Review of A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin

A hint of Recovery Road, a sample of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and a cut of Juno. A Really Awesome Mess is a laugh-out-loud, gut-wrenching/heart-warming story of two teenagers struggling to find love and themselves.

Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.
Justin was just having fun, but when his dad walked in on him with a girl in a very compromising position, Justin's summer took a quick turn for the worse. His parents' divorce put Justin on rocky

Emmy never felt like part of her family. She was adopted from China. Her parents and sister tower over her and look like they came out of a Ralph Lauren catalog-- and Emmy definitely doesn't. After a scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, she threatens the boy who started it all on Facebook.

Justin and Emmy arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school that will force them to deal with their issues, damaged souls with little patience for authority. But along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves. In the end, they might even call each other friends.
A funny, sad, and remarkable story, A Really Awesome Mess is a journey of friendship and self-discovery that teen readers will surely sign up for.
mental ground, and after a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock bottom.

REVIEW

One of the many things that I loved about A Really Awesome Mess was that it focused on a group of teens who were each dealing with their own personal issues, many of which I was able to relate to because I have dealt with similar issues for as long as I can remember. I saw a little of myself in most of the characters and I applaud the authors of this book for tackling such important issues that affect both teens and adults. My favorite part of A Really Awesome Mess was by far the friendships and bonds the characters developed with one another. Had this book been written during my teen years I truly think that everything I dealt with would have been a tremendous help because I would have known I wasn't the only teenager who was dealing with the issues these characters were dealing with each day.