Mixed Up

by Gordon Korman

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Gordon Korman’s signature wit and wisdom is on full display in this mystery-adventure hybrid following two boys experiencing the unexplainable — and banding together to figure out how to stop it. Fans of Restart and Linked won’t want to miss Korman’s latest tale.

From the author of Restart, the story of two boys who are losing their memories... to each other.

Reef and Theo don't know what's happening to them. They'll be going about their days and then suddenly they'll have these strange flashes of memory — but the memories don't belong to them. And at the same time, their own memories are starting to... vanish.

For Reef, this is a big problem, because memories are all he has left of his mom.

For Theo, it's strange because the new memories give him a freedom he doesn't have with his domineering dad.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338826722
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	07/18/2023
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	39,532
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Gordon Korman is the beloved author of over one hundred novels for young readers, including hilarious middle-grade classics such as the Macdonald Hall series, I Want to Go Home, and Slacker. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Gordon grew up in Thornhill, Ontario, and now lives in New York with his family. Visit him online at www.gordonkorman.com.

Editorial Reviews

05/08/2023

Two white-cued tweens who have never met mysteriously begin swapping memories in this suspenseful novel by Korman (The Superteacher Project). Twelve-year-old Reef Moody is grieving his mother’s death more than a year ago when he realizes that he can’t recall certain memories of her. Instead, he has begun remembering events that he’s sure he’s never experienced. Meanwhile, Theo Metzinger, also 12 and living in another district, has begun recollecting images of a woman he’s never seen and things he’s never done; the memories are welcome if bizarre distractions from his father’s overwhelming future expectations. When the two boys meet serendipitously, it doesn’t take long for them to realize their connection. Together, they resolve to figure out what’s happening and reverse it, but the solution turns out to be potentially life-threatening. Via Reef and Theo’s earnest alternating POVs, Korman crafts an intricate mystery and a gripping adventure grounded by high-stakes emotional conflict. If the mythos surrounding the memory swap is somewhat contrived, the boys’ creative brainstorming evokes classic Hardy Boys detective work, and they each emerge as bighearted, sympathetic heroes whose individual courage and support for one another is palpably rendered. Ages 8–12. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for War Stories:

* "This weave of perceptive, well-told tales wears its agenda with unusual grace." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Praise for Restart:

* "A fresh approach to the familiar topic of bullying, kept credible by believable characters and events, with typical Korman humor and just the right touch of mystery." — School Library Journal, starred review

Praise for Slacker:

"Upbeat, inspiring, and full of Korman's signature sense of humor." — Publishers Weekly

"Korman makes comedy look deceptively easy." — Booklist

Praise for Swindle:

"Scary, funny, and hysterical adventures!" — Chicago Tribune

"Pure fun from top to bottom." — School Library Journal

Praise for The Hypnotists:

"Fast-paced... an entertaining mix of intense action and goofy fun." — Publishers Weekly

Praise for Ungifted:

"A gem for readers looking for a book where the underdog comes out on top." — Voice of Youth Advocates

"Funny and insightful." — Publishers Weekly

Praise for Schooled:

* "This rewarding novel features an engaging main character and some memorable moments of comedy, tenderness, and reflection." — Booklist, starred review

From the Publisher

2023-04-24
A freaky Phenomenon leads to a mysterious memory swap.

After athletic Reef Moody’s single mom checked into the hospital a year ago with Covid-19, he went to live with the family of her best friend, Jenna Helmer. Mom’s death made the arrangement permanent. Reef’s grief is complicated by the fact that Jenna’s volatile youngest, 14-year-old Declan, has made his life miserable. Across town, studious Theo Metzinger spots a menacing rabbit, whom he nicknames Jaws, with giant teeth preparing to destroy his precious flowers…again. But his controlling, macho dad, who clearly favors Theo’s younger sister, scolds him and whisks him off to karate class so he will “toughen up.” When Reef also starts seeing Jaws, readers will be clued in that something really unusual is happening. Over time, the two 12-year-olds each acquire memories belonging to the other and begin changing, bit by disturbing bit. Discovering a shared birthday seems to validate their shared suspicion of some sort of mind swap. A thunderstorm and the help of a handful of secondary characters are key to a solution for the distressed duo. Korman packs his story with colorfully delineated characters and believable middle school set pieces. Dueling first-person narratives capture subtle character differences between Theo and Reef while staying in a convincing preteen vernacular. Main characters are cued White.

An engaging tale of weird science as well as a celebration of individuality. (Fiction. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews