The book is true to its title; it really is a truly awesome mess. Awesome in the sence that I couldn't believe what I was reading, for the most part.

I really hoped it would be like Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, like it said on the blurb. But no, not even remotely like that. It just wasn't for me.

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.

I'm a sucker for a good story about unlikely friends, as well as forced proximity, and A Really Awesome Mess didn't let me down. I loved the banter between these characters and often found myself laughing out loud. I appreciated that the authors did not hold back and addresses "issues"such as suicide and eating disorders head-on, as well as topics like porn and sex. The emotional journey throughout the book didn't always work for me, and I wish there had been a bigger emotional impact in the end, but it was still an enjoyable read.

This book was requested when I was young and requested more books than I could possibly read. Sadly, I no longer have access to this book and my tastes have changed. Thus I will not be able to give feedback on this title.

An engaging read with dual narrative. My preference was for the POV of Emmy over Justin - she seemed more fleshed out as a character.

My Amazon account was hacked and had to be closed. After creating a new account, I lost the arcs on the original account which includes this title.

I ended up DNF'ing this novel due to inaccurate and dangerous portrayal of eating disorders and overuse of rape jokes.

A Really Awesome Mess portrays the psychological problems of teenagers in a surreal narrative, focusing more on positive situations rather than leaning into drama.

Don't get me wrong. I understand that psychological problems are serious. They shouldn't be taken lightly, and people who have such problems should not be judged or discriminated. While I understand the gravity of psychological problems, I also recognize this book for what it is: fiction. So for those people who viewed this book negatively, I'm sorry but I have to disagree. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly appreciate that it portrayed the characters in a positive light rather than dwell on the drama.

To be honest, I didn't like Emmy in the beginning. I don't like that she's anorexic, and I really loathe the fact that she became anorexic because of a boy. Of all the reasons, right? But that's just me. And while I understand the feeling of displacement she felt as regards her family, I didn't like how she treated her adoptive parents. Why dwell on the negatives when you have so much love around you? I just don't get that. I also really didn't like her skewed perception of beauty at the beginning. I even wanted to bash her head for it. Thankfully, she's a fictional character and I'm not. Oh, but the damage I could have done... Tsk, tsk...

As for Justin, well, he's a guy so I wouldn't know exactly just how he thinks. I do however understand that he's only looking for an anchor -- someone to ground him and keep him in line. His parents' separation did a number on him so turning into suicide and sex became his refuge. When I first got to know Justin in the book, I have to admit that he seemed pretty cool. He appeared to be someone in control, a smooth operator, and generally a really nice guy, but during the end part of the book, it became apparent to me that Justin is just as lost as the others. He's just really good at hiding his pains. When I got to know him more, I felt glad that he found kindred spirits inside Heartland Academy.

When I was reading at the beginning of the story, I was seriously doubtful about how a bunch of really different and really flawed individuals could fit in together and make progress without killing each other first. As the story progressed, I came to understand that something flawed, though flawed, could actually work. In the beginning, they were still adjusting with each other, but in time, they were able to tune into each other and actually progress on their therapy. In the process, they also found true friends.

The best part about this book? Definitely the part where they liberated a pig. Hands down! They couldn't have accomplished such a thing if it weren't for each other's support.

I also appreciate the snark and sarcasm displayed by the characters. I mean, you could never really be inappropriate with people you barely know because that would just be weird. But with the people whose weirdness is compatible with yours, inappropriate behavior and words are just normal. It's kind of ironic really.

Lastly, I really appreciate the end message that this story was trying to convey through its barrage of really weird yet insanely awesome characters: "Living took a lot more courage."

I picked up A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin on a whim. I was looking for something to read, and A Really Awesome Mess kind of reminded me of a younger-self favorite: Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story, a novel about a teen who ends up at a psychiatric facility after a suicide attempt. A Really Awesome Mess tries to follow in the same vein by mixing mental health with humor. Unfortunately, A Really Awesome Mess is unsuccessful.

Emmy and Justin arrive at Heartland Academy, a reform school for messed up teens. But Emmy and Justin refuse to admit that they both have problems. Emmy had always felt like an outsider in her own family. She was adopted from China, and she looks nothing like her family. After a scandalous photo of her spread around her school, Emmy retaliates by spreading rumors on Facebook. Justin was never able to properly cope with his parents’ divorce. When he overdoses on a handful of Tylenol, Justin hits rock bottom. In A Really Awesome Mess, Emmy and Justin make new friends and learn how to cope with their problems.

One of the downfalls of A Really Awesome Mess is that the two protagonists, who alternate narrating the story, are not likeable. To be honest, they’re quite annoying. At first, I thought that this would be the kind of story where you hate the main characters, but you end up growing to love them. This was not the case. As the story progressed, the more I rolled my eyes at the characters. It was really hard to empathize with them when I didn’t even like them.

A highlight of A Really Awesome Mess is the diverse cast of secondary characters. Emmy and Justin are forced to work as a team with others in their anger management class. Mohammed, Chip, Jenny, and Diana all had distinct personalities. So even if there were a ton of people to keep track of, it never got confusing.

I enjoyed the group’s dynamics, but then the plot takes a turn for the worse. The antics that the group gets into just get utterly ridiculous. I know I’m probably not supposed to take this book all that seriously. But to be honest, I really didn’t find myself laughing throughout the book. There were a few lines that deserved a chuckle, but for the most part, A Really Awesome Mess was silly, not funny. I had to resist rolling my eyes in a few scenes, and I ended up having to force myself through the last half of the book.

Once I reached the climax of the story, it was difficult to take the protagonists seriously. It’s hard for me to feel like they accomplished anything in terms of getting better. The characters never felt sincere to me when they came upon their turning points. I never really felt that Emmy or Justin improved by the end of the book.

Overall, A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin is a mess not worth reading. The unlikeable protagonists will just have you rolling your eyes from beginning to end.

Hard to believe that a story about a group of seriously mentally ill teenagers whop were sent away to a mental health institution could be genuinely heartwarming, but somehow this book genuinely is.
The book is told in alternating voices. First is Emmy, a girl with a very serious eating disorder who was sent to the Heartland institution (or Assland as it eventually comes to be called) because she threatened a schoolmate repeatedly through Facebook. What no one knows is that she did it because he threatened to expose the naked pictures she sent to the guy she was sort of dating at the time.
The other teen is Justin, who was sent there when, after getting caught by his dad receiving oral sex from a girl he'd just met, made a half-hearted suicide attempt that he freely admits he didn't realize could have actually killed him (he took 17 Tylenols).
At Heartland the two meet Jenny, Emmy's roommate with selective mutism, Diana, a tiny rage-monster, Chip a compulsive video game player and Tracy, Justin's room mate and a compulsive liar.
As their friendship develops (very much against all their wills) and they start to come to grips with their mental health issues, they go though some hilarious events involving a state fair and a stolen pig that teaches them all the meaning of love, friendship and acceptance.

Well, I am a little underwhelmed, to tell you the truth. Throughout this book, I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, getting to know what made them tick and why they ended up in Heartland Academy. But towards the end, the whole book basically became about the pig, about yelling at parents and then pining because you can't be with your girlfriend/boyfriend. It is as though the authors forgot the point of the book?
It is well written and for the most part, the characters are interesting and diverse, each with their own set of problems... I am just sooo let down by the ending. I did however enjoy the Harry Potter books being re-named!

A fast paced read. But it felt like nothing happened.

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.

I was skeptical of starting this one because I only mildly liked the other one these two co-wrote. But it showed up on NetGalley and the cover is super cute, so I requested and read it. It was SO MUCH BETTER than their other book! I was so pleasantly surprised with how much improvement I saw in the writing, flow between the chapters, and the characters and their development.

I'll start with the characters. I really enjoyed reading about Justin and Emmy. They both had super interesting back stories that were slowly developed and revealed throughout the course of the book. And even though I didn't really like Emmy's character, she was still a good one to read about. I had a problem with her because she constantly seemed like she was shooting others down and always on the defensive, even when there were zero reasons to be after her new friends proved themselves over and over. But it got better and she wasn't a total downer all the time.

I also loved some side stories that happened along the way. So there was this girl named Jenny, who was Emmy's roommate and didn't talk and had pig decorations everywhere. And then the whole group (these two, Justin, and several other weird awesome people, were in anger management together) went to the state fair and some really cool stuff went down there that was only sort of a side plot, but it was so hilarious and weird. I adored this side story, and it was so well woven with the main characters and what was actually happening in the book. Everything just worked really well together

I was impressed with how much better the writing style and quality was in this book compared to the last. Sentences made more sense, chapters flowed in the correct order, and their switches from Justin's view to Emmy's weren't abrupt or confusing. Overall, definitely pleased with this book.

Read When: You need a light, fun-hearted read that deals with serious stuff in a humorous way.

I had a hard time getting into this one, but I know so many who would love it!

This was a neat book with a lot of lovable characters. Thanks for sharing it with me.

I did not finish this book, I'm sorry but it wasn't interesting. The book excerpts looked promising but the book itself which is why i delayed the review. I don't have the heart to write a bad review.. This isnt going to be helpful for people who actually have issues.