Luna

Bibliography: Peters, J. A. (2004). Luna: A novel. New York: Little, Brown.

ISBN: 0316733695

Genre: realistic fiction, LGBTQ

Reading Level/Interest Age: 12+/14+

Plot Summary: Regan has known for years that her brother, Liam, identifies more with being female than male. She has no problem with it and lets him borrow her clothes, her makeup, her mirror. She’s never divulged Liam’s secret to anyone and he’s grateful for that, yet he still takes advantage of her. His demands continue to rise as he decides that he can no longer keep his true identity a secret. He constantly wakes her up in the middle of the night, convinces her to ditch class and demands her attention. Regan is exhausted and frustrated by his actions, but he is her only friend and she needs his affection. No one is more surprised than she is when her Chem Lab partner starts flirting with her. She likes him a lot, but is reluctant to get too close-- she’s sure that if he ever found out her brother’s secret, she’d lose him entirely. Her frustrations with Liam start bubbling over, causing tension between them. He apologizes for his selfish behaviors and agrees to cover Regan’s babysitting job so she can go on a date with her Chem Lab partner. When the children’s parents come home to find Liam dressed in the wife’s clothing,  Regan snaps. His decision was just so wrong. As angry as she is, though, she won’t tell his secret. He has to come to terms with how society will treat him without Regan’s help. But once he finds the courage, can Regan find the courage to embrace her true self?

Critical Evaluation: Julie Anne Peters makes frequent use of flashbacks in Luna. In my opinion, it’s one of her strongest writing elements, but it’s also her weakest. The flashbacks themselves were wonderful--fully encompassing for the reader. They were just as vivid as the main narrative, with sounds and colors and textures bringing them to life. I felt like I was in the room, sitting on the couch with Regan, when Liam/Luna throws his backpacks and knocks over Regan’s cup of soup. “Shaking off chunks of chicken and noodle and daubing the broth with my T-shirt, which is just smearing the Magic Marker on the poster board where I’d just spent an hour delineating all the countries of Africa.” (93) The words are simple, but so, so effective in creating a mood and scene.

When using flashbacks in a novel, the length of each needs to be taken into consideration. It has to be a careful balance between too short (breaking fluidity) and too long (distracting the reader from the current situation). Most of the flashbacks in Luna were about two pages long, just the right length to entice the reader, providing a memory, a familial way to understand the character on a deeper level. The flashback about Regan’s sleepover was ten pages in length, though, long enough to be a short story of its own. It did provide insight into both Regan and Liam/Luna, but it was too much of a break from the main narrative. It ended with a couple of lines of main narrative, then a chapter end. It’s too easy at that point to put the book down. Chapter breaks should be a dramatic pause, giving the reader a reason to immediately turn the page and keep reading. This particular instance just served to cause a rift in my concentration.

The fact that Peters choose to offset the flashbacks with italics is an indication of lack of writing fluidity. The writing should lend itself to transitions between flashbacks and current narratives. I often found the transitions jarring and random, but I also understand that memories don’t always come to mind smoothly. In that same vein, I found it awkward that Regan would mentally “go away sometimes” (251). She’d just drift off, leaving people around her to wonder what on earth was going on. In the real world, that would just be weird. Because it doesn’t come across as realistic, it gives me the impression that Peters was trying to hard to find a reason for Regan to remember things.

Reader’s Annotation: Regan is the only person who knows that her brother wants to be a girl. Can their relationship survive his need to share his true self with the world?

Author Information: Julie Anne Peters is the critically-acclaimed, award winning author of more than a dozen books for young adults and children. Her book, Luna, was a National Book Award Finalist; Keeping You a Secret  was named a Stonewall Honor Book; Between Mom and Jo won a Lambda Literary Award; and Define “Normal” was voted by young readers as their favorite book of the year in California and Maryland. Julie’s books have been published in numerous countries, including Korea, China, Croatia, Germany, France, Italy, Indonesia, Turkey, and Brazil. She is a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, PEN America, Colorado Authors League, and The Author's Guild.²

Born in Jamestown, New York, she has spent most of her life in and around Denver. She worked as a teacher, research analyst, systems engineer, and a computer programmer before becoming a writer. She currently lives in Lakewood, Colorado.¹

Curriculum ties: societal norms, diversity

Booktalks: do you portray yourself differently to different people?

Challenge issues: LGBTQ, abuse

Challenge resources (for usage in a challenge situation):

• Library Selection Policy

• Rationale explaining why the item was chosen for the collection
• Active listening skills
• Awards
• Reconsideration form (as a last resort)
• Illinois Library Association (Banned Books Listings)
• National Council of Teachers of English “Right to Read”
• Positive and negative reviews: expert, parent, student
• ALA Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to Library Materials
• ALA Bill of Rights on Intellectual Freedom

• Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.
• Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

Reasoning: Luna will expand the diversity holdings in a library collection. It aligns with education, providing impetus for personal development and expansion of empathy.

References:

¹2004 National Book Award Finalist: Young People's Literature. (n.d.). Retrieved November 5, 2015, from http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2004_jpeters.htm#.ViW5CWv5Wt4

²Peters, J. A. (n.d.). Julie Anne Peters' Bio. Retrieved December 3, 2015, from http://www.julieannepeters.com/files/JPBio.htm