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Linus is the new boy at school, and he's trying to keep it quiet. After coming out as trans last year and managing the attention that came with it, he's more than happy to fade into the background of his new middle school.
Etta isn't like other kids at school, and she's proud of it. The class misanthrope and the owner of the greenest hair at Doolittle Middle School, she's still reeling from a painful friendship breakup, making her more than happy to burn middle-school bridges before she heads off to the local alternative high school next year.
When Etta's over-it-all attitude sparks a challenge from her ex-best friend, Marigold, to get Linus elected student body president, Linus is thrust back into the spotlight. But what started out as a bet quickly turns into a true friendship between Linus and Etta, one that could be in jeopardy if Linus finds out the real origins of his and Etta's connection. Can Linus and Etta's friendship withstand the betrayal of the bet?
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 7, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9798855512311
- File size: 172070 KB
- Duration: 05:58:28
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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February 12, 2024
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.
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