A Really Awesome Mess

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