Books Fix Reviews

Luna: A Novel Of Transsexuality, Acceptance

 

By
Mariechen Puchert
Senior
Correspondent
CAPE
TOWN, South Africa – Seventeen-year-old Luna can only emerge when the moon is
out, because by day she is Liam: handsome, intelligent, male Liam.
Luna, a novel by
Julie Anne Peters, is the story of a transsexual teenager and her disgust for
the body into which she was born.
Liam’s
sister, Regan, narrates the novel. She is the only person who knows and loves
Luna, but she also knows that the world may never accept her for who she is.
At
the same time, Regan is trying to find her own normalcy in the cruelty that is
high school, and being Luna’s sole confidante is clearly a draining experience.
Nevertheless she supports and protects Luna above all else.
But
Luna cannot continue pretending to be the outward Liam. She needs to
transition. Luna follows these
experiences with a candidness that is unparalleled as Luna reveals herself to
the public.
Published
in 2004, Luna was perhaps a bit
before her time. Eight years ago, the world was still trying to build bridges
between heterosexual and homosexual communities. Today it would appear that
while acceptance of lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals is slowly improving,
transexuality is still largely misunderstood.
With
Regan as the protagonist, this novel is accessible to young people who may or
may not identify as LGBT, but are looking to know more about being supportive
to friends or family. The narrative is simple and clear and the story
appropriate even for younger readers.
Luna is neither a
tearjerker nor a fast-paced novel. It is simply a tale of acceptance within
modern context, shedding light on a poorly-grasped matter.