Luna by Julie Anne Peters

• ISBN: 978-0313317620
• Plot summary: Regan's life has always been entwined with her older brother Liam's. As far back as she can remember, Regan has known that Liam was not comfortable in the person he was being raised to be--a boy. Eager for the approval of others but always yearning for the life his sister leads, Liam ventures ever so slightly into the gender that he feels so truly that eventually he decides there is no turning back. Liam will soon become Luna, no matter who makes fun of him or how his parents feel. Once a creature of the night, Luna emerges earlier and earlier until she is seen in broad daylight, much to the embarrassment of her sister, and himself. Yet even the pain of embarrassment cannot hold Liam back from becoming Luna once and for all. Regan, who gives her support begrudgingly, eventually sees Liam's pain and agrees to do what she has to do--let him go.
• Critical evaluation: The complex gender transformation of Liam into Luna is expertly displayed by Julie Anne Peters. We see the tension between Liam and Regan, who on one hand wants to help her big brother, and on the other hand, just wants a normal teenage life for herself. Liam faces a difficult transition both emotionally and physically, and while Regan wants to be there for her brother, she finds it hard to navigate relationships with boys, her parents, and her employers while she tries to make sense of her brother's transition. Regan's balance love and hesitancy are a great parallel to the balance her brother is trying to strike between Luna and himself. In the end, both siblings see they cannot straddle the fence and plunge forward into the things they must do--love her older sibling, no matter who he turns out to be, and turning into Luna, no matter who she must leave behind.
• Reader's annotation: Regan helps Liam transform into Luna, though the change is not only Liam's transition into becoming a girl.
• About the author: Julie Anne Peters has written numerous young adult books and currently lives in Colorado.
• Genre: Fiction/Coming of age
• Curriculum ties, if any: none
• Booktalking ideas:
• Discuss gender roles and what it means in the family dynamic.
• Discuss what it means to be transgender.
• Reading level/interest age: 15+
• Challenge issues: Transgender character
• Why was this item included? Required reading for 265-01.