A Really Awesome Mess

by Trish Cook, Brendan Halpin

Two teenagers. Two very bumpy roads taken that lead to Heartland Academy.

After his parents' divorce, Justin is on rocky mental ground. But when a handful of Tylenol lands him in the hospital, he has really hit rock bottom.

A scandalous photo of Emmy leads to vicious rumors around school, but things get worse when 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. Along the way they will find a ragtag group of teens who are just as broken, stubborn, and full of sarcasm as themselves.

A funny, sad, and remarkable story, A Really Awesome Mess is a journey of friendship and self-discovery.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Mental Health, Teen

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2013

Reviews

[Liz* Fashionably Late · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a big fat NO.

Inaccurate and misogynistic.

Depression, attempt of suicide and eating disorders are serious issues and should be addressed likewise. I've seen some of these problems in people around me and there's no way we are going to reduce a girl's eating disorder to a broken heart, it's more complex than this. And for the record, boys have eating disorders too. It's not a girly issue.

The sex/rape jokes and the slut-shaming were uncalled for, the message that you have to eat healthy just because otherwise no guy is gonna think you're pretty, is very offensive. And fuck this, a therapist that take the kids out for a trip an and leaves them ALONE just to make out with somebody's boyfriend is not cool. It's completely unprofessional and unrealistic, for that matter.

The resolution of every fucking problem was such a lame excuse for an ending. I know the system is not perfect, but this was plane ridiculous. Eating disorder is not cured by just gaining weigh. Ugh.

I'm not recommending this book. Read it at your own risk. You won't get to see a realistic portrait of mental illness.

[Ellis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.

Disclaimer le deux: This review contains slight (untagged) spoilers, sarcasm, snark, swearing and so-not-amusedness. In addition to all that S-rated material, the length takes on ranty proportions and there are pictures.

Full disclosure: my main problem with this book is its insensitive and inaccurate portrayal of eating disorders. If you enjoyed the book and think I'm being too harsh on its content, this is not the review for you. In any case, please refrain from mocking and/or attacking people with mental disorders in the comments.

I can honestly say that I didn't laugh once with this book. I did not find this an endearing novel with a cast of quirky, albeit screwed-up, characters, and I take so much offence with so many of the messages that I should probably insert a bad sports joke here. There is a lot to be covered.

While my rating, introduction and status updates might not have suggested it, there are some positive things in here. For one, the racial diversity is treated much better than you'd expect from a mainstream YA title. Secondly, as long as it was shown how either protagonist had to live and deal with their particular disorder - suicidal ideation for Justin and anorexia in Emmy's case -, the portrayal was semi-believable and many of the details were often spot-on. However, this became problematic when the narrative mode shifted to telling and when interactions with other patients and/or caretakers came into play. Lastly, the authors experimented with the typography in chapter headings and opening sentences. Personally, I didn't get the meaning behind it, but I can't say I wasn't intrigued.

I'll start with Justin. When we meet him, he states that he merely overdosed on pills to "give his mother a good scare". This knowledge is casually dropped between pages and pages of masturbation talk and sex references. Sigh. You know, on the one hand I can forgive this. As far as the masturbation goes, I have a pretty dirty mind of my own, so I didn't really mind. I can even understand his cool guy attitude about the suicide attempt, because it's so obvious that he's in denial. He's also angry with his parents because of the way they react, but he eventually acknowledges that therapy was indeed the best option.

Those are all good things, right? So what the hell is my problem then?

Well.

How do I put this delicately?? First of all, sex jokes are all good and well, but rape jokes are a whole other matter. In one of his uberfunny episodes, Justin decides to christen his therapist "the rapist". Behold his brilliance:

"I'm Justin. I was just thinking about how one little space is all that separates therapist from 'the rapist.'" I paused for the laugh.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't worry, this is not just some one-time fling. The rape jokes have finally found their peeps.



Even better for us, Justin is a plain old enabler. He constantly body-shames Emmy, because anorexia cannot possibly be a serious disease, and even literally sabotages her recovery process. He takes her food, then mocks her because she's too skinny to be attractive. He gives her ideas about how she should overeat right before they take a drive, since it will make her puke, but it won't look suspicious, because these things happen, right? Yadayadayada worst love interest ever. Good thing he's not alone. Their whole band of misfits constantly gangs up on Emmy and almost beats it into her that she should be ashamed of herself, her body, and her eating habits. Abusive peer pressure is SO adorable. It makes characters instantly relatable.

Furthermore, I do not appreciate the gendered politics behind the assignment of mental disorders here. Naturally, Justin has actual problems with serious disorders such as depression and suicide, while Emmy should just get over her "vanity disease" and grow some ass and boobs already. Seriously girl:

"Honestly, don't you see how stupid this skinny thing is? You have no tits or ass left. No guy is ever gonna think you're hot."

Why am I even surprised that out of all the reasons why people are sent to this rehabilitation centre (addiction, suicide, depression, mental/physical/sexual abuse, mental disorders, etc.), the single most ridiculous one is to stop eating? It's not as if serious trauma could be the underlying force. Nope, it's perfectly all right to still bully The Skeleton while she tries to get better.

It's not as if YA is already in enough Gender Trouble to make Judith Butler write a whole new book on it.

To round off Justin's arc, this is the conclusion these characters come up with:

"We all smiled because it was the truth: living did take a lot more guts than giving up."



Naturally, this is said by our wonderful female lead, Emmy. Don't worry, I'll get to her in a minute.

I mean, can you tell how utterly delighted I am by this statement?



It's almost as genius as saying suicide is the sum of a bunch of reasons.

Part of me just doesn't get how this is possible. On the one hand, there are these subtle and well-developed details about depression, but then they actually have the audacity to throw in the single most clichéd and insulting misconception about suicide this bigoted society has to offer. I know you can argue that Justin still struggles with depression towards the end, and that such a thing undermines this stereotypical truism, but the lack of respect for each other's problems just oozes through the screen.

Now, before I move to Emmy:

"Any more crap and I'll get you put in the SR group with the hardcore dykes. They'll love your skinny little ass."

Okay,



we all know that the average Thesaurus lists "lesbian" as a synonym for "sexual predator". This can't possibly be a homophobic and misogynistic slur all wrapped in one, now can it? Im-possibruh.

Apparently, sexual diversity is a big no-no in this universe. Le sigh, sigher, sighest of them all.


Oh, but kids these days. They say the darndest things.

Big fucking spoiler :

The "dyke" threat is levelled by an authority figure. That's too bad, but every institution has some less-than-impressive characters, right? Yeah well, I don't think Heartland even screens their personnel.

How to be a honourable Anger Management therapist at the Heartland Academy:

Dear diary,

Jenny finally opened up today in AM. I've been waiting so long for this moment to happen. I cannot say exactly what motivated her to speak today, but I'm so glad she did. There were two new kids, Emmy and Justin. I thought it was a good idea to add them to this group. Depression and Eating Disorder bring some variety to Aggressive Abuse Victim, Pathological Liar, Gamer Addict and So Traumatised That She No Longer Speaks.
It all started with a joke about bacon. Jenny loves pigs. She became more upset by the minute, but Emmy obviously wanted to impress Justin with her wit. I thought it was a good idea to let the honesty juices flow. When Emmy entered upon Cruel territory, Jenny punched her in the gut. Not that Anorexia minded. Now she has a semi-valid excuse to puke up all the calories she didn't want in the first place. As girls do, the three of them started a cat fight. Suddenly, two of the boys started one as well, but I wasn't worried. Boys are cool enough to forgive each other instantly.
Actually, I thought it was a good idea to let them fight it out. It was interesting to observe. Eventually, I asked them to take their seats. The little buggers wouldn't listen, so I had to raise my voice. Since I have some goddamn authority in this place, they listened.
However, I'm on to Emmy. She started this fight because she didn't want to keep her food down. I'm going to address her tomorrow. Children beating each other up is nothing, but I'm not letting that Skeletor get her way.

