Reef and Theo had only met once before - on the day they were born and were forced to share a nursery incubator at the hospital since it was overflowing with new babies. Years later, they suddenly experienced memories each boy was certain were not his. Following the clues in the exchanged memories, the boys find each other again and figure out how to keep their own treasured memories.

Korman has several recent novels that step outside of his usual trope, and this is one of those. Veering toward a fantasy genre, this book deals with more serious topics such as extreme bullying, death of a family member, home displacement, and a strained parental relationship. Kids will either identify with a character or can easily build empathy. I think that is one of Korman's biggest strengths in his middle grade books: the ability to paint such a picture and make the characters so real that empathy and sympathy become an immediate and spontaneous emotional response.

This was not my personal favorite of his work, but it will definitely have a spot on my school library shelf and I keep this in mind for recommendations for kids who need it. Solid addition to an upper elementary or middle school library collection.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Mixed Up is once again another awesome addition to the Gordon Korman library. Whether you have read his books for a long time or he's new to you, I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of Mixed Up by Gordon Korman. When I see a new Gordon Korman book, I know it will be a must-purchase for my library. Korman comes up with the most unique plots. Mixed Up is about two boys who start getting one another's memories. This will be a hit with fans of Restart.

An interesting way to explore personality and grief while addressing COVID aftermaths. Some of the scenes are surprisingly silly, at odds with the more serious messaging. THe secondary characters are very thin. It's a bit too over the top to take seriously.

This was an entertaining middle grade read; however, I did not enjoy it as much as some of Korman's other books such as The Unteachables or Operation Do-Over. The premise was unique and interesting, but the mixing up of memories made it a bit difficult to remember details about each character and keep their storylines straight. The resolution seemed too outlandish even in the context of the magical realism elements of the story. The fact that the two main characters knowingly put themselves in an extremely dangerous situation to solve their problem (all while the adults in their lives are seemingly oblivious) felt a bit uncomfortable and over-the-top to me.

Another great story from a master story teller. What an inventive idea to have another persons memories. I also enjoyed that the resolution wasn't a 100% reversal. But still everything worked out.

Mixed up is a story that only Gordon Korman could write. What if suddenly you were remembering things that never happened to you? This is the premise of this story about two boys that are sharing each other's memories. They go to some pretty great lengths to try to figure out what's happening and once they have, they start to work on a plan for how to get their own memories back. It's a fun ride!

Reef & Theo live separate lives in the same town. Reef is struggling with life after his mom’s death from Covid . Theo is struggling to meet his dad’s expectations. Each boy notices that he has started to lose his own memories--and is startled to realize that he is recalling memories that belong to someone else. The pair come together to figure out the "phenomenon" and to try to correct it. Told from the alternating perspectives of the two boys, Mixed Up is a fun, fresh twist on the Freaky Friday style plot that also addresses grief, bullying, & middle school friendships. Another great read from Gordon Korman!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC of the book to read and review.

Reef and Theo have no idea what s happening to them but they seem to be gaining flashes of someone else’s memories while also forgetting some major things in their own lives. Reef is forgetting his mom who died of Covid that Reef believes he brought home from a birthday party he begged his mom to go to. Theo is forgetting things like where he lives. But when Theo sees something on TV one day that matches one of his new memories he has to go see if he can figure out what s going on.
I have no idea how Mr. Korman comes up with some of his book plots but I love them. This one is very different than anything I have read before but it is so good. It is full of suspense and action it will have you on the edge of your seat a lot, so don’t fall off. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Mixed Up was difficult to follow in the beginning. I was confused while trying to follow the dual POV as the main characters began to mix memories. The short chapters resulted in a jolt of setting every time I got comfortable in the shoes of one character. Once I did gradually adapt to the story, I didn't know where this story was going and how the issue would be resolved. I think the resolution was a bit far-fetched; however, the whole idea of memory swapping is far-fetched as well.

Outside of these few critiques, I did enjoy the relationship building throughout the novel. The friendships and confidence that is gained through the memory mishap is profound. Even healing comes as a by product of needing another person in you life to make it whole. I will be purchasing this novel for my library in hopes that my middle schoolers will read past the point of confusion to the juicy wisdom and hair-brained schemes.

