by
3.98 of 5 stars
For years, Regan's brother Liam has been nursing a secret. By day, he is Liam, a passably typical boy of his age; at night, he transforms himself i... read full description

reviews

Nov 01, 2011
Wendy Darling rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Clearly, it's important that books like this are written, not only so that teens who are transgendered have a voice in young adult literature, but also so that our society as a whole has a chance to better understand gender identity and gender expression.

Regan's older brother Liam has always felt as if he was different. Through the years, he's been closer to her female friends than any guy his own age, and he's always been interested in typically "feminine" toys and clothe More...
17 comments like (42 people liked it)
Oct 12, 2011
Leanne rated it: 5 of 5 stars
4.5 Stars


I've always had a fascination with YA novels that explores social taboos. I mean, how do authors write about sensitive, touchy subject matter without sounding too preachy or critical towards teenage behaviour, dress or appearance, and without generating outrage or hatred from readers? That's why I'm always so intrigued when I hear about books that explore topics that have constantly been challenged, prohibited, or sanctioned by society. I've found numerous YA authors More...
22 comments like (25 people liked it)
Dec 22, 2011
Jennifer rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

LUNA is the first book I've ever read that deals specifically with transgender issues. Although you get a feel for what the book is about by reading the back copy--in effect, that Regan's brother, Liam, is a woman trapped in a man's body--you don't get the full spectrum of what this actually means until you reach the end of chapter one.

"Rolling over, I muttered, 'You're such a freakshow.' Her hair splayed across my pillow, tickling More...
0 comments like (4 people liked it)
Jan 05, 2008
Amy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This book is an amazing step forward in YA literature. Other reviewers have given you the premise of the plot, I just wanted to add that I thought it was BRILLIANT that it was told from the sister's point of view. Within the largely conservative area I live in, not a lot of people would be interested in this book had it been told from Liam/Luna's point of view. But as it comes from the sister, it's a safe vantage. It's the perfect vehicle for introducing a LOT of people to an issue they might no More...
1 comment like (11 people liked it)
Oct 18, 2011
Miranda rated it: 5 of 5 stars
This book is getting really good. Luna wants to tell he's parents that he is a girl. Thats what he wants to be. No a man but a woman.
36 comments like (2 people liked it)
Feb 12, 2010
Brooke rated it: 2 of 5 stars
Hmm. Well, I'm glad this book was written because there certainly could be more books for and about the trans community. I did have some issues with this book, however. Some thoughts and some questions.

It was interesting how the mother and father had non-traditional roles (him not working,her working). Im not sure if this was necessary though or really served the plot in any way.

There is this theme or at least a few scenes in which Liam is painted as someone who "ca More...
0 comments like (5 people liked it)
Oct 05, 2008
Jessica rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Liam has always known that he was a girl and has kept this knowledge locked away in a steamer trunk to be revealed only at night. Regan has been protecting her brother Liam since she can remember; protecting his secret from the world. During one fateful year, Liam and Regan’s carefully orchestrated lives begin to unravel when Liam can no longer keep Luna under lock and key to be seen only at night. Told from the perspective of Regan, Luna takes the reader on a journey through one teen’s trans More...
0 comments like (3 people liked it)
Aug 20, 2008
K rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I am so glad this book exists! While working in a public library a few years back, I came across Luna, and have recommended it a hundred times over ever since. It is one of the few young adult books I have seen so far that addresses the reality/experience of transgender teens, which has been needed for years! (Before this book, it was the Francesca Lia Block books that I would love for addressing queer youth experience. They are classics and address issues of gender for sure, but I appreciate More...
0 comments like (3 people liked it)
Jan 16, 2008
Jane rated it: 4 of 5 stars
My 11 year-old daughter recommended this young adult novel to me, and I got as sucked into it as she did. I love the protagonist: 15 year-old Regan, whose older sibling Liam/Luna is on the way to transitioning from male to female and has made Regan his sole confidante. Regan is the kind of protagonist/narrator who seems to be whispering all her secret yearnings into my ear, which reminds me of my own (past and present) ones. In her case, Regan is determined to love and accept a brother who is More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Nov 14, 2009
Jess rated it: 5 of 5 stars
I cried and cried while I read this book. But don't read it unless you are ready to think hard about some tough issues and stereotypes.
2 comments like (2 people liked it)
Aug 25, 2008
Swankivy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Wow cool, this made me want to read more of this author! This was a book told from the point of view of a girl with a transsexual brother, and what it was like growing up knowing she was the only person her brother could depend on to accept him for who and what he--really she is. I think reading it would really help anyone who has gender issues understand that they're not alone or crazy. This author writes other things about difficult teen situations, so I think I'm gonna have to check her out! More...
1 comment like (1 person liked it)
Nov 03, 2011
Debora rated it: 5 of 5 stars
Luna è il primo romanzo per ragazzi che tratta di un argomento delicato come la transessualità e io, non mi vergogno ad ammetterlo, ho duramente criticato la scelta della Giunti Y di collocare un libro del genere nel settore per ragazzi. Senza contare che in moltissime librerie che frequento assiduamente da anni mi sono ritrovata a scorgere questo librettino nel settore per bambini, dove ci sono i tappetini a puzzle colorati per intenderci, fra Peter Pan e Alice in Wonderland. Io, che mi ero doc More...
Jul 11, 2010
Amanda added it
Snapshot: Luna is the story of a sister coping with her brother's gradual revelation of his plan to transition from male to female. This is not a coming out story as such, but rather a coming of age story. Both Regan and her brother Liam are discovering how to stay true to themselves and to one another--especially Regan, the sister. She has been Liam's only real support her entire life, and now she's becoming smothered by Liam's constant need. On the other hand, she can't imagine her life withou More...
Feb 20, 2009
Leonora of rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This was really good. I'd only read one of Peters' other books, 'Keeping You a Secret', and I thought 'Luna' was better written, more complex, and a fully realized novel. Technically, it's a young adult book, but can and should certainly be read by adults.

