Luna by Julie Anne Peters

When I think of multicultural literature the first thing that comes to mind is books about minorities, or foreign cultures. After reading Luna I realize why multicultural literature extends beyond my preconceived notions. Luna also had to grow up in a reality that is different than one most people know. She has to grow up as an outsider both in her body and in her community.
We live in a society that I would like to think has come a long way in terms of sexual preference/identity, but I also realize that we still have a ways to go. I teach at a school where very few GLBT members come out of the closet. The GLBT club holds their meetings at odd hours and do not publicize the information so as draw attention to those that are part of the group. While I know that this is not true for all schools across the board, it is true for many suburban schools. I know that there are students at my school that come out to only a few because they are afraid of how everyone will react and treat them. They are afraid of the hate that so many in our society still have for GLBTer’s. I also have my share of gay friends, and I have heard stories crossing all spectrums. My best friend was afraid to come out to me because I was a Christian, and he thought I would hate him. He was lucky though, he has been accepted by most of his close friends and today lives a happy life out of the closet. That is not the happy ending for all of my friends though. I have friends that have been disowned by their parents, grandparents and community. They have had to start their life over again. Reading Luna gave me a better understanding of what they went through.
One thing that really stuck out to me while reading the story was the talk about gender expectations. In college I minored in Psychology and in Human Sexuality we talked at great length about how gender expectations shape children. Her whole life Luna was pressured by her father, and society, to be a ‘man’. Jack, the father, thought that he was helping Luna/Liam because he thought that if Luna/Liam acted ‘different’ then he would not fit in. He wanted Luna/Liam to be ‘normal’, without a thought as to how forcing her to be someone she was not made her whole life more difficult. Peters I feel did a good job making Luna a sympathetic character. It was easy to see the pain that Luna felt as Liam. I think it would be hard for anyone to read her character and not feel a want for her to find happiness. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have to live the life that Luna/Liam had to live; wanting so much to be the person you were born to be, but afraid of what society might have to say to about it. The only one that Luna/Liam had was Regan.
Regan was another character that I felt Peters did a good job developing. It is one thing to look at the affects of being a Transgender in today’s society, but rarely would we have the opportunity to look through the eyes of the sibling and how she/he is affected by it. First, she wants what is best for her brother. This means that she wants her to be happy, but she also wants her to be accepted. At times these things come into conflict, and much like I am sure it would be in the real world, Regan did not know how to handle the situation. Second, she wanted her own life to be normal, which she found exceedingly difficult with her brother transitioning right before her eyes. Every choice that Luna made also affected her own life, maybe not as much as she felt, but it did. She wanted to remain invisible, but with her brother coming out she was not able to because she was the only one that Luna could go to for help. In the end though, Luna going out in the light also made Regan go out into the ‘light’ and both of them were able to change for the better.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think the Peters did a good job getting me the reader to feel what both Luna and Regan were having to deal with. The one thing that bothered me at times was the voice of Regan. I guess having to deal with teens on an everyday basis gives me enough teen dialogue without having to read it in novels as well. However, with that said, I think that it is a voice that many of the teens who will be reading this book will be able to connect with. They will see a girl just like themselves with all of the insecurities and wants and desires.