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Butterflys

I researched transgender symbol on google and found lots of butterfly stuff. I wonder if that has any significance and relation to the book.

~Maddy B

Transgender 9 year old

http://azstarnet.com/news/science/health-med-fit/article_62e8719b-5b8d-5f99-80f3-71f00a41c334.html

this is an site about a 9 year old girl who once was a guy

~Maddy B

Transgender symbol and flag

AGAIN with the timing

I was wondering why Liam waited to tell Regan that he was going to Seattle until the morning of the trip. Do you think she would have tried to stop him?

Behind the Story.

I read that when Julie Ann Peters was looking for something to write that she had dreams about Luna coming to her and telling her, her story and so she wrote the story based on this. Cool Huh?

Butterfly Correlation

Did anyone catch the connection of Regan feeling "light as a butterfly" or whatever at the end? Maybe as a connection to the cover's butterfly? Like the butterfly on the cover is Regan watching over the new Liam (Luna)?

Parents after the ending

what do you think the parent's reactions when they find out Luna left?? What will Luna look like?

I keep imagining her with blond hair...

ending

The ending was so awesome! It was like a happy ending, but not in the boring, "and they all lived happily ever after" way. And it didn't sew everything up, but it also wasn't a cliff-hanger. We could actually write to her about some sort of small sequel-like saying what Luna looks like, what happens with the dad, Regan's date, and so on. And the good thing is that Regan can start exploring her life now with her brother taken care of...

Luna Reviews

Here are some reviews on the book, I found.

Reviews

Summary - Based on 408 reviews

1

2

3 stars

4 stars

5 stars

What people are saying

writing		"Amazing writing--catching the nuances, very well done."
ending		"The ending of the book seems realistic."
plotline		"Last LUNA has the best plot ever and I rated a 5 star!"

1. Groundbreaking book about a transgender teen. Peters did her research when writing this book, and she tried to reflect as accurately as possible the transition process experienced by many transsexual teens. Good read. Heart-wrenching at times, but a good read.

2. (This was a really long review so here is the ending) FINALLY --- My overall impression of this book was that she has a very shallow understanding of what being trans is all about. It's not about cross-dressing! The cross-dressing is incidental! Maybe it's just that I'm hypersensitive about this stuff or maybe it's the author's fault for not leading me through with understandable descriptions of Luna herself (or Peter's tendency to refer to Luna as "he" and continually highlight her maleness --- a mega gaffe) but I could not bring myself to buy this story at all. The queer experience is a many faceted thing, but this book just wasn't that believable. It was like an after-school special without the heartwarming.

End Result?

I. Hate. This. Book.

3.holy wow! this book was amazing! get ready for my gushing, because nothing less will do. Luna confronts head on the issues of growing up as a transgender teen, through the eyes of a sibling. with pitch-perfect pacing and writing, this is a book that will stay with me for a very long time.

i would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. it was excellent.

4.I really wish I could have nicer things to say about the novel, but...The melodrama was so far over the top and so relentless that the novel loses all credibility. I might have even forgiven that if the prose were better, but the style is not very good, and the pacing is off. I was rooting for Luna the whole time, though it wasn't just to escape that over-the-top family, but the novel itself.

There are a lot more reviews if you want to reed them and I got all of these reviews from http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=luna+by+julie+anne+peters&sqi=2&cid=15617407378678405300&

os=reviews

~Maddy B

Regan and Liam

Regan: Regan is a 16-year-old sophomore in high school. She often puts the needs of others, mainly her brother Liam/Luna, before herself. Because of this, she does not feel like she has an identity of her own. Throughout the course of the book, she develops a relationship with a classmate named Chris, and desires to spend more time with him making herself happy and less time looking out for Liam as she transitions to Luna permanently.

Luna/Liam: Luna is a transgendered 17-year-old born in the body of a boy, Liam. Luna is the name she adopts as her female name, her real name. Luna is a smart, pleasant individual, as shown by her top grades and positive demeanor towards her often rude parents. She is also fashion forward, which makes Regan envious. She is often portrayed as being lost in her own world while she is Liam during the day. Luna needs Regan to help her become Luna by using her room to dress up in, but mainly she needs Regan for her emotional support as she begins her transition in public places like the mall, and Taco Bell.

this is why this book was written!?

She said, “Write about me.”

I said, "No. Go away. Come back later."

She did, the next night. "Write about me."

“No,” I said. “But who are you?”

She replied, “I’m Luna.”

I remember thinking, That would make a great title for a YA novel. But I wasn’t ready to start a new book. I fended Luna off, for weeks and weeks. Finally, I just got so irritated with her waking me up at three A.M., I sniped, “What? Write what? What’s your story?”

She smiled, demurely, and said, “I’m transsexual.”

Whoa.

Liam is selfish

When Regan was screaming at Liam, I didn't think it was that bad. I mean, she had to get it out of her system somehow, and that was probably the best way. She didn't have to slam him against the wall, though. Liam has been taking away Regan's life all this time, and then the one time she gets a fun date all to herself, Liam comes in and ruins her happy mood. Well, actually she wasn't that happy during those moments, but oh well, that's the point. And then Liam still expected her to go shopping with him!!!!!!! What type of person is he???????????????