Throughout the book, I really felt for Regan as much as I rooted for Luna, her brother.

This book also has started to undo some transphobia that I'm loathe to admit I have. However, what occurred to me while reading this More...
0 comments like (2 people liked it)
Dec 05, 2008
lyNN rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Okay so its about this guy named Liam, and since he was little, he always felt like he wanted to be a girl. He doesn't tell the story of his life but his sister Regan does. Her life has mainly revolved around him by trying to protect him from the world especially from their father. Their dad wanted Liam to play sports and do father and son things.Wasn't a bad guy but expected too much. So Regan helps Liam by letting him dress in her room at the middle of the night as a girl and in the day to hel More...
2 comments like (1 person liked it)
Nov 25, 2008
Carrie rated it: 4 of 5 stars
In Luna: A Novel, Julie Anne Peters tells the story of two siblings: Regan and Liam. Liam is a teen in high school who has spent all his life feeling like a woman trapped in a man’s body. One of the ways he has learned to deal with the confusion is to dress as a woman at night, experimenting with clothing, wigs, make-up, and calling himself Luna. When the novel opens, his younger sister Regan is the only person in the world who has seen this expression of self. His dependency on his sister h More...
Feb 07, 2012
Jenni rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Luna was born Liam and is a girl trapped in a boy's body. As a transgendered person, Luna must hide during the day, only coming out to be herself at night. I appreciated this book's depiction of Luna's struggle, as well as the struggle of Regan, Luna's sister. I also appreciated that this book showed how difficult it could be for parents to accept their gender-nonconforming children.

I liked that Luna's friend, Aly, initially reacted negatively to the truth of Luna's gender identity, More...
Dec 27, 2011
This book is about a girl. Two girls, actually. Sisters, in fact. Except one, is genetically a boy.

"Luna," she repeated softly, more to herself than to me. "Appropriate, wouldn't you say? A girl who can only be seen in the moonlight?"

[...]

