A A Really Awesome Mess

Trish Cook · Brendan Halpin

Aug 2013 · Carolrhoda Lab ®

About this ebook

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.

Ratings and reviews

best book ever, had me in tears at some points, changed my life views and it was still comical

Gets rilly boring like half way through

It's a good book

About the author

Brendan Halpin is a teacher and the author of books for adults and young adults including the Alex Award–winning Donorboy, Forever Changes, and the Junior Library Guild Selection Shutout. He is also the coauthor of Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom, with Emily Franklin, and Notes from the Blender, with Trish Cook, both of which the American Library Association named to its Rainbow List. Halpin’s writing has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Rosie and Best Life magazines, and the New York Times’ “Modern Love” column. Halpin is a vegetarian, a fan of vintage horror movies, and an avid tabletop gamer. He lives with his wife, Suzanne, their three children, and their dog in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.