Love and kisses,

Tina.

P.S. I was thinking of taking them on a trip. It would be the ideal opportunity to make out with some random dude on the top of my car, while they run along unsupervised. Need to think more on this, though.

I only mention "skeletor" because it's apparently okay for these characters to constantly address Emmy as such. BFFs For Life Never Wanna Lose You Till The World Ends And Beyond.

Forget about inappropriate. In this setting, such behaviour and ignorance is downright dangerous. They do not care about the patient's health or safety and I refuse to find this amusing.

Frankly, nothing about Heartland makes it a good place for people with eating disorders.

1. Patients are "cured" when they are fat again. No need for psychological help, since anorexia and the like are obviously about being skinny and beautiful. Ergo, if the girls (because boys cannot possibly have body issues) are no longer size zero and under, they are healed.

2. Patients can sit with whomever they want. Obviously, there has to be some supervision, but they can behave as if they are in any high-school cafeteria. None of the patients would dump their food on someone else's plate. None of the patients would actually enable one another, publicly shame someone's disorder or tell them how fucking worthless and unattractive they are on a daily basis.

3. Patients can wear whatever they want when they have to eat. It's not as if they would ever stuff the food in their sleeves or pockets. It's not as if other institutions insist they have ponytails while eating, to prevent them from smearing the food in their hair.

4. We do not discuss specific body issues and societal ideas/perceptions about the human body. Let's give our "students" some vague classes. Obviously, they will connect these random stories to their personal situation and magically heal. NOT.

5. The best way to improve the patient's relationship with food is to just force 3000 calories a day down their throat. It doesn't matter that they are accustomed to only a quarter of that amount. There is no possible way this plan could backfire, so why even bother with a process of gradual acceptance?

6. Again, the most important thing is to fix their eating habits. It's unimaginable that anything other than the desire to be thin and beautiful could be the basis of an eating disorder.

Case in point: Emmy. Of all the possible experiences that could trigger an eating disorder, do you know what finally drove her to it?



...



How else would you take revenge when someone dumps you? It's not just her. His ex-girlfriend began starving herself when they broke up. The other girls Emmy has brief interactions with do it because they want to fit in sizes zero to zero-zero. This means that 100% of the people suffering from an eating disorder in this book are advocates for it being a vanity disease that only silly teenage girls engage in.

OF - FUCKING - COURSE.

Emmy:




I know the goal of this book was a humorous rather than in-depth approach of serious issues, but the overall shaming and lack of respect made that I just couldn't enjoy it. Cory's review warned me, but I had to see it for myself. Frankly?




I cannot enjoy such an ignorant portrayal of eating disorders because I have been battling an eating disorder for five years. I have to put up with enough prejudicial shit about it being a "vanity disease" on a daily basis.

I cannot enjoy such a casual approach to suicide because every four days, someone in Belgium jumps in front of a train. 3/4 of those attempts are unsuccessful. It has happened several times that I was on a train that stopped in the middle of its journey, because the previous train had to stop for someone who tried to commit suicide this way. One of my best friends was on a train that ran someone over. The guy across from her tweeted his frustration over the reason of this delay. Five minutes later, he got a call from his parents that his brother was that reason. These suicide attempts happen so often that many people aren't even surprised when their train doesn't arrive on time.

These are very personal reasons. I honestly tried to go in with an open mind, but there was just too much that bothered me. When it comes to serious issues that are already extensively ridiculed and belittled in mainstream media, I would appreciate some consideration in my literature thankyouverymuch.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

If there are people who are interested in accurate information on eating disorders, visit The Fementalists. You should definitely read these articles:

- Fatphobia and Eating Disorders
- A lived experience of anorexia, a lesbian feminist perspective
- Do you see what I see? (a post on Body Dysmorphic Disorder)

[Cherene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here's the deal, this book is a real awesome mess.

Literally.

The author seems to be aiming for a situation in which we find the characters implorable and we suddenly come to an understanding, and growth, with the characters as they develop themselves.

The problem is, that I do not believe, not for a second, that teens that are troubled - as the ones in this book - are so cruel and removed.

Not towards themselves, but towards others.

Are we really supposed to sympathize with a character who used internet bullying as a defense against a bully? Where she decides to openly mock him, disgrace him, and create viral content with irremovable damage from cyber space, whilst she grows up and realizes (in about three years), that, really, he's just an asshole.

Are we supposed to ever learn to respect a group of troubled teenagers that, during their own personal struggles, aid in helping a severely anorexic female not eat?

Are we supposed to side with the therapists that eat sugar crackers in front of a female that is starving herself to death?

Are we supposed to find it believable that the main reason for that female lead character to starve herself is to look thing? And that, moreover, she still has the confidence to think she can pick a guy up some time before they, "force her to get fat again?"

Are we also supposed to believe that a Level 5 student - that is someone that is near release or made massive results in recovery - would be snide, sarcastic, and rather cruel to a Level 1 female with the exact same eating disorder! Is this because Trish Cook believes that anorexia is only a problem for shallow girls? Or, was she totally misinformed about the myths of eating disorders before writing this?

Also, are supposed to understand or side with the parents that allow an academy that limits the amount of time, and scripts the conversation, between child and parent?

Are we even supposed to believe that in an academy of violent, troubled teens, an all out brawl, complete with vomit, blood, and name-calling, does not come with any sort of security team or extra measures besides yelling really loudly to stop it?

More so, are we supposed to be convinced that this highly costly facility has therapists that encourage troubled teens by telling them that they need to spend time in their own heads to figure out their problems? With no psychology experience at all I can tell you that depression feeds on our minds. Someone that deep inside themselves has a distorted view of reality and is past the point of being able to self reflect or self help without guidance without otherwise causing worse destruction to their confidence, psych, and well-being.

It is not that I dislike the way this author writes. It is that I find this book such a snarky, sarcastic, misguided view on troubled teens that I wonder what made the author ever decide to publish it. I cannot, in good conscious, recommend any teen reads this book due to the insensitive nature of this novel.

Also:



Dear Authors,

If you are writing a book about troubled teens, keep in mind who your audience is going to be.

I am sure with some reflection you can discover that it will be troubled teens, with some other odds and ends thrown in.

In which case, at what point in your mind did you decide that rape and racist jokes were okay?

When did you decide they would add to the story?

Did you really think that what teens of today were missing was more jokes that downplayed the seriousness of sexual abuse and segregation by race and or profiling?

Or, did you just think this would help your readers relate? In which case, I'm insulted for them.

Or, did you just think it would add to Justin's troubled outlook and his further development? In which case, why are all your troubled teenagers unlikeable? Is this how you see troubled teens?

Please research further into depression, eating disorders, aggression, etc. before your next reform school attempt.

[Zoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, the inaccuracy of this book is appalling. The way the authors chose to portray Heartland Academy were so incredibly off it was - frankly - ridiculous. Hospitals and reform centers like this are not warm and fuzzy places where people fall in love and make friends, contrary to what Cook and Halpin seem to think. They're deep, dark, and scary places where you're secluded from your family and friends, and I'd doubt anyone would want to go there. They're like dementors - sucking the happiness right out of you.

Imagine being a child and being sent away from home for a week; not being able to talk to your parents. Not being able to go to school and see your friends, or being able to go to your ballet class or practice for your piano recital. I think you all get what I'm trying to say, right?

