Hitting the high seas on a cruise with your mom might seem like a relaxing way to spend spring break, but what happens when you realize it’s a joint vacay with your mom’s new girlfriend and her son, a boy from school who humiliated you at a school dance?
In Going Overboard by Caroline Huntoon, Piper and zir mom, Noura, are an inseparable duo who’ve always been there for each other through everything. From navigating being non-binary in middle school to their fun weekend adventures and Piper’s fashion design dreams, they’ve always been able to talk to each other about everything – until Noura starts dating someone new.
When Piper gets invited to dinner with Noura and her new girlfriend, Gwinny, ze can tell things are getting serious, and is worried that their tight-knit dynamic is about to change forever. To make things worse, Gwinny invites Piper and Noura on a spring break cruise she’s planning with her son, Colton, one of Piper’s classmates involved in the school dance incident. Piper isn’t interested in sharing zir mom or merging families with someone who mocked zem, and Colton isn’t exactly thrilled, either. He’s going through a lot, too, dealing with divorced parents and pressure from his dad to excel at soccer.
From author Caroline Huntoon comes a sparkling new middle grade novel, Going Overboard, a reverse-Parent Trap story where tweens Piper and Colton must force their parents to break up, or their lives will change forever.
Piper Shapiro has the best mom in the world: Noura, a single parent by choice who always has a plan, whether it’s for a spontaneous Saturday adventure or helping Piper navigate middle school as a nonbinary kid. They’re a package deal, and they tell each other everything. At least, they used to. But then Noura invites Piper out to dinner with her girlfriend Gwinny . . .and Gwinny’s son, Colton—a boy Piper knows, and doesn’t exactly get along with. Piper panics when the realization hits: Noura and Gwinny are serious about each other. Suddenly, Piper’s life as half of a duo has an expiration date, and ze is horrified.
To put a stop to any potential wedding bells, Piper makes a plan: break up the parents and keep things the way they are—the way they should be. When Gwinny surprises everyone with a get-to-know-each-other cruise for spring break, Piper’s game is on—and Colton is in on it. The two of them work hard to make it clear that they are not one big happy family, even though it turns out that Colton might not be so bad after all. But when things with Project Break Up go a bit too far, Piper starts to question everything . . .and realize that maybe a little change isn’t a bad thing.
Going Overboard
AUTHOR: Caroline Huntoon
PUBLISHER: Feiwel & Friends
DATE: May 27, 2025
Desperate to prevent everything from changing forever, Piper hatches a plan to get Noura and Gwinny to break up, but can’t pull it off alone and asks Colton to join in. But after getting to know each other better, Piper and Colton end up having fun together, and when Project Break Up works a little too well, Piper starts to wonder if maybe things have gone off the deep end.
Going Overboard brings reverse Parent Trap vibes, cruise ship mischief, and enemies-to-besties fun in this perfectly summery story about family, friendship, and navigating big changes. We’re super excited to share that author Caroline Huntoon is introducing Piper, Colton, Noura, and Gwinny so you can get to know this quirky, unlikely family before you dive into the story.
Meet the GOING OVERBOARD Characters:
🧵PIPER
Going Overboard focuses on Piper. Ze is in sixth grade and a budding fashion designer. Piper loves watching old episodes of Project Runway and making clothes for their best friend, Tru. Sixth grade is going well enough… That is until there is a humiliating moment at the school dance. Fortunately, ze can lean on zir mom, Noura, a single parent by choice.
🍿NOURA
Noura is Piper’s mom. She got pregnant on her own and even though there are moments when she feels like things aren’t going perfect as a parent, she’s a pretty great mom!
Noura is a fan of movies from the nineties (though she knows the gender commentary isn’t great). She recently started dating Gwinny, and even though the relationship is new, it’s feeling pretty serious…
🏖️GWINNY
Gwinny is dating Noura, and… well, let’s just say, she’s really into her! She doesn’t want to rush Noura, but when the opportunity to take Noura and Piper on a cruise comes up, it feels too good to pass up!
Noura works as a travel agent and loves to dress up. She’s recovering from a bit of a messy divorce and has her son, Colton, half the time.
⚽️COLTON
Colton is a sixth grader who is just trying to figure out how to live as a child of divorce. He loves soccer, but lately it’s gotten really competitive, and his dad has big expectations for how Colton should perform on the pitch.
When Colton’s mom suggests they go on a cruise for spring break, Colton feels like it will be good to get away from everything. That is… until he finds out Piper is going to be there…
🌈FAMILY WEEK: Need another summery read perfect for celebrating Pride? Get to know Lina, Milo, Avery, and Mac from FAMILY WEEK!
