Review: The Mess of Our Lives, by Mary-Anne Scott

Mary-Anne Scott’s latest young adult novel, The Mess of Our Lives, is a poignant story that explores challenging themes including a mother's hoarding and her son’s struggles with anger. It highlights difficult aspects of life through a teenager’s lens and reinforces that we cannot choose our family. The narrative is set in an undisclosed location in Aotearoa.

This is musician and writer Scott’s sixth novel for young people. It is heartfelt and moving, addressing serious issues like hoarding and child neglect. It also touches upon copyright fraud and the perils of artistic copyright for musicians. 

‘You see treasures – we see papers and crap, mice droppings and cockroaches.’ Jordan Baxter is a 17-year-old boy living with his mother Susan and younger sister Tabitha in a home cluttered with items and infested with rats and cockroaches. He aspires to be a musician and plans to move as far away as possible when he turns 18. Jordan grapples with his mother’s hoarding tendencies and often becomes frustrated with her over the mess in their home. While she sees treasures amongst the clutter, to him, their living situation is nothing more than piled-up papers, debris, and pests.

Susan is a compulsive hoarder, which is a mental illness that impacts many people around her. She has filled their house with mountains of newspapers, ornaments, appliances, and dirty dishes that reach the ceiling in every room. All day, she watches television and orders more appliances. She is unable to cope with anyone touching or moving her precious items.

The book opens with Jordan and Tabitha attempting to clear out the spare room for her while trying to ensure that Susan does not notice them disturbing her belongings. This task proves challenging, as Susan seldom moves from in front of the lounge's television.

Jordan and Tabitha encounter a kind elderly couple who owns an antique shop. The couple takes some of Susan's unwanted items and offers Jordan a job repairing antiques. Later, while Jordan is out with a friend practicing his new song, Tabitha gets into an accident and becomes stuck beneath a wave of their mother's belongings. While the rescue crew is digging Tabitha out of the debris, Susan is screaming at the rescue workers trying to move her treasures.

This is a moving and compelling book that draws you in and shows you the darker sides of life. I recommend it to fans of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Reviewed by Fleur (13)