It frustrated me that the authors even thought that the scenes in this book were realistic.

•Doors in hospitals like these are always locked from the inside. No way would any patient be able to use them as an escape method!
• Patients are supervised every. single. minute. (Apparently Cook & Haplin seem to think this is school!)
• No way would there be even a possibility for a field trip. Some of these patients are runaways, and no legitimate reform hospital would even think of doing such a thing.
• This is a hospital. There is no falling in love. No friendships.
• According to Heartland Academy, the treatment for anorexia is giving each patient more calories than their bodies can hold and forcing them to eat it all.
• And most importantly...bringing a pig into the hospital, unguarded? Absolute poppycock.

As for the story itself, it did have quite a bit of potential if it was more realistic. Our story follows Emmy - a girl with anorexia - and Justin - who is suicidal about their journey in Heartland. What could have been a fascinating in-depth look at the psychology in patients with these disorders ended up being glossed over, replaced by an unlikable romance between two unlikeable characters that I never got myself to care for.

And as if that's not enough, there's also the fact that the amount of slut-shaming found in this book was absolutely ridiculous and uncalled for.

“Honestly, don’t you see how stupid this skinny thing is? You have no tits or ass left. No guy is ever gonna think you’re hot,” Diana said.

Slut-shaming - especially when the individual has an eating disorder - is absolutely not acceptable. If I hadn't already lost all respect for this book by that point, I would there.

All in all, this book was downright inaccurate and I'm cringing just thinking about it. Every aspect - from the Mary Sue heroine and the selfish hero to the inaccuracy of the eating disorders and hospital lifestyle to the slut-shaming...I wouldn't recommend this.

[Sheri (Tangled Up In Books) · Rating 1 out of 5]

51% DNF

I made an honest attempt to make it through this book but I came to a point where I just can't take anymore.

First of all from the summary: "A hint of Recovery Road, a sample of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and a cut of Juno. " Now I've not heard of Recovery Road but I am very familiar with and adore both Nick and Norah and Juno. There is nothing even remotely close to either of those in this book except maybe character age range.

Second it's supposed to be full of humor and heartbreak and such. I'll admit here and there I felt sorry for these totally screwed up kids. But only to a point. And humor? If things like one of the main characters Justin cracking a joke in his "Sexual Reactivity" class about how the word "therapist" is just one space away from "the rapist" yeah. Funny.

Third. The porn obsession is over the top in this book. I made it to 51% and I can't count on two hands the amount of times I had to hear about porn.

A small bit of background for my breaking point. In one of the Anger Management sessions one of the girls asks to play a game and Tina the therapist was like sure what game. And the girl says the ass game. Replace the word heart with ass in any song. The group went wild while Tina tried to regain control and get everyone to quit yelling out song titles. Finally "accidentally messing up" and saying something about the rules at Assland (Heartland is the name of the reform school). Whatever I had to roll my eyes at that but that wasn't the big thing for me. Here at 51% she takes this same group of kids on a "field trip" to a county fair type thing and as she's trying to warn them about the fact that yes they were away and nobody was hovering about the rules of Assland. The group was like whoa you said Assland! She said she was proving a point about the temptation to misbehave and one guy says "Ooo you said ass big deal." the THERAPIST then says and I quote "Shit. Fuck. Queef. Happy?" Are you kidding me? An "adult" "therapist" says this to a group of severely fucked up teenagers? That's classy and highly appropriate! I was done after that sentence. I just can't finish.

It was more of a hot mess then an awesome one.

[Philomena Callan Cheekypee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an interesting coming of age read.

Justin is a sixteen year old who finds himself attending Heartland Academy, a reformist school for troubled teenagers, after he takes an overdose of Tylenol. He meets Emmy there who also has her own problems.

I really liked this read. I thought it had a good storyline with great characters.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

On the surface, A Really Awesome Mess doesn't look like it has much to boast about. And despite my love of contemporaries, it's not necessarily something that I would usually go for. But there was a small part of me that was curious and, as often happens when it comes to me and books, that small spark of curiosity was enough to prompt me to read this. Now I can say that I have absolutely no regrets, because this proved to cover a multitude of issues, present interesting character relationships and be completely hilarious all at once.

Welcome to Heartland Academy, a reform school in the middle of nowhere meant to deal with a whole range of mental health, emotional and other issues, from anger management to eating disorders to compulsive lying to addictions to suicidal tendencies and more. In Heartland Academy we meet six key people - Emmy and Justin are the two protagonists, yet alongside them are four friends, and it is through all of these characters that Cook and Halpin explore such issues. These were managed nicely so that they interwove together; while all these problems weren't explored in detail - indeed, there were too many of them for that to happen - it was still enough for me to appreciate them and what the characters were going through. There were also layers created, particularly in Emmy's case: just when I thought I knew about her life and why she felt the way she did, I learned something else about her.

I thought the authors had also done a remarkable job with the characters in bringing them alive and making me connect with them all. Admittedly I was annoyed at certain times, but the more I read the less this was so. For me, the last third or so of the book was the strongest, at least in terms of character relationships. I loved watching them all work together, encouraging each other to work past their issues and really come to be friends. The plotline this took place around was undeniably ridiculous - several times I stopped to reflect on what exactly was happening and why these characters were working together - but it was so funny and actually not at all bothersome, that I just accepted it and read on. I had this near-constant grin on my face, and I was content to just be along for the ride, however unlikely it was.

A Really Awesome Mess turned out to be a quick, almost surprisingly enjoyable read. I usually like my books dark and emotional, yet this somehow turned out to be a mix of emotional and quite funny, one that was strangely compelling in this case. I'm definitely glad I decided to give this one a go.

This review is also posted on my blog.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Warning: If you have or have ever had an eating disorder, this book will likely be VERY triggering for you.
At first, I found myself really intrigued by this novel. Ever since I was a teen, I have adored novels that are set in psychiatric facilities and deal with mental illness. Unfortunately, after reading about 100 pages, this interest quickly turned to anger. One of the novel's main characters, Emmy suffers from an eating disorder. In the novel, not eating is shown as being Emmy's decision, not something that is out of her control, as eating disorders are. She is also very judgemental of the weight and appearance of other people. This is inaccurate as those with eating disorders are judgemental of themselves, but not others. They see others as being beautiful and thin, even when they are much larger than the person with an eating disorder. The novel's portrayal of eating disorders is VERY infuriatingly inaccurate. I was outraged when Emmy and her peers when to a carnival and she spontaneously decided to eat a huge hot dog fully loaded with all available toppings. Worse, the other patients joke and humiliate Emmy about her lack of weight and her eating disorder which is completely normalized in the book.

The facility, if it were real, would seem to be very sketchy and poorly run. Emmy is easily able to get away with pawning her food off to other people and 'coughing' out her food into her napkin. The patients are shockingly allowed to wear their own clothes, which Emmy could easily hide food in. The supervisor for Emmy, the other main character, Justin and several other patients allows them to go on a special trip to a carnival when they don't seem even remotely ready to venture out with limited supervision. The counseling seems very unhelpful as the patients are simply asked a lot of rhetorical questions.

The other main, Justin has very little personality. He is simply crude and rude. He is obsessed with sex and pornography. I'm a little confused as to why he is in the facility. To me, he doesn't seem mentally ill, he simply seems like a jerk. He often tells rape jokes and believes they are hilarious. While his obsession with sex and pornography is very annoying, over-done and immature, it doesn't seem to be unusual. Most 17-year-olds (male or female) are becoming interested in sex and want to explore their sexuality. While I do think he needs more hobbies than watching porn and fantasizing about women, he doesn't need professional help.

