Julie Ann Peters’s LUNA, published in 2004, was one of the first stories about a teenager transitioning.
Liam is transitioning from his assigned gender to her real identity as Luna. Only her younger sister Regan knows. Regan tells the story of her brother’s transformation, suicidal feelings, eagerness to live authentically, bullying and parental gender expectations. Regan risks everything to support her brother (she uses brother and sister/he and she, interchangeably depending on whether her sibling is dressed as a boy or girl).
As sympathetic as I was to Liam/Luna’s struggles, my heart went out to Regan. Her entire life revolved around supporting Liam, whether he woke her up in the middle of the night for fashion advice, protecting him from their father, concerns for his mental health, lying to friends and family. At times Regan realized her sacrifices, though Luna was in so much pain she put her own needs ahead of her sister’s every time.
Their parents her a hot mess, dysfunctional with a capital D. Their father pushed gender stereotypes onto Liam, their mother pretended everything was fine. Both parents threw passive aggressive barbs to each other.
Readers who only understand transgender rights and life from a 2018 perspective may see LUNA as very dated. Calling 15 years ago a period piece may seem premature, but those who remember 2004 know that gays weren’t allowed to serve openly in the US military (Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell) and couldn’t marry. A few states had domestic partnership laws, but they were far from the norm. Transgender was about as foreign to most families as if a kid said he was actually a pilgrim from the 1600s who wanted to dress in pilgrim garb and spout puritanical beliefs. I’m not equating mental illness and transgender, just using a hyperbolic simile. At least in 2018, most people have heard of transgender and many teens have classmates who are gender nonconforming. They may enjoy a story that shows how far we’ve come in their life time while still knowing how far we still need to go.
- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers; Library Binding edition (May 26, 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0316733695
- ISBN-13: 978-0316733694
- Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
- Customer Reviews: 143 customer reviews
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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