Luna

Luna
Peters, Julie Anne, 2004.
Luna.
New York: Little Brown and Company.
256 pages, paperback.
$7.99
ISBN 9780316011273.

Format: book
Rating: 5.0/5.0 stars

Plot Summary

This is the story of Liam, a young man struggling with his identity during the day and transitions to Luna, the woman he is inside each night in the privacy of his sister’s basement bedroom.

At school, with family and friends, Liam seems like a typical senior in high school – he drives a new sports car, has a lifelong friend who desperately wants to be his girlfriend, and his 18^th birthday is right around the corner.

From the perspective of his sister Regan, the story is told in a combination of present and flashbacks allowing readers to see that Liam has always been Luna inside even from a very young age and while his parents ignore or deny it, his sister is the only one who understands.

Regan has been Liam’s confidant her entire life, often covering for and protecting him from their father. As Liam decides to make his transition permanent and the emotional fallout that will inevitably happen, Regan struggles with trying to have normal friendships and a new relationship and struggles with the reality of the change, losing a brother to have a full-time sister.

Critical Evaluation

In Luna, Peters tells both Liam’s and Regan’s stories, intertwining a vast number of emotional issues and the struggles between siblings. First, we have Regan, who has never had a normal life because she has always been the protector and confidant of Liam. While readers see the black hole that so often pulls Liam in, often to the edge of suicide as a means that would end his pain, readers see a far greater toll on Regan, who herself struggles for some normalcy.

Peters eloquently shares pieces of their childhood in flashback format to reveal the depth of their relationship. Readers see how those around them sense that things aren’t quite normal, but never actually identify the cause. The strength of Peters characterizations, especially of Liam and Regan’s parents, are evident throughout, and as tension rises to the climax and as Liam prepares for the breakthrough and revelation, it is clear just how much Regan relies on her brother.

Reader’s Annotation

Liam is a good looking and popular senior and the son his father expects him to be during the day, but at night he reveals the woman he is inside only trusting his sister Regan to his secret. While Liam may be ready to transition to Luna full-time, his family, especially his sister, may not.

Information About the Author
Julie Anne Peters was born in January 1952 in New York. Her family moved to Colorado when she was five, where she still lives with her partner of 38 years: Sherri Leggett.

When she first wrote Luna, Peters realized that she had no experience as a transgender so rewrote the story from the point of view of Liam’s sister. She has written more than a dozen books for teens, tweens, and children, and is well known for incorporating wit, sarcasm, and zany plots that keep kids turning the pages. She has written stories with romance between characters on almost every point along the spectrum of sexuality, with the universal theme of “we all need to feel wanted and worthy of love” (Peters, 2001).

Genre:
Fiction: Issues – GLBTQ

Read-Alikes
I Am J by Cris Beam
Bait by Alex Sanchez

Curriculum Ties
Luna supports a variety of topics and sensitive subjects, from sexual identity studied in health classes to biology and psychology and the differences between nature and nurture.

Booktalking Ideas
1) Liam, as Luna, waking Regan for fashion and make up sessions in the middle of the night – the only time he can be who he truly is
2) Liam’s first time in public as Luna in the mall with sister Regan

Book Trailer Links
N/A

Reading Level/Interest Age
Gr. 9 and up / YA

Challenge Issues
gender, sexual identity, transgender, discrimination, bullying

First, I would share some of the recommendations used as part of the selection process, including reviews from resources as noted below. Next, I would point out the value in allowing these types of materials to be optional reading as teens grow ever closer to adulthood and making their own decisions. Finally, following our school district’s policy #KEC, after explaining that our school district’s philosophy is that no parent or group of parents has the right to determine the reading matter for children other than their own, I would refer the parent or community member to the building principal, so that he/she can file a written complaint to begin the process of review.

Awards
National Book Award Finalist, 2004
ALA Best Book for Young Adults, 2005
An ALA Stonewall Honor Book, 2004
A Lambda Literary Award Finalist, 2005
ALA Popular Paperbacks for YA
A Book Sense Summer Reading Book for Teens

Why Title Included & Selection Tools
Luna belongs in this collection because it is the first, and best, book available that identifies with everything a transgender teen must come to terms with in preparation of making the transition to the person he or she is inside. While it may make some readers uncomfortable, it is very realistic as it is likely there is a Liam in every high school across the country. Having a book to identify with may make all the difference for some of them.

School Library Journal, Booklist, The New York Times, Kirkus Review, ALA Best Books for YA