I was frustrated by the novel's approach to sex in general. Justin is portrayed as being a deviant for any interest in sex, while Emmy, who has had some sexual experiences is portrayed as being a victim when she consensually had sexual relations with a classmate during study sessions. Other patients at the facility are labelled as lesbians for being rough and tumble females. *sigh*

I don't know if I would feel comfortable with teens reading this book as it negatively and inaccurately portrays so many topics and issues, bu maybe that's just me? My verdict: avoid this book!! You'll be better off for it.

[Susana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Arc provided by netgalley

DNF at 60 %


I really try not to leave books unfinished, but any more of this, and I would be the one needing psychiatric help!

To say that this didn't correspond to my expectations would be putting it mildly.

This was just unbelievable bad... in a sort of reality kids' show bad!!

I read the synopsis and it sounded like this could be something interesting: kids with very different problems coming together and helping one another.

What I got: spoiled brats who care only about themselves...

One of these characters, Emmy, has an eating disorder. But does her disease get treated with respect by the other members?

Or even by the authors?

The answer is a big fat NO.

The other kids have the social skills of cockroaches.

And the authors would have us believe that a kid with this sort of problem wouldn't have to start adjusting her eating habits!

No, she gets there and immediately starts being forced to eat everything they place on her plate!!

Amazing...

Then, immediately after the story starts, there's an attempt at insta-love! Right!!

Because that's what matters... who cares if the girl is trying to starve herself to death, and the guy tried to kill himself?

This is an YA book! Of course there's got BE LOVE!! And LOVE directed at a shmuck who treats her as if she's only being fanciful about food... yeah, he makes a lot of interesting remarks.

In fact, pretty much all the teens in the book come out as spoiled brats!

I guess the authors were aiming for troubled and problematic, but as far as I'm concerned, they only got into the spoiled brats level.

The comments, and remarks, display an incredible nonexistent level of empathy for anyone that's not themselves. They're arrogant, snarky, politically incorrect characters, who enjoy making cruel/racist and stupid remarks.

“Honestly, don’t you see how stupid this skinny thing is? You have no tits or ass left. No guy is ever gonna think you’re hot.” (Diana to Emmy)

Yes, they're basically too stupid to live...

Maybe further along the line, they wont be half as bad, but honestly I've had enough of this.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that will stay with me for days. Is it mind blowing no, is it beyond exciting not even a little bit, but it is about real issues and shows the true side of teens. I appreciate what Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin have written and I really wish I would have had something like this to read when I was younger.

In this story we have Justin and Emmy, 2 teens who have been sent to Heartland Academy. Heartland Academy is a reform school and they have been sent there for very different reasons but their families both hope for the same conclusion, they hope Emmy and Justin will become mentally and physically healthy again.

I have read books like this before, but honestly none of them have come anywhere close to this one. It kinda felt like 28 Days the movie just for teens and well I won't lie I loved that movie. Justin and Emmy were two amazing characters. They both were honestly very messed up and they each had their own issues and watching them understand what those issues really were was just awesome. I used to want to be a therapist when I grew up so maybe that is one reason why this book talked to me so much, but it also has to do with the authors. I don't know how they did it, but they really captured teenagers. The teens in this book cursed, yelled, got into fights, and just told it how it was. That was exactly how I was when I was younger, well I didn't speak my mind all the time but some of my friends did. On the flip side of all that anger though we get to see each teen work through their problems and realize that they need to trust each other including themselves or they are never going to work through their problems. Again I really wish I had read this way back when because it would have helped me figure a few things out.

I was proud of the characters in this book by the end, they deserved where they each ended up and honestly I want a sequel. I am not sure what that sequel would include, but I just want to know the outcome of certain characters. I kinda feel like we are left hanging even though it did end on a happy note. That just proves how good a book this was, if you read something and you just want more no matter what that more would be then that makes the book you just read pretty fantastic.

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kind of cute. First of all, let me just say that it gets MAJOR points for having a minority as one of the lead characters, and another minority as a supporting character. MAJOR. Honestly that's one of the reasons I liked it as much as I did, which isn't to trivialize the rest of the book, but to show how geeked I get when authors remember there are other races walking the streets!

The book centers on two teens' struggles to adapt when they are both sent to a sort of psychiatric school for troubled teens, which provides as much individual and group therapy as it does geometry and history. the group classes are designated by the needs of the kids, and Justin and Emmy end up in the same Anger Management class.

While tackling pretty serious topics, this book is more cute and light hearted. Some might criticize this turn, but as it is geared for teenagers I thought it was nice to show 14 and 15 year olds that there can be fun and upbeat moments no matter what your situation.

I also thought that Justin and Emmy's situations, and their reactions, were very realistic. Particularly Justin's battles with anger and depression. They struck me as realistic and understandable. Though I question whether what Emmy did was enough to get her sent somewhere like this, I let it slide because she did have serious issues that needed to be addressed.

What I didn't like was the data dumping at the beginning. While I'm always suspicious of people who over share, especially to strangers, I'm more suspicious when this is done by kids who are apparently hiding their real feelings from everyone, including themselves. Granted, talking to the reader isn't really "sharing" but it still struck me as unrealistic that they would narrate so much of what was in their head, when they had not yet gotten to the crux of the issues that got them sent there in the first place. On a related note, I also thought that their revelations come like these big "aha moments" way too soon after they got there. I didn't think the time lapse was realistic.

Further there were the other kids in the Anger Management group, which the story centered around. They were creative and it seemed like a realistic bunch, until I learned they were (supposedly) further along in their progress than Justin and Emmy, who had just arrived. Throughout much of the book, they exhibit the behaviors that got them landed in the school in the first place. Which was fine, and enjoyable to read, but contradicted the idea that they had made significant progress in their emotional lives.

But with that, I still found it to be a fun read, and with some caution as to the more explicit language and themes, I'd recommend this one for teenagers.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

[Sofia Lazaridou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. I honestly wasn't expecting to like it so much but I did. I remembered why I love YA books after reading this.

Justin and Emmy are two teenagers who suffer from something that could happen to you and me. Many girls want to have the perfect figure to get to that "chic double 0" as Emmy said. Emmy wants to look like a model and is happy when she sees her bones in the mirror. She is starving herself and leading her into an early grave.So her parents decide to send her to Assland/Heartland Academy.
Justin is depressed. Many people are these days. He is sent to Assland Academy to get better. He says that he feels numb.

There they meet 4 other kids. With a purpose they form a team and try to make things work out to get their reward.What I loved about that was seeing them, those 6 teenages acting selfishly in the beginning but as the book was processing seeing them work together, understand what the phrase team work means and forming bonds. They became better, healed a little.

In the end I had a positive feeling. Things can get better. As I turned the last page of the book I had a smile on my face and happy thoughts.

[Ange · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a total fucking mess. So completely wrong about how people in treatment behave. Completely insensitive/not accurate eating disorder portrayals. It appears to have been written by people who have never talked to real live human teenagers before.

[Frk. Hyms · Rating 1 out of 5]

It had it's moments, but overall I really didn't like it. Unrealistic and filled with flaws.

Let me start by saying that focus on mental illness and problems among young people are very important and I support it highly. But it has to be done rightfully. It has to be serious without being boring and it must be realistic. A Really Awesome Mess is neither.

Both Justin and Emmy are horrible main characters. They’re selfish, naïve and obnoxious. The story changes between the two of them, but their narrative voices were completely alike and I had so much trouble separating them.

