Mixed Up by Gordon Korman. Scholastic Press, 2023. 9781338826722
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4
Format : Uncorrected proof (publication date 7-18-23)
Genre: Science fiction
What did you like about the book? 12-year-old Reef Moody has lived with the Helmer family ever since his mom died of COVID a year ago. He is contending with overwhelming grief, as well as guilt over possibly giving her the illness, and these tough emotions are compounded by his despair about his living situation: most of the family is lukewarm toward him at best, and he shares a room with the openly resentful Declan, whose mission to make Reef miserable has taken a violent and potentially criminal turn. Reef clings to memories of his mother and generally just tries to get through the day unnoticed. On the other side of town, 12-year-old Theo Metzinger is a passionate gardener who is being tormented by an aggressive rabbit (Theo calls it ‘Jaws’) that is destroying the fruits of his labors, and subjected every day to harangues from his father that he needs to toughen up. Reef and Theo have never met, but lately Reef is starting to forget his mom and think about tomato plants, and he sees the rabbit Jaws in his memory, while Theo is having fond recollections of a mother who is not his own, and seeing visions of Declan’s bullying behaviors. It is clear to both boys that they are having someone else’s memories, but each is unsure how to find the other, or if it would even be worthwhile.
When Theo recognizes Reef’s middle school in the background of a television news segment, he knows he has to at least try to locate his counterpart, so he concocts an elaborate scheme that involves skipping school, a 5 mile bike ride, and volunteering at a food pantry. When the two boys do finally connect, the memory swapping becomes more frequent, and they start to realize that it’s only a matter of time before they each lose their most treasured memories. They work together to figure out how the Phenomenon, as Theo dubs it, came about (born on the same day in the same hospital, they shared an incubator during a lightning storm) and also devise a plan that might reverse it – before it’s too late.
Mixed Up has all the elements of a classic Gordon Korman book: it is a fast-paced page turner full of twists and turns, with several subplots that enhance the main story (a potential love triangle and busting up a burglary, just to name two!), and poignant character backstories. Readers will be heartbroken for Reef as he copes with his tremendous sadness and endures endless torment from his new “roommate.” It’s easy to empathize with Theo too; he acknowledges that losing some of his memories of his overbearing father is a lot less painful than what Reef is going through, but he is still unwilling to lose his sense of self and the unique interests that make him who he is. Short chapters alternate between the two boys’ perspectives, a device that always makes one want to keep reading a little bit longer; readers will be constantly on the lookout for clues explaining this strange memory mix-up, just as they will cheer for the evolving friendship between these two courageous boys.
Anything you did not like about the book? Gordon Korman often uses alternating narrators in his novels, and it’s always easy to distinguish between the characters because he is so skilled at creating authentic voices for each of them. I found Mixed Up a bit confusing in this aspect – sometimes having to pause and check the chapter heading to be sure which character was speaking – possibly due to the increasing frequency of the memory-sharing as the book progresses .
To whom would you recommend this book? Any upper elementary or middle school reader who likes Gordon Korman or books by authors such as Alan Gratz, James Patterson, or Dan Gutman.
Who should buy this book? Public, elementary and middle school libraries
Where would you shelve it? Fiction
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Leigh Russell King, Lincoln Street School, Northborough, Massachusetts.
Date of review: July 7, 2023
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