Emmy is being sent to Heartland Academy, a school for kids that need a behavior change. Emmy has been involved in an internet bullying scandal, and when outed, she refuses to apologize. Her school has asked her not to return. Emmy's parents think the best thing for her is to go to Heartland and work on her anger and abandonment issues (she was adopted from China as an infant), not to mention her diminishing weight.

Justin is going to Heartland after an attempted suicide, which he claims was really just an attention-getting stunt. He's got some pretty severe depression that needs worked on, and he's apparently got some sexual issues going on.

Once at Heartland, the new kids fall in with their anger-management group, figuring out ways to get around the rules that they hate. Along the way they find ways to help each other with their issues, while also going on one heck of an adventure and even making a few friends along the way.

My Thoughts:
A Really Awesome Mess actually ended up being a really awesome mess for me. I realized pretty quickly that this book is better off read without thinking too much. The more I learned about Emmy, Justin, and the rest of their crew and therapists, the more I decided it just wasn't worth analyzing whether the things in this book could ever actually happen: They Couldn't. While this book features some pretty heavy issues (depression, suicide, rape, eating disorders), it's NOT an issues book. Those issues are not meant to be delved into. This book is about a journey for 2 kids that are stuck in a place that is extremely hard to be in. It's about how they adapt to being in this rigid environment, and how a bunch of delinquent-type kids are able to still find a way to be kids in a place where that isn't supposed to happen.

If you read it at face value and take some of the events just for entertainment value, the book can be quite enjoyable. The kids basically poke at their issues, their main goal being getting around the rules at Heartland. During the first half of the book, I was completely engaged, but about halfway through the gang goes on a field trip that basically ends up being a ridiculous free-for-all fantasy and from there I was just ehhh.

It's hard for me to 100% endorse this book because I felt like a lot of the important issues weren't taken seriously enough. For instance, Emmy has a pretty serious eating disorder. She's constantly being name-called over it and the powers that be seem to think the way to fix her problem is to force her to eat 3000 calories a day. To me what that was saying is, eating disorders are grounds for ridicule and once a person gets to a healthy weight, they're cured. I doubt this was the authors' direct intention, but that's the way it came off. Depression, suicide, eating disorders are not issues that should be glossed over and laughed at IMO.

So yeah I wanted to really love the book (I really really love the cover), but I am too much of a serious person to just give in to the adventure, which seemed to be the focus. None of kids at Heartland seemed to be getting much out of the actual institution. The things they seemed to learn were how to get around the rules and tricking people into thinking they are well so they can leave. Another problem for me was that none of the characters actually grew on me that much. Most of the kids were thoroughly unlikable, and it wasn't because of their issues... it was just their attitudes and lack of growth. Diana for instance was the youngest and should have been easy to like. She was angry and harsh, but once her problems came out, I understood why. BUT she never stopped being harsh and selfish... and she just made it so hard to like her. All the characters were sort of like that.

OVERALL: I would totally recommend this for late middle school/early high school. It has some cute parts and it was nice to see some friendships formed, but it definitely could have been better.

My Blog:

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Basically, this book is about an angry girl and a depressed boy, both sixteen, who are sent to a therapeutic boarding school to address their issues. Emmy has an eating disorder and was busted for online bullying, and Justin attempted suicide and was caught in a sexually compromising position with a girl he just met while staying with his dad, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why they are at Heartland Academy.

I thought this book had a lot of things going for it, especially when it came to the real problems the teens at the school were dealing with, and the compassion and patience the staff showed them. They acted and reacted like you would expect teens to, especially those with anger disorders. There was a lot of humor in the book, as well as heartfelt moments when the teens connected with each other.

All in all, I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, and give it my recommendation.

4/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Egmont USA, Trish Cook, and Brendan Halpin for the opportunity to read and review this book. ( )

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?!
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Light summer read from two viewpoints. I found myself rooting for the characters,gigling over their exploits and wanting to read more about them at the end. They DO recover, right??? ( )

I didn't go in to A Really Awesome Mess with high expectations, since the reviews I had seen weren't giving it much praise. But I did hope I would be able to at least finish it. What I couldn't have predicted was how much I would enjoy the story! I really love when that happens because I had a hard time putting the book down.

The chapters alternated between the point-of-views of Emmy and Justin. Both of them were hilarious and had me cracking up so many times! They also sounded like real teenagers with real, serious issues. The relationships they built and the adventures they shared with their new friends seemed genuine and had me grinning. Because those much needed friendships clearly had a hand in helping each of them deal with their problems, even if some of their issues would never entirely go away. Overall, I thought Emmy and Justin and their group of misfit friends were great and relatable characters, and I know they were the reason why I was glued to the book and why I was having so much fun reading their story.

A Really Awesome Mess kept me entertained from beginning to end. The plot and the characters were touching and humorous. It was such a fun read! While not everything was resolved for Emmy and Justin, the ending was still fitting and satisfying. I'm so glad I gave this book a chance. ( )