I had some difficulties with the way the school was run. Justin wasn’t admitted because he ate a lot of painkillers to get attention – he got admitted because his dad caught him getting a little too cozy with a girl. At the school he has to be part of a group to talk about his relationship with sex. Admittedly, it may be because I’m not from the States, but to me it’s not that bad for a 16 year-old to be interested in sex and porn – to me it’s a natural part of growing up and exploring your sexuality. The book makes it seem so wrong and I just don’t get it.

Emmy is admitted because she has bullied a boy from school on Facebook and because she lost a lot of weight due to anorexia. And once again I don’t get the story; if she has anorexia, why isn’t she regularly weighed and why aren’t they watching what she eats? She obviously can’t control it herself. I just don’t get it! Besides, her entire approach toward food is no way realistic and where does she get all that energy if she doesn’t eat? If you want to read a great book about anorexia, read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.

It seems to me that the authors wanted to write a book about young people with problems, but didn’t really care for it anyway and ended up writing a book about young love and friendship – and that’s just not good enough when the premise promises more. I was outraged and shocked more than once, shook my head over and over and I was so angry at the way the school is run – nobody seems to notice anything! If you want a realistic, well told and interesting story, this is NOT the one you want!

Just for the fun of it, let’s take some examples of this lousy school:

- The group counselor begs the management and the parents to take the group to a market and is granted the wish, if she promises to keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t get into trouble. When they arrive, the kids get to run around as they please and when they return to the bus, the group counselor is on the roof of the car, making out with some dude!!! Who does that when they are in charge of a group of mentally unstable kids?!
- It’s possible for the kids to keep a pig hidden in their room and sneak food up to it. They never get caught, despite the smell and noise.
- The kids are allowed physical violence against each other in group therapy because it helps them open up and reach a common goal. What? Seriously, how is this school running?!

[Clara Cortés · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay que decir que al final este libro me ha gustado mucho. Las 90 primeras páginas ha despertado mis instintos asesinos más puros, no voy a mentir, pero entiendo que esos eran los personajes, y estoy absolutamente satisfecha con la evolución de todos (no solo de los protagonistas, sino de los secundarios también, sus relaciones y sus logros). Muestra las enfermedades mentales de una manera bastante explícita y pura, es decir, lees cómo se sienten y es literalmente así, sin florituras ni mierdas, y mola. Y otra cosa que me ha gustado: nadie salva a nadie, nadie arregla a otra persona. Son ellos solos se las apañan (o no), y está bien.

[Cassi Haggard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review is below the PSA. Review is 100% about the book



3.5/5 stars

A Really Awesome Mess is fun and cute, as fun and cute as you can possibly expect in a book about teenagers with mental illnesses at a boarding school for troubled teens. For a topic that's decidedly unfunny, this book reads like a lighthearted romp where it could've just as easily been a dark book about modern teens.

The story follows two points of view, Emmy, a girl adopted from China who gets expelled from her old school after some particularly nasty facebook tactics, and Justin who struggles with depression. Dual point of views always makes me think "oh no romance" and while there's some of crushes and kissing, the book isn't one of those typical stories of two broken people trying to fix each other. It's about a group of broken people working together to fix themselves, even if that's not really what they're trying to do, and to me that's an important distinction.

Emmy and Justin's anger-management support group has to work together to earn privileges, and out of this unholy alliance friendships and misadventures emerge. The huge big messy adventure/project they all undertake is a little ridiculous, but it's a whole lot of silliness and fun and you'll probably have to suspend your disbelief a little. But that's okay, because even if it's slightly unbelievable it's enjoyable and even hilarious at times. I would say more but I'd rather let you be surprised.

For me one of the biggest flaws is that sometimes the characters seem to parrot what their therapists would say. These moments feel forced, like someone else's words are put into the characters mouth so the reader can understand heathy coping mechanism. But in the grand scheme of things that's not terribly important and only disrupts the story a little.

Overall this book is really enjoyable and worth the read. It's nice that A Really Awesome Mess dealt with such serious topics without becoming too heavy or taking itself too seriously.

I received an advance reading copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
For this review and more check out my blog Galavanting Girl Books.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about 3 1/2 stars for me. (I would like Goodreads to give us options of 1/2 stars - so often I am in between ratings on books.)

A Really Awesome Mess is told from the alternating perspectives of Justin and Emmy, two teenagers who are unwilling students at Heartland Academy, a school whose purpose is to fix them (hence the unwilling part). During their time at Heartland (which is quickly given a nickname), Justin and Emmy form relationships not only with each other, but also with other students in their group as well as a few staff members. These relationships help them get through their time at Heartland while also helping them (yep) grow and deal with what is going on in their lives. These relationships and interactions are the funny and somewhat sarcastic core of the book.

Justin has a variety of "issues" including depression. As someone formally diagnosed with depression and anxiety in the early adult phase of my life, I realize the depression didn't just appear when I was an adult - the signs were there as a teen as well. The book is not heavy-handed in its approach to Justin's depression. The depiction of his depression, including Justin's description of it later in the book, is pretty accurate. Of course, not everyone's depression is the same, but the way he describes how it manifests itself is fairly spot-on from what I (and several family members as well as a few friends) have experienced. I also appreciated that he seems realistic about it - meds are not a quick or complete fix for depression, it may not ever go away entirely, there can be many good days mixed in with the bad, ...

Other kids in the group have different problems/reasons they are at Heartland. Some are intriguing, some not so much. I found Emmy's character and her avoidance of her issues a bit off-putting (and I feel that her eating disorder was perhaps not handled as realistically as Justin's depression), but she did grow on me a bit as I stuck with the book.

This isn't a book that deals with heavy issues in a heavy way. Some readers may have problems with that, feeling the various disorders and difficulties should be handled with more gravity, so those looking for that approach should look elsewhere. The kids have attitudes, they are negative, they don't want to be there, they are conniving at times... yes, they are teenagers. They also made me laugh and want to see what was going to happen next. Some of it is silly (the pig? hmm...), but overall it was an enjoyable read.

I received my copy as an ARC from NetGalley.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 Stars

As the title says, this is a mess. But not an awesome one, more of a sloppily done one. There is so much that's just horribly wrong with this novel that I get mad just thinking about it. Very little in this novel actually makes sense. Very little. And that made me really sad because I actually had really high hopes for this one.

The book skips over really important stuff like Justin's relationship with his mother and step dad and there's more telling rather than showing in the story. It's also obvious that every single one of these characters are underdeveloped especially, Emmy. That girl is just all over the place with her problems. She's supposed to be angry (she's in the anger management group for crying out loud!) yet, not once does she spaz out and yell and hit anyone when they don't allow her to do what she wants. All of the characters have problems but they feel very half done, like the authors didn't research these problems enough or very well. And even though I don't mind romances in these kinds of stories, the romance in A Really Awesome Mess is very contrived. Everything about the relationship between Justin and Emmy feels very fake to me and it annoyed me to no end the way Emmy is around Justin, like he's her world. *Rolls eyes*

But believe it or not, I did enjoy a few things about this book. I loved that Justin's dad walked in on him doing the dirty. It's funny and adds in the light mood the book was trying to mix in with the serious topics. Justin as a character starts off pretty strong and he's the only reason I kept reading to the very end because his story is one that I can relate to. But other than Justin and his problems, I didn't find anything else likeable about this novel.