Told through alternating points of view (Theo, who can’t seem to win his dad’s approval; and Reef, who now lives with his mom’s friends and is miserable). They each are losing their own memories, and recalling each other’s. They must find out what’s going on! Intriguing story.

Another awesome read by Gordon Korman! I couldn't put this book down as usual for Korman's books!
I liked how the chapters alternated between Reef and Theo. I don't want to give too much away, but I also liked how they eventually found each other. Korman is very good at describing to the reader about the characters to the point of really feeling for them or against them (depending on where they fall on the Good vs. Evil scale).
Mixed Up would be a good aloud for elementary and middle school classes. A must-have for all libraries!

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Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this title. I have enjoyed every Gordon Korman book I’ve read and this one is no different! The conclusion was interesting, to say the least. Middle school kids will enjoy this, particularly the younger facet.

Gordon Korman is a prolific author; he recently published his 100th novel! He churns out so many books that I keep expecting one to be a stinker, but it hasn’t happened yet. Korman’s books deal with heavy topics - bullying, racism, and abuse to name a few - in a way that both appeals and relates to young readers. This book explores how grief and memory are intertwined - and what could happen if you start to lose your memories.

Theo and Reef are two boys in the same town, but that’s about where the similarities end. They attend different schools, have different interests, and live in very different homes. But, they are each experiencing memories that don’t belong to them. Through exploring the different locations in these memories, the boys find each other and realize that they are swapping memories - including Reef’s memories of his recently-deceased mother. Not only that, but the boys are forgetting key information like their addresses, school schedules, and names of people around them.

I was genuinely invested in this novel and was so curious as to how it would end! I know young readers will be gripped as well and will enjoy Korman’s always-relatable writing style. I will definitely be adding this to my library collection, recommending it to readers, and possibly using it as our science fiction example as we study genres! Grades 4+

Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for providing an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Another good one from Korman! He is an auto read in my house! In his newest book, two boys are having flashes of memories that don't belong to them and losing their own memories.

I didn't feel the same vibe as a typical Korman novel, but it was unique and I enjoyed it. I will definitely pick it up for my son and recommend it to my students. They will definitely be interested in how the boys go about trying to fix their situation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scholastic for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a great book for fans of Restart. Two boys, although they never met, are suddenly remembering events in each other's lives. The hitch is that once the memory is transferred to one person, it is erased from the other. It is an interesting take on seeing a life from another's perspective, the importance of memories, and how memories actually live on. It also has the hallmarks of a Gordon Korman novel--family relationships, friendship and community, relate-ability and a dose of humor.

Korman has a knack for creating characters and stories that kids want to read. It takes very little convincing to get my students to pick up any one of his titles. This one will be another hit.

I love Gordon Korman's books and read most all of them that come out. In this story, two kids are connected by their memories. It was an interesting idea but I did not enjoy this book as much as most of the others I have read. I do think that my students would enjoy it but it didn't have as much action as others.

I’m a longtime fan of Gordon Korman. Schooled was my first adventure with this author.m
Therefore I was so excited to be granted this ARC. This was a very unique storyline.

Twelve year old Reef's mother passed away during the COVID pandemic and he's living with the family of his mom's best friend. He blames himself for his mom’s death thinking he brought the virus home from a birthday party. Theo is also twelve and lives across town with his family. Theo is a cool kid with a keen interest on gardening and has very little use for sports or the popular kids.. This fact is a big disappointment to his father who was the opposite and claims that he once Ruled the Middle School.

Theo and Reef paths cross and they learn they have something in common. It seems they share many of each other's memories. As Reef’s memories of his mom fade, Theo’s is getting the memory of her in his head. They know how to navigate the others school and class schedule, but not their own. For this reason they pen notes on their skin and on a cell phone app. This connection which they refer to a The Phenomenon, leads them to become friends. After discovering they were born on the same day in the same hospital they unravel what may have caused this transfer of memories to occur.

Then they ultimately decide that the only way to move forward in life is to find a way to undo the birth connection. The plan they devise nearly gets them and a principal killed,

The misadventures they go through for their dangerous experiment is a fast-paced, a bit humorous and oh such an entertaining read.

Mixed Up is a recommended purchase for middle-grade school libraries and for grades 5-9.