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Title details for A Really Awesome Mess by Trish Cook - Available

A Really Awesome Mess

by Trish Cook
Brendan Halpin
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
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.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 1, 2013

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781512403879

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781512403879
      • File size: 2383 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 5.4
    • Lexile® Measure: 840
    • Interest Level: 9-12(UG)
    • Text Difficulty: 4-5

  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      August 1, 2013

      Gr 9 Up-Justin and Emmy have just been enrolled in Heartland Academy, a reform school in the Midwest. Both are convinced that they shouldn't be there. Emmy's in for Internet bullying-but the other guy started it. Justin swallowed 17 Tylenol and later experienced an unfortunate incident in which his dad walked in on a private moment between him and a girl he met at an amusement park. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Justin and Emmy are not reliable narrators and that there are much deeper issues at play. Emmy suffers from anorexia and thinks her parents regret adopting her from China. Justin is depressed and deals with his pain through anger and destructive behavior. The two befriend the other students in their anger-management group; together, they bond through high jinks, have breakthroughs, and make some progress to healing. The fellow group members are well drawn and fleshed out. Most use humor for deflection and coping, which turns what could be heavy material into an effective comedy. Many of the characters struggle with guilty feelings about being messed up even though their lives are, in fact, pretty okay, especially in light of the trauma some of them have been through. The time line is a bit compressed for the amount of character growth that Emmy, Justin, and their classmates go through, but the ride still packs an emotional punch that will resonate with many readers.-Jennifer Rothschild, Arlington County Public Libraries, VA

      Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:5.4
  • Lexile® Measure:840
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

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