I'm so disappointed with A Really Awesome Mess. Books about teenagers and depression and all that serious stuff speak to me! This book has put me in a bad mood and I don't recommend this to anyone because it's poorly executed and isn't researched enough that also has a romance that could have gotten two stars out of me if it didn't have.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review. Find more reviews at The Reflections of a Bookworm

What worked: When I saw the blurb, i thought to myself, "How can a reform school for damaged souls be funny?". Cook and Halpin answered that question for me. Although A Really Awesome Mess deals with some genuinely difficult issues such as anorexia, selective mutism and depression, it also provides a story that has you in kinks. We have characters that reel you in to their group and sit you down next to them in group therapy. There are teachers and therapists with their own individual voices alongside a core six characters, that is a freaking achievement. Cultivating each of those characters so they don't fall flat without losing the life of the others is certainly difficult but these two authors nail it with every single one.

In our society at the moment, we still attach a lot of stigma to mental health issues often with a roll of the eyes or by fobbing it off as not that bad. A Really Awesome Mess shows you just how tough it is to live with a condition like those in Heartland Academy and the fact that it doesn't go away, you have to live with it.

But ARAM isn't all doom and gloom, it deals with the difficult subjects sensitively and uses humour to soften the blow but never at the expense of the character. And for that, I wholeheartedly applaud the authors.

What irked: There were one or two occasions where the characters would make a comment or two that I personally wasn't comfortable with.

[Tash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Emmy arrives at Heartland Academy, a school-slash-mental institute for teens struggling with a wide range of mental health issues, she thinks her parents are happy to have finally found a way to get rid of her. In denial about her anorexia, she sees it as a needless punishment for refusing to apologise to the boy she bullied via Facebook - something she won't do because of the reasons why it all started, which she certainly can't tell anyone about. She's always thought it was just a matter of time, anyway, since she's the kid they adopted from China just as they discovered they'd managed to get pregnant the natural way, resulting in her younger, but much taller, beautiful sister Jocelyn.

Also new at Heartland is Justin, who has never really got over his dad leaving when he was little and never having any time for him. Depression led to him taking a bunch of Tylenol and ending up in hospital, followed by a "holiday" with his dad who made no effort to spend time with him or even really talk to him. When he met a girl at a fun park and took her back to the apartment, his dad walks in on them in a compromising position and BAM! before he knows it, in what he considers a complete knee-jerk reaction, he's locked up at Heartland with some vague nonsense about his poor attitude toward women (just because he can't remember her name, sheesh!).

These are two messed-up teens, struggling with daily life, with fitting in and believing that they're loved and wanted, who can't or won't voice their thoughts and feelings and who rewrite the silences to fit the dark thoughts in their heads. But they're not alone. At Heartland, they form unlikely friendships with each other and the other teens in their anger management class: silent Jenny, who hasn't spoken since her father fed her her own pet pig; Mohammed, who claims to be a survivor of the Civil War in Sierra Leone but who is actually a pathological liar; Chip, from Ohio, who's addicted to computer games; and Diana, a doll-like girl with violent tendencies.

Given the group project of going a week without getting into a fight or doing anything against the rules, they begin to slowly bond and support each other, finding strength not just in being accepted for who they are but also in being able to open up and share some of their darkest, innermost thoughts.

A Really Awesome Mess has a lot going for it: funny, wise-arse adolescent characters who talk in a realistic way; a nice balance of humour and gravity, it knows just when to take an issue seriously and when to play for laughs; a wide range of diverse, complex characters who all felt very real; strong narrative (first person) voices from Emmy and Justin, who take turns telling the story from their own unique, individual perspectives; and a story that tackles head-on some very important issues facing teens today (and some that can occur irrespective of period or place). Anorexia, depression, sexual abuse, parental neglect, bullying, identity crises, acceptance issues, attempted suicide as a cry for help, underage sex as a way to fill a void, numb pain, feel something or convince yourself that you are loved - these all ring true and even if you've never directly experienced such things yourself, it's a great window onto how these teens really feel and why they do what they do.

The problem is that it tackles SO MUCH and in such a short novel that there's no space to really explore these things to the kind of depth they deserve. It follows a fairly classic formula, a kind of Breakfast Club scenario: misfits lumped together form unlikely friendship and end the day stronger than when they started. And it works, it's great to see these poor lost kids find the support they really needed amongst people who are just as scarred and troubled as they are. I think this was the author's goal: to show teen readers that they're not alone, that much of what they think and fear is a product of miscommunication or no communication at all, and that if they can learn to open up they can free themselves of at least part of what ails them, even if they struggle with mental health issues all their lives (coping mechanisms is what I'm getting at).

The story's strengths lie in the characters of Justin and Emmy, who are messed-up and confused and having to deal with things that they feel ill-equipped to handle, and so respond in negative ways. Their narrative voices are distinctly adolescent, though I didn't find that they were unique in and of themselves: the chapters are titled with their names, which is good, but just flipping through it now I can't tell who's "speaking" from the way it's written. There is a bit of romance between the two, but it's a gradual thing and shy, it's not the point of the story at all - though I actually felt it was quite unnecessary and would have worked just as well without it at all. (I'd hate to think YA authors felt compelled to add romance to their novels just because there's an assumption that teens only want to read romance or something.)

I was a bit dismayed by Heartland Academy itself and all its rules; I can understand that they're trying to mitigate risk and that some of these kids have an actual desire to self-harm in various ways, but it's been proven that things like caring for animals and gardening (like growing your own veg) are very therapeutic. I couldn't help but think that these kids needed some clean air to breathe (the academy is located in the country surrounded by corn fields but the kids never get to go outside), to experience having a purpose and being needed, and the immense satisfaction you get (as a human) from producing something. Justin does have a cooking class but it would have been more inspiring to see the kids growing the food, preparing it and then serving it to everyone for dinner. The words "well adjusted" come to mind. It was disappointing to me to see just how, well, institutional the place was, and how quite a few of the rules were clearly not benefiting the patients/students.

Both Justin and Emmy are teens in denial, especially Emmy, and watching her face up to what she was doing to herself - and to the humiliation of past acts - was both sad and heartening. (As with losing weight, there are no short cuts to getting better.) Justin's case was less clear-cut than Emmy's, and took a while to piece together, but depression does tend to be an anti-climactic, less "glamorous" illness than something like anorexia or feeling like your adoptive parents consider you an ugly burden. It's hard to even articulate what's wrong, so the authors did a good job of capturing Justin's inner feelings.

This is a pretty well-written, realistic, fast-paced story about a group of teens figuring themselves out and learning how to deal with the shitty hand they've been dealt. I found the ending a bit sudden and while I liked how it didn't feel the need to resolve everything or have everyone all cured - that wouldn't be realistic! - it didn't quite feel finished exactly, either. If I remember correctly it takes place over the course of just a few months, and went a bit fast for me: I would have found it more absorbing if it had taken place over a year or so, giving the characters more time to adjust, sort things out, and so on. The pacing was just a bit too rushed. But making a story about mental illness entertaining without cheapening what the characters were going through is a strength - and humour in such situations is a pretty common coping mechanism, too. Overall, a highly readable story about a very important subject matter, told by two teenagers who will really make you feel for them, no matter how horrible they are to others. It's not the only YA novel to tackle such issues or take place within a mental institute, but it's strong enough to stand on its own amongst them.

My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"'Home crappy home,' I whispered under my breath."
First sentence of the book: cue eye-roll. If you're going to start off with that bad of an attitude, you'd better have an exceptionally good reason.
As someone who, as a teen, escaped from the real world via good (and sometimes lousy) literature, I was highly skeptical that any good, any sense of fulfillment, any truth or beauty would be revealed to me upon completion of this assuredly run-of-the-mill, lackluster, whiny, bitchy, trendy young adult novel.
How wrong I was, and how delighted I am to admit that.

