Kylie Ladd’s The Mix-Up hooks you with a premise that’s both haunting and fascinating: a simple clerical error at an IVF clinic that dramatically alters the lives of two families forever. It’s an unsettling scenario that makes the novel impossible to put down.
The story centres on two Melbourne families whose lives collide when a DNA test (as part of a seemingly mundane high school science project) reveals an earth-shattering truth: 14 years ago, their embryos were mixed up. The Maccioni and James families find themselves navigating uncharted emotional territory, forcing them – and us as readers – to question everything we understand about family bonds.
The teenagers at the heart of the story leap off the page. Ammy Maccioni, raised by Kelsey and Raf, seethes with teenage rebellion that feels real and raw. Her counterpart, Zac James, who grew up with Shona and Nathan, is a quieter soul whose inner world Ladd captures perfectly. They aren’t just plot devices; they’re teenagers you might meet at weekend sport, see at the school gates or have in your own home.
Ladd’s background – as both a neuropsychologist and someone who has personal experience with IVF – brings an insider’s insight and depth to the narrative that few other writers could achieve. She understands the complexities of family dynamics and teenage psychology in a way that makes even the most difficult moments ring true. There’s a remarkable sensitivity in how she portrays both families – their guilt, their fear, their fierce love for their children and their complex feelings about the biological children who’ve grown up in other homes.
Ladd resists easy answers as we watch the ripple effects of the revelation touch everyone around them. Each character grapples with this crisis in their own way, while trying to navigate the relationships and lifestyles they’ve built over 14 years.
The story moves at just the right pace, with moments of revelation that will keep you reading well past bedtime. Ladd perfectly captures the natural rhythm of family life – the awkward silences, the unexpected laughs, the raw emotions that bubble up at the dinner table.
This isn’t just a story about an IVF mix-up – it’s an exploration of identity, belonging and the countless ways we connect with and love each other. It shows us how families bend without breaking, and how teenagers cope when their entire world shifts beneath their feet.
Inspired by a real case in California, Ladd shifts the narrative from the immediate aftermath of an IVF error to explore its impact on teenagers, who have not only formed their own identities, but have the agency to make their own choices. Her skilful storytelling and understanding of human nature make this situation not only believable, but profoundly affecting.
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For anyone who enjoys family dramas that don’t shy away from complex emotional territory, The Mix-Up is a must-read. It will have you calling an impromptu book club meeting the moment you finish it, desperate to dissect every raw and impossible choice these characters face, and the emotional toll they endure. Just don’t expect to emerge from its pages with your emotional equilibrium intact.
The Mix-Up, Kylie Ladd
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9780143778998
Pages: 384pp
Publication date: 4 February 2025
RRP: $34.99
