Mixed Up is a 2023 Gordon Korman tween drama with science fiction elements. The book tells the story of Reef, an orphan who is unhappy with his new adoptive family, and Theo, who struggles to deal with his Sports Dad. Their complicated lives get a lot more complicated when a mysterious phenomenon causes them to start trading memories with each other, causing them to set out to understand what is happening and reverse it (or at least stop it from happening again) before they lose all of their good memories and very senses of identity to each other.
Tropes in the book:
- Did Not Get the Girl: Both of the leads like Portia a lot, but Reef avoids her for much of the book due to her presence being a Trauma Button after he got COVID from her and gave it to his mom, who died (or so he thinks: Portia was out sick with mono, not COVID, and Reef and his mom probably caught it from someone at the bank where his mom worked), and once he changes his mind, he and Theo both worry about hurting each other's feelings by making a move on her, so she ends up with another classmate.
- Heel–Face Turn: Declan is a longtime delinquent and truly petty and sadistic (adoptive) Big Brother Bully for much of the book but becomes an ally to Theo and Reef after they save him from being forced to help commit a robbery.
- Spoiled Sweet: Theo's little sister Kristi is doted on by their dad for being a sports star, but her loving interactions with her brother tend to cast her in a Cheerful Child light.