"As I heard her slog across the floor toward my desk - where she'd unveiled her makeup caddy in all its glory - a sigh of resignation escaped my lips. Yeah, I loved her. I couldn't help it More...
Dec 13, 2011
A.m.supinger rated it: 4 of 5 stars
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Nov 26, 2011
Caitlin rated it: 3 of 5 stars
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0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Nov 16, 2011
Natalie rated it: 3 of 5 stars
“Luna” is a marvelous book exploring inner family secrets and the effects it can have on all family members, even the one the secret is about. Reagan is a girl whose brother, Liam, identifies as transgender but not quite openly yet, until he decides that it is time to make it permanent and become Luna. Reagan thinks about the consequences of her social life and what it will do to herself to have a brother that is now a sister. Although some of the novel seems stereotypical (Liam/Luna is transgen More...
Nov 16, 2011
Holly rated it: 3 of 5 stars
The book Luna, written by Julie Anne Peters, is about a transgender teenage boy named Liam who is dying to be a girl on the inside and outside. He started this even as a young child as he asked for different birthday ideas that seemed questionable. As his father pushes the idea of being a “real man” he confides in his younger sister Ragan. “Luna” was Liam’s girl name he had chosen this name because no one was able to see who he really was during the day, only by night. Liam has a box that he lik More...
Nov 13, 2011
Sarah rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Luna, a novel by Julie Anne Peters, is an interesting and heartwarming read, filled with love, acceptance, misunderstandings, danger, and hatred. The plot centers around a girl named Regan who struggles with her brother’s issue of being a “girl” inside a boy’s body. Liam, who takes the female name Luna, has kept his secret hidden for almost his entire life, with only Regan as the one who knows. The novel follows how she deals with this secret and how it affects not only her brother’s life, but h More...
Oct 08, 2011
Kelly rated it: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book. It was the only one of the three contemporary realistic fiction (GLBT) books that I would even consider reading again. I found the characters and the subject matter believable.
Luna is a story from the point of view of Regan, a young teenager, who's brother Liam, is a transgender. The two are very close and Reagan is the only one who knows about her brother's secret. Their parents may suspect something occasionally, but Dad just wishes Liam would take up More...
Sep 30, 2011
Steve rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Luna

Summary:
The story revolves around Liam trying to bring out his true self and his sister Regan trying to keep his secret and live her life. This story is told from Regan’s point of view about her brother Liam. Liam is smart and popular with the ladies. Liam knows that he is a girl trapped in a boy’s body and he is trying to figure out how he can bring Luna to life. The hardest part to Liam’s dilemma is finding a way to tell his parents and his best friend Aly. His dad want More...
Sep 30, 2011
Najentel rated it: 3 of 5 stars
Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Regan tells the story of her older brother Liam. Liam is popular at school and all the girls like him, but Liam has a secret. Liam feels that he is truly a girl named Luna and dresses up as a girl at night in Regan’s room. Now Liam wants to live as Luna permanently. Regan is the only one who knows her brother’s secret and tries to protect him from their parents and friends. She helps him to deal with their father who tries to make Liam manlier and their mother More...
Sep 30, 2011
Ruby rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Told from Regan’s point of view, this is the story of a girl born in a boy’s body. His name is Liam and he is Regan’s older brother. The girl who is Liam’s real self is named Luna. Weird, right? It is definitely not a normal situation and Regan finds herself protecting Luna from what people see as freakish. Regan tries to protect her brother from friends, family, and the world who will not accept him, and she is worn down by the task, but there is nothing else she can do.

I really don’t More...
Sep 25, 2011
Christetta rated it: 4 of 5 stars
SUMMARY:
Regan’s brother, Liam, has a secret and it is slowly consuming her life as well. Liam is a transgender and late at night he dresses in women’s clothes and calls himself Luna. Besides helping Liam keep this secret Regan must council and pull Liam out of his depressive moods when they come. Liam has suppressed Luna since he was nine when his father became enraged with his birthday request for a bra and a Barbie. He is inspired by a transgender who has been down this road and is n More...
Sep 04, 2011
Alex rated it: 4 of 5 stars
There are some issues that I feel like I need to be aware of, as a good liberal, and some subjects on which I feel like I need to have good books to recommend, as a good inclusive English teacher. This will definitely be one of those books. It’s a sensitively told, moving novel about a transgender teen, Luna, and her sister, Regan, and the impact it has on the two and their family once Luna decides that she absolutely cannot live as Liam, the self she was born with, anymore. I feel that the diff More...
Jul 25, 2011
Waste rated it: 3 of 5 stars
The subject is interesting, but the execution was lacking. It tells of a boy named Liam who is transgendered, feeling that he is a girl in a boy's body, told from the perspective of his younger sister. That is from the first person perspective of his younger sister, and it takes a certain strength of mind to handle seeing the world through a teenage girl's eyes, which is why I thank for the book's mercifully short length.

I began reading in high hopes, for angst, love, heartbreak and tr More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)