great for moralists perhaps but the characters seem more real for that. Not really a spoiler but I did not understand the reference to Patient Zero at the end though