Luna a novel by Julie Anne Peters Regan's biggest concern in life is her older sister Luna. Regan worries about Luna's depression, having once walked in on her sister's attempt at suicide. Luna wears Regan's clothes and insists that Regan buy clothes for her. The burden that Luna places on Regan is a secret, because to the rest of the world, there is no Luna. To the rest of the world, Regan has a brother Liam, and not a sister Luna. Although Liam sometimes appears suspiciously effeminate, Luna is a secret. Regan wants it to stay that way, but Luna is growing out of the closet, threatening the tenuous family balance and Regan's first boyfriend.
Regan narrates this novel, but the theme is Luna/Liam. Regan refers to her sibling as female in the scenes when Luna is openly female, and as her brother when Luna is in the closet. The interdependence of the sisters is as complex as Luna's gender. A lot of Regan herself is lost in the telling of Luna; I felt that I understood more about the lives of Regan's parents and Liam's best friend Aly than I did about Regan's life. Although I at times did not like Regan, I appreciated the realistic manner in which Regan is portrayed; she is not prematurely mature, nor is she unusually accepting of her sister.
This book has been cited as the first novel with a trans teen as a main character, but
What Happened to Lani Garver? precedes it.
Question: Regan tells Aly that if you love a person, gender shouldn't matter. Is Regan right? If you thought you had a boyfriend, but he said he was she, would you still love her?
Thoughtful reading.
The Book Haven's Review
