Customer Reviews

Luna

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a story dealing with a topic not often dealt with in YA fiction - transgender teenagers. Regan is fifteen and her life is dominated by her older brother, Liam (Lia Marie, and later Luna, at night). She has drifted apart from friends her own age because of him, and in order to try and help him she has offered to let him use her room at night, to try on girls' clothes. The only thing she has that's *hers* is her babysitting job for a family she sees as perfect and normal, in sharp contrast to her own, with her drugged-up mother and domineering father.

Regan is a sympathetic character, a girl who tries so hard to be there for her brother when he needs her, but also someone who resents how she has to be everything for him, his sole confidant, and who alternates between feeling sorry for him and for wishing that he could just be normal. She also has her own dilemma, involving an infatuation with a boy at school. "Luna" is Regan's story as much as it is Liam's.

Liam/Luna's story is dealt with effectively as well, with flashbacks of their childhood showing early signs that he really did want to be in a girl's body. The separation of gender and sexuality is also made quite clear, and the idea of constructed gender roles is also dealt with (though not as much as I'd like to have seen it discussed - but the perfect amount for a YA novel). It is by no means a definitive transgendered-teen story but it shouldn't have to be, either - it's merely the story of one girl in a boy's body, trying to break free.

A worthwhile read that will hopefully challenge readers' ideas towards gender and sex while telling a compelling story.

Luna is a gem of a book, very unique in character and style. The book outlines the life of a boy who knows he is really a girl in a boy's body. He is a Transgender. And to be even more poignant, the story is told from the perspective of his sister, who is 2 years younger.

Julie Anne Peters goes to just the right lengths to accurately describe both the emotional and environmental situations. Some of her most eloquent statements are made with regard to the manner in which Liam/Luna's transmogrification, transition, metamorphosis affects those around him/her as much as it affects him/her and sometimes even more. The one who truly empathizes and suffers the pain almost as much as Liam/Luna is his sister Regan. She is Liam/Luna's confidant, his/her enabler, and his/her instrument to the realization of his dream. Despite all this good, Regan suffers most terribly with the knowledge of her brother's suffering.

The writing technique that the author uses is particularly fascinating. She does some most effective flashback sequences that are truly artistic. In addition, she is quite adept at writing the text and the subtext (what is going on in the character's mind and how it differs from what comes out of their mouth) that her paragraphs are like little sparkling emeralds in a field of rock and dirt.

In addition, the story moves along well. The reader has no time to get bored or complacent. And the messages departed along the way show all too well, how society makes life very difficult; not just for the normal, but also for the extremes, and not in any rational proportion. Just as life plays itself out; sometimes advantageously, but more of the time, unfairly. As we all know, life is not FAIR, but sometimes we surely wish it were.

This book is highly recommended for all people interested in cross gender relations and in the phenomenon of Transexuality. It does a good job explaining the difference between transsexuals and homosexuals. And it does it in a manner that is very intimate and not objectionable. It truly is a mirror on today's society and should be viewed as such.

Luna is the first young adult novel written about a transsexual teen. Luna/Liam is a girl that was born in a boy's body. The only one who knows the truth is Regan, Luna/Liam's younger sister. Regan has spent so much of her life protecting and worrying about Liam that she really hasn't developed and identity seperate from that role. She has no friends, and she is a loner and an outcast at her school. And she is frightened and freaked out when Luna begins to go public with her secret. Luna is well-written. The anguish and fear of the characters is palpable and real.

This book is so important because it is the first of its kind. I never really knew that much about transgender people before, and although I am a huge supporter of GLBT people, I did not understand transgenders, and I was uncomfortable about the subject. This book showed me that Liam/Luna was just as normal as any other person...they had just been born in the wrong body, and there is nothing freakish or weird about it. On the contrary, it was agonizing to read how desperate and hopeless Liam felt trapped in a body that was so horribly wrong for him. This book is groundbreaking, and needs to be read not just by young adults, but everyone who feels weird about the idea of a transsexual. They do not ask for this pain, they do not want to scare people. They just want what is in their hearts and minds to match their bodies.

Much thanks to Julie Ann Peters for tackling a very hard subject and presenting it with heart, dignity, and hope.
~Anna M. Nelson, Young Adult Librarian, Seabrook, NH

Luna is the story of transgendered high school senior Liam/Luna, a girl trapped inside a male body, and his younger sister Regan, who has been his only confidante throughout their childhood and teenage years. Author Peters brings in gender issues on a larger scale with a sexist chemistry teacher, pressure from Liam's dad to take on a more masculine role in the world, and deathly gender-neutral parenting performed by the family Regan babysits for. Peters has made an important contribution to the field of YA literature by presenting an inside look at living a lie forced on you by society, as well as how a gender identity crisis affects the members of a typical suburban family. Filled with touching highs and lows, Luna is highly recommended to teen readers and to any reader interested in GLBT issues.