For once in my life, I couldn't care less about the writing style, syntax, pacing, and believability of a novel; I was that wrapped up in the story and characters. That being said, the writing style was way out of my comfort zone (not lyrical, not poetic, not compelling: instead it was gritty and modern and sometimes cringe-inducing), and it totally worked. The story did move, and the premise? Really not that far-fetched. This is definitely not a hi-low novel.

On to the highlights: the characters.
Emmy and Justin are two of five seriously troubled young people the novel follows; Emmy is an adopted anorexic nursing a heart broken many times in many different ways and overcoming the pain of a sexual relationship gone awry, while Justin is a stereotypical 16-year-old-ball-of-raging-hormones who also happens to be dealing with feelings of abandonment, inadequacy, and a heart-breakingly believable case of soul-crushing depression. Included in their immediate circle of associates is a pathological liar with identity issues, a gaming addict computer genius, a selective mute with PTSD regarding a pet pig, and a psychotic Tasmanian Devil of a girl who copes with being a victim of sexual abuse by pushing everyone around her to the upper limits of their already questionable sanity.
Add to that cast of characters some long-suffering, albeit slightly frazzled therapists, loving family members dealing with their own respective mental or emotional demons, and honest and snort-inducing dialogue, all set in the heart of America's aptly, if less-than-lovingly labeled, Flyover Zone, and readers are in for a really awesome mess, indeed.

Cook does a great job of being honest in her representation of these young people. Their problems are not painted romantically or melodramatically; neither are they dismissed in a preachy, get-over-yourself way.
Depression, for those who know it, is nothing to scorn; Justin's sense of helplessness, of nothingness, of disconnect is almost unbearable. Those who don't recognize or have never encountered depression may be put off by Justin's inability to function or his sometimes sudden switch from being completely invested in his world to not giving a shit; the painful reality is that this character is no exaggeration, and he is made more poignant because he is real.
Likewise, Emmy's warped view of reality will garner incredulity - are there people who truly see themselves so differently from the way they really are? see the whole world that way? Again, the answer is yes; to those with eating disorders, the rest of us are the crazies, and those feelings of pity and scorn Emmy expresses toward the "factory farm" girls are valid and deep-seated.
The above examples touch on just a couple of the many issues these two characters combat, and each one is addressed through the course of the story, both internally and environmentally; Justin's and Emmy's new friends don't pull any punches (sometimes literally), saying things bluntly, unthinkingly, and honestly.
Readers will be pissed along with Heartland Academy's inmates at the rigid rules to be followed and the hawkish observation to be suffered, irritated by the namby-pamby, touchy-feely therapy sessions and debilitating, forced group-mentality, and will therefore find themselves as surprised as the teenagers when the hippie-esque measures actually seem to work.
Laudably, this novel isn't one long advertisement for therapy; rather it is an argument for acceptance: of others, of self, and of life as something unpredictable and messy that everyone is just trying to figure out and survive, one day at a time. The therapy sometimes prompts epiphanies, and other times prompts disastrous arguments or hilarious rabbit trails. Good days can turn sour just as quickly as a bad one can be turned around by a small gesture from a friend. Friendship itself can arise from the oddest circumstances, and solidarity can be achieved over pornography privileges or the care and keeping of a stolen pig. Tough love evolves into true selflessness and consideration of others, and the five misfits become a team with whom readers can identify on at least one level, if not more.
Cook's characters challenge readers to realize that everyone has issues, and no one issue is more or less difficult to bear or to overcome than another. The book sheds light on some important and sometimes sensitive issues, and will open the door for discussion for many readers.

[Francine Soleil · Rating 5 out of 5]

review originally posted here: http://alwayslostinbooks.wordpress.co...

So I found out about this book through one of the blogs that I visited before, and when I saw it on Netgalley, I thought I should try it out. I didn’t actually read the synopsis before I started reading it so I didn’t know what to expect. The title was good enough to get me interested. I only understood the cover after reading the book, and it feels quite clinical now, but I still love it anyway. It’s simple, but it conveys a lot about the content.

A Really Awesome Mess speaks for itself, I think. It is a really light and fun read that will allow you to look into a group of messed up teenagers, as they try to survive and get out of Heartland Academy, the in-the-middle-of-nowhere reform school where their families sent them to fix themselves. Of course, this is met by apprehension by the teenagers, but they soon find the benefits of being there, even if the results weren’t necessarily always achieved by the staff of the institution.

A Really Awesome Mess is told through the thoughts of two troubled teens (tongue twister? XD), which I think accounts for the informal writing, and the amount of attitude displayed in each chapter. The writing is raw, blunt, open and honest with a mix of crazy that will surely entertain you while opening your eyes to how some teenagers think. In fact, I find myself thinking like them sometimes too. I like how the book is relatable. It talks about things that some of us think about, but we never really bother speaking about them or dwelling on them.

In our country, mental disorders aren’t really taken seriously, but I know that America has a lot of institutions or offices that deals with these, especially since teenagers can be easily affected by multiple problems. I, myself, think that’s important to take care of mental health, even though it is discouraged here. Maybe they easily equate mental problems to straitjackets. But that’s not always the case. People just really have problems that they have a hard time handling. I think people shouldn’t judge what’s hard to control. People blame us that we’re feeling depressed or crazy or whatever, but they don’t understand that we just really couldn’t handle it ourselves. I think it’s great that things like these are discussed in books.

Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin definitely know how to make people laugh. One thing you should know about me is that I love humor – in reading, watching, etc. So I mostly loved this book for that. But I think it’s more than that. It mixes in reality with absurd things, and it is able to achieve an entertaining means of looking at how people cope with life with all the baggage that we have to deal with. Although it’s kind of strange how they easily got away with some of the forbidden things that they did, but that’s not really something I dwelled much on while reading the book. I was enjoying myself too much. In fact, I didn’t want to let it go, but sleep was needed.

This book shows teenagers with so many social issues - selective mutism, anorexia, bulimia, anger issues, sexual issues, addiction, self-harm, bullying, etc. There are really a lot of them, and we see these people with these problems coming from different backgrounds. Some of their living situations are heart-breaking, but some of them aren’t really that bad, but they’re all sent to the same place to figure themselves out. I don’t think that this book would really talk much about fixing issues, but there are some parts that could help. What I learned that’s important is that you have to figure it out for yourself. Others can (and should) help, but it’s always going to have to come from you.

I LOVED the characters of this book, specifically their little anger management group of friends. It felt like meeting a really awesome group of friends. They’re all damaged in their own little ways and I felt for them and related to them. I learned to love each and every one of them as I got to know them better. I felt like I belonged with them, and that I was with them as they went through the story. It’s like they were talking to me, and calling me out on my own shit. I’m probably not as messed up as they are though, but it was a really great experience to “have them as friends.” My favorite part was during Justin’s first culinary class, and Diana and the Dora doll.

**************************************************

OVERALL, This book made me laugh out loud, and it warmed my heart. It even made me a little teary. I would definitely buy my own copy once it comes out in our country (or so I hope it would), which should be soon so YAY~ I loved this book mostly for what I felt about/for it, and it made me one pleased little lady. It is a book that I would personally recommend.

[Lottie Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Really Awesome Mess is a book that will really make you think and reflect–and make you severely addicted and laugh out loud. I seldom find stories like A Really Awesome Mess, stories that touch upon serious, sometimes dark subjects, but still manage to be lighthearted, fun, witty, and highly entertaining. Because of the fact that me coming across these kind of stories are rare, I consider A Really Awesome Mess to be a real treasure.

What A Really Awesome Mess tells is the story of a group of teenagers living in a rehabilitative school, Heartland Academy (dubbed Assland by our group of characters), and trying to get through their problems, problems some of the characters are in denial of having, and maybe do some crazy shenanigans while they are at it, told through the perspectives of Emmy, a girl who is suffering from an eating disorder and other problems, and Justin, a boy who has clinical depression.

