Linus and Etta Could Use a Win

A tender story about moving through hurt and embracing uncertainty. 

Another appealing middle-school story that features exceptional trans representation. 

Following a move from New York, Linus is thrilled that he can start eighth grade in Ohio without having to come out as transgender ("I'm ready to just be a boy"), though he still struggles with his grandmother constantly misgendering him. Meanwhile Etta, reeling from a sudden friendship break up with popular Marigold, copes by "turning into a block of ice" and dreams about starting over at an alternative high school. A hallway collision leads to the pair becoming fast friends, with Etta's defensive prickliness no match for Linus's punny "golden retriever" personality. When Marigold asserts that Etta can't get Linus elected as student council president, Etta takes the bet despite her fears that it will derail her and Linus's blossoming friendship. Via alternating perspectives rendered in distinctive voices, Huntoon (Skating on Mars) thoughtfully cultivates subplots that expand upon the characters' rich interiority: Etta worries that her unapproachable "anti-everything" persona is an excuse for loneliness, while Linus grapples with his anger when his parents won't correct his grandmother's insensitive use of his deadname and incorrect pronouns, making for a zippy and heartfelt tale of friendship and connection. Main characters cue as white. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jessica Mileo, Inkwell Management. (May)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Praise for Linus and Etta Could Use a Win:

The characters' sweet demeanors, lively dialogue, and ever-changing relationships will keep readers rooting for them until the book's final pages. . . A tender story about moving through hurt and embracing uncertainty. —Kirkus

Equal parts hilarious and heartfelt, Linus and Etta is more than a win, it is a triumph. Readers will delight in this story of friendship and acceptance that has loveable leads, plenty of puns, and above all, a sparkling and lifesaving amount of queer joy. —Justine Pucella Winans, author of The Otherwoods

Caroline Huntoon has the exceptional ability to balance the humorous with the heartfelt in their stories. Linus and Etta's voices shine with authenticity in this compassionately told novel about coming out to friends and family, middle school relationships, one secret bet, and a student council election. I would vote for both Linus and Etta myself if I could! —A. J. Sass, award winning author of Ellen Outside the Lines and Ana on the Edge

Caroline Huntoon brings plenty of laughs (and more than a few happy tears) to this hilarious, poignant, and uplifting novel about finding not only yourself, but also your people, all while navigating the shifting anxieties of middle school. Linus and Etta have my whole heart. —Edward Underhill, author of Always the Almost and This Day Changes Everything

Bright and energetic . . . another appealing middle-school story that features exceptional trans representation. —Booklist

Praise for Skating On Mars:

A Junior Library Guild Selection
An Amazon Editor's Choice June 2023

★Huntoon. . . writes beautifully with authority and insight, creating in Mars a fully realized, memorable character; this first novel is an important contribution to the slender body of nonbinary literature, which belongs in every library. —Booklist, starred review 

Caroline Huntoon's Skating on Mars is a rallying cry that trans and nonbinary kids belong in sports; it is also a moving story about life's transitions, big and small. Mars is a kid you can't help rooting for as they navigate friendships, grief, and their place within the sport of figure skating as a nonbinary athlete. Skating on Mars is an essential addition to the canon of queer sports stories. —A. J. Sass, author of Ana on the Edge and Ellen Outside the Lines

Mars gives us a beautiful blueprint for what to do when you're neither/nor instead of either/or, a sparkling bolt of bold Bowie lightning in a world of black and white. Their story skated into my heart and left a smile on my face. —Jules Machias, author of Both Can Be True and Fight + Flight

All the gold medals for this book! Equal parts a fun, joyful story about figure skating and a nuanced, break-your-heart-and-put-it-back-together tale about grief and gender identity, Skating on Mars tackles big questions in an accessible and heartfelt fashion. Caroline's story had me rooting for Mars from the first spin to the last, triumphant triple toe loop. —E. L. Shen, author of The Comeback 

This timely, triumphant novel about figure skating, identity, loss, and love will move and entertain readers—and it might just inspire them to find their own ways to change the world. —Laurie Morrison, author of Up for Air and Coming Up Short 

The results are in: Skating on Mars is a must-read, all-around winning debut novel. The fierce, spirited Mars will be skating figure-eights in readers' hearts and minds long after the book comes to an end. —Michael Leali, author of The Civil War of Amos Abernathy 

We urgently need more books like this in the world: ones that remind us that LGBTQ+ kids are regular kids, with regular kid feelings, struggles, and triumphs. Skating On Mars is a sensitively written story that centers an appealing and realistic non-binary protagonist...An excellent and most welcome addition to the growing (but still too small) collection of well-written and compassionate books about young rainbow humans. —Lisa Bunker, author of Zenobia July and Felix Yz 

Mars' identity is examined with nuance, given depth and consideration as life on and off the ice grows both more euphoric and increasingly complicated. . .a strong sports story and an earnest coming-of-age tale in one. —Kirkus 

Mars's passion for figure skating is infectious, and their fight to stake out their own place in a system not built for them proves both gently affirming and joyful. —Publishers Weekly