If you liked Luna, try Carol Plum-Ucci's What Happened to Lani Garver.

Think Joan of Arcadia, only God dresses up like a girl after dark. Okay, so Luna's not exactly God, but there is much wisdom to be gained from this encounter. Luna is Liam, Regan's older brother, and, well, sister. Or as Regan says, "half brother, half sister," which is hilarious when she says it. Because the thing about Luna the novel is that Peters tells the story of Regan and her transgender (TG) brother, Luna with wry, engaging humor that immediately puts the reader at ease with this unusual situation.

Luna/Liam's story is told through the eyes of Regan. Luna is about to come out of her cocoon. Because Regan has lived with and loved her brother all her life, she's grown accustomed to his girlish ways. Through flashbacks she realizes that she's always known that even as a kid, Liam was never comfortable in the role of boy. Her sorrow is that she's losing her brother, Liam. Even though she's the younger sister, Regan's life has revolved around keeping his secret. For that reason she also feels a sense of dread about Luna's emerging strength. Her fear for Luna is that she'll be ridiculed or humiliated. As much as Regan wishes for a life of her own, without Luna, she's never done anything to make that happen, revealing her own dependence on her brother as Luna grows stronger. In this way, their lives are remarkably intertwined and the notion of their inevitable separation is heartbreaking, yet compelling.

Regan's humorous outbursts and observations -- especially of their parents -- betray her genuine perplexity with the whole situation, while lending a sense of normalcy to the raw emotions swirling through their lives. Understanding Luna -- and therefore any TG - through Regan's eyes becomes an oddly spiritual journey, challenging readers to think beyond outward appearances and stereotypes, to look deep into the soul of another individual and love the person inside enough to let her go.

Copyright (c) 2004 by Peggy Tibbetts

This book is an amazing step forward in YA literature. Other reviewers have given you the premise of the plot, I just wanted to add that I thought it was BRILLIANT that it was told from the sister's point of view. Within the largely conservative area I live in, not a lot of people would be interested in this book had it been told from Liam/Luna's point of view. But as it comes from the sister, it's a safe vantage. It's the perfect vehicle for introducing a LOT of people to an issue they might not have understood, nor something they would have wanted to understand. I do think, looking at it analytically, that this book is more useful as an advocacy tool than one of the fictional self-help sorts. At any rate, it's a giant step forward in YA lit for transgender issues. And it's a well told, well written story to boot.

This was a great book. It's written at a young adult reading level, so it's quick - I think it took me an hour to read. It's a book about a girl who has a transsexual brother (in other words, he feels like a female and feels like he was born in the wrong body). His sister is forced to keep it secret and sacrifices a lot for "Luna". There are parts of the book where I felt as if I were Luna - not that I'm a transsexual, but it really makes you feel the devastation and public humilation that transsexuals go through.

Also, I loved the ending.

What is there to say about Luna? It was a story that definitely needed to be told. And the idea behind the name was wonderful. Luna. Moon. It is a wonderful name for a person who can only be released at night. It represents the girl inside the boy perfectly while still keeping the first letter the same and therefore somehow still keeping the essence of Liam all the while giving her all the spice and inner freedom of Luna. And really, isn't that what everybody needs and longs for? The freedom to be who they were born to be without having to hide in the light of day only to truly emerge at night. This book is a must read for anyone who is struggling with their own gender issues or has self-image/concept issues. Or even if you are just going through some rough times. You will be able to relate to the characters. I promise. When I got done with this book, closing the back cover was like closing the door on a friend who had been with me through everything. I almost felt as though the characters were real. And the thing about it is, even though we don't think about it, they might be. They may not have the same name or even look alike but somewhere out there is a Liam, a Luna, and a Regan. And the weird thing is, you might know them and not even know it.

This is an amazing story. It is a view of a transgender that is informative and helps you to understand and be empathetic towards others. I do agree that the trasgender Luna (Liam) could have used some development, however, that is not a major setback. I definetly reccomend this book.

Want to know how to write a young adult novel? Read this book. It is the work of a master author of teen books, at the very peak of her career. Others have written about the landmark nature of the book's transgendered theme (and I agree with all their praise). But an equally exceptional aspect of this book is the fact that the struggle and journey of the main character, who is not transgendered, but who lives in the emotional "shadow" of her transgendered brother, is just as fascinating as that of the brother. Regan is a prickly, often angry kid--not your usual plucky YA heroine. But the resulting story is one of the truthful, and riveting, teen books I've read in years.