Being a novel that is driven by its characters, the characters that the story contains are the most significant part of A Really Awesome Mess. And I think that Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin do a fantastic job at writing these characters and their problems. Emmy and Justin are instantly engaging narrators, both with their own unique personality and problems that are extremely relevant to teenagers.

Emmy, the first narrator to be introduced, immediately got my attention with her realistic characterization and narration. Her character is filled with anger and resentment, resentment and anger because of the fact that she is the different one in her family, being adopted from China, and resentment and anger because of the racial slurs constantly being aimed at her, because of the bullying she went through at school and the bullying she later dealt out herself as revenge, and the negative view she has of her own body.

Even though Emmy is a hilarious narrator, I could really feel the problems and emotions deep down inside her, painfully so. Her character has a lot of room for growth in the beginning room that she does later grow into. I loved Emmy and her story of growing and healing.

Justin is an equally engaging character as Emmy, and even more so in particular moments. I admit that he doesn’t come off as a very sensitive person in the beginning. To be frank, he is actually a bit of asshole, as he does have a lot of moments where sexist, racist, and insensitive, mocking things spill out of his mouth. He’s an angry person. Angry at his father, himself, and sometimes his whole family. And then there are times when he just feels empty for long periods of time and really pained after that. A good deal of his problems came into being because of his struggling with clinical depression, which I thought was executed realistically and honestly.

I have no experience with depression and neither have any of my family members, but I believe I know enough about it to really think that Cook and Halpin handled Justin’s depression brilliantly. They show the sadness, pain, struggling, and hopelessness that comes with it and they also show the happiness and gradual healing, though depression never does go away, really. At the end I really think that Justin had grown a lot as a person and will be able to live through life strongly, even with depression.

The side characters that Cook and Halpin created are colorful and deserving of great praise. Never did I think of these characters as flat and lifeless. Mohammed, Diana, Jenny, and Chip were characters that leave impact with their personalities and backstories. Add to the fact that they all have a great chemistry with each other and the two leads and you got a terrific gang of awesome characters.

And even with these characters that can be great fun and the heartwarming story of healing that comes along with them, the authors still thought to add some More to A Really Awesome Mess. And that More is total utter chaos and weirdness. Really, you have runaway pigs, replacing the word heart with the word ass (My Achy Breaky Ass, Assland Academy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Ass, I’m not making this up.), and some veerryyy interesting conversations. Calling A Really Awesome Mess a really awesome mess wouldn’t be to far off the mark.

This isn’t a gritty, edgy read, but if you are looking for a fun, heartwarming one that can go on some very weird tangents, I wouldn’t be able to come up with a better recommendation than this. Cook and Halpin made a real good story that is a must read with their efforts. And really, this is one of the most unique “issue” books out there.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 star rating*

"I could swear I heard Mohammed say, "Hey baby," as he closed the door. Who the hell called their mom "baby"? Well, I guess if he didn't have issues, he wouldn't be here."

If you're looking for a knockoff of It's Just A Funny Story, then pick up this book. But keep in mind that this is not even close to being classified as a "favourite" for me. It was good, but really nothing special. It's just a plain, predictable contemporary read.



How original was this. *unpleased poker face* A good book should be original, and should be different than anything else in this world. But this was just an under-classified mental-hospital related novel. It did have its good things and its bad, but that was the thing that bothered me this most.

The concept was kind of boring, I must say. It was just about two teenagers's lives through time in a mental hospital. No biggie. They got in when they did something horrible, and they all think they're angels. Justin was sent because of a scandal that his dad found him in and Emmy was caught bullying a guy because he sent a compromising photo of her onto Facebook. When they meet, they find that they have a connection through their friendship and something more.

Despite Justin (who I will get to in a second) and the concept and idea, I really enjoyed this book. It was hilarious, witty and some sorts of fun. The plot started off great from the beginning and I was very excited to see what would happen next that dealt with the romance. :) Yes, if you knew the way I judge books from before, you'll know that I'm a sucker for romance. I wasn't really bored at all. The plot was very fast-paced the whole time through and although the events weren't the most catastrophic or suspenseful, it was a good story.

The characters were pretty great, if you ask me. But the only one who really made everything suck was Justin. He made me want to do this to the book:



Like he was so pointless the whole time. He was so clueless and didn't know how to live a life. All he thought about was Emmy, who's romance with him wasn't anything special. Something about him just made me loathe him and made me angry and frustrated with the whole book.

The side characters were just awesome. Muhammad and the rest of the crew were just all kick-ass and sarcastic and hilarious! I loved them all!

This book was okay, nothing really special. It was definitely bearable to read with, and is recommended to those who want something light and fun!

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

In which I was promised a "A Really Awesome Mess" and istead got two privilged, middle class bitches who cry about their perfect lives for an entire book and then make out near the end. I AM DISPLEASED I WAS EXPECTED SO MUCH MORE. As in, sympathitic/fun characters I could get behind. (Not Mr. Asswipe and his random depression which only appears in the middle of the book in order to remind the audience that he has /reasons/ to be in a place for kids with actual issues. As well as to tell us that he is not just a selfish little white boy despite the obvious.)
And if he isn't enough I also had to deal with. Miss I-Really-Am-Not-Aneroix who was really stupid and dense and...ungrateful. As well as delusional. I don't want to downgrade anorexia which is a real issue, but that's the least of this girl's issues. Not only does is she angry at her parents for no reason outside of they adopted her and then had a kid right after. (Which, I might add is something that happens often. My archery coach adopted a little boy after trying for years to have a child and then a month afterwards she got pregnant.) Her parents obviously did love her and she was just making a big deal out of nothing.

Outside of the annoying characters, there was also a romance between the two of them that did literally nothing for the book. The plot was nonsenical if not non-existant, the center itself made little to no sense. (We cure anorexia by feeding girls food until they are fat AH YES WE HAVE CURED IT WITH OUR MODERN MEDICINE.) The book then finished itself off by having Mr. Asswipe and Miss. Ungrateful reaalzing that while they were sort of wrong, their stupid actions were totally justified because they are teeangers and therefore smarter and more emotionally complex than everyone else - especially the adults. Utter bullshit. 1 star.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Yeah, that's totally badass. Not killing yourself even when you think you want to. Takes a lot more balls to stay alive, don't you think?"
We all smiled because it was the truth: Living did take a lot more guts than giving up.

In this book we follow the story of two troubled teenagers, Justin and Emily and their journey tin Heartland Academy.
Being Heartland Academy a reform school, our first thought it's what brought them there.

Justin took a handful of Tylenol, while Emily is accused of cyber bullying. They both feel disconnected with their family.
Are this reasons why they're there or something more deeper is behind it?
Can they deal with their issues and heal, and connect with the other teens?

I had several problems with this book.
I really liked the premises of the story and I did enjoyed several moments of it.
It had a slow start and I was having problems connecting with the characters but at some point, I started enjoy a lot the whole dynamic of the group. Discovering each reason for they all being there, how did they interact with each other.

And when they started bonding? It felt real and quite emotional.

But then it went downhill again...I couldn't get the whole pig thing!It was just too much!
And well,seriously, if the smell was that BAD, no one else would notice it?

So yeah, this didn't worked out for me.


**ARC kindly provided via netgalley in exchange of a honest review **

[Jillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me. Didn't like the writing. It was just very MEH.

Positives:
1. a somewhat funny dialogue
2. diverse characters

[Becky (Blogs of a Bookaholic) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best part about this book was the cover.

[Delores · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was disappointing. Don't read.