Matera's

The Materas probably shouldn't have reacted that much because even after they knew who he was when david said."...and your brother... god he needs help." He seemed like the perfect dad and Elise seemed like the perfect mom but that one detail made them not perfect for not accepting people for who they are.

Aly

Aly should have reacted a little diffrently because even though sh's had a crush on Liam for reallly long, if she really loved him she would still like him the same not just run away.

Mom

The Materas called after the fallout with the babysitting and Liam and Regan's mom answered. They talked about something and then their mom suddenly got really stiff, like she was angry or surprised, but she didn't say anything. I wonder if Elise was telling their mom about what happened with Liam, and if their mom now knows about him. It's really interesting. I feel like that's what Elise said, but the mom didn't say anything about it, so I don't know.

Regan's Date

I think that leaving Liam to babysit in her place was a really bad idea on Regan's part. I mean, it was just an accident waiting to happen. She should've asked Elise if her brother could fill in, and if not, then just told them she couldn't come. I'm sure they would've understood that sometimes things come up, and would've ended up a lot happier than they did. Now they're all upset and Regan is blaming it on Liam when it's only partly his fault. He shouldn't have taken the risk to transform into Luna there, but Regan shouldn't have asked him to fill in without letting David and Elise know.

Mother

Liam and Regan's mom rant on page 136 shows that she has so much built up frusteration and anger built up inside her. Do you think that she finally gave up and shut her family out after she felt that no one was listening to her?

Luna |ˈloōnə|

a series of Soviet moon probes launched in 1959–76. They made the first hard and soft landings on the moon (1959 and 1966).

The wingspan of the luna moth is about 4 and a half inches which makes it one of the largest moths in North America.

Luna Awards

Luna has been awarded with around 20 awards in all! For one book, that is a lot

Dictonary

transgender |tranzˈjendər; trans-| (alsotransgendered)adjectiveidentified with a gender other than the biological one : a transgender activist and author.~Maddy B

Transgender Successes

Here is a picture of a transgender success:

Picture

Isn't this amazing? Like seriously, while their are minor differences, this is generally the same thing! It's quite outstanding, and it's good that people like this have this option!

Read this article... interesting.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/ask-about-transgender-issues/

Liam wants to be Luna more than anything else in the world and I his parents would probably understand and still love him if he told them and the faster he tells them the sooner Luna can be freed. I think Liam should transition and live as Luna not be miserable Liam.

Maddy B.

Re

Who else thinks that Re is a great sister to Liam the way she stands up for him, how she loves him no matter who he is, and understands and helps him with the things his dad doesnt.

Why?

Does anyone think that under different circumstances that Liam would not be transitioning? Like if his parents were in his life and that if they embraced that he was a very girly boy. I think maybe the story would not to had if the parents were in his life.

Julie Anne Peters

Here are some other books by Julie Anne Peters.

Almost all of her books deal with LGBT issues.

Keeping You a Secret: http://www.thebookhaven.net/Z_Keep_You_a_Secret.html

Between Mom and Jo: http://www.fictiondb.com/author/julie-anne-peters~between-mom-and-jo~233457~b.htm

Far From Zanadu: http://www.julieannepeters.com/files/ExcerptXanadu.htm

The last link has the first chapter of the book.

Dad and Regan

In the reading, the dad is talking to Regan and he asks her if Liam is gay. He says that he always thought that Liam was 'all right' because he hung out girls, and that was really sad. I thought that it was good that Regan really stuck up for her brother and told her dad that Liam was all right.

Terri Lynn in Liam's Life

I think Terri Lynn plays a major unseen role in Liam's self confidence. I think it's good that Liam has another TG guy to talk to, and it encourages him to be more like his true self. He sees that someone else has accomplished his life long goal, and that it truly is possible. I most definitely think this boosts his self esteem by a lot.

When's the right time?

I get the feeling that if there were different circumstances, Liam would not be coming out to he world yet, or he already would have come out to the whole world. I think if his dad and community had been more accepting or acted like they would have accepted him more, he already would have come out. Also, I think that if his dad hadn't pressured him so much to play baseball, and be a "man" he wouldn't have had to rush the process or coming out, and maybe he would have been able to wait until he was more ready. Does that make any sense? Well, to make a long story short, I don't think Liam should be coming out now, I think it either should have happened along time ago, or it shouldn't be happening yet.

Dad

After reading what we were supposed to read, I think that maybe their dad is trying to be a good father, but he just doesn't know how, and he wouldn't know how to support or deal with Liam/Luna. He tries to get Liam interested in sports because he thinks that's what she would want, because that's what he wants, and that's what he would've wanted. He just wants his son to be normal and what he thinks is best for him. I think he should be more supportive of what Luna wants, and accept her for who she is, but he can't without knowing. Even knowing, he'll probably have problems because he seems kind of old-fashioned or sexist in his views, but in the end he tries to be a good dad to his children.

The Mall

I think that it was probably good for Luna to go to the mall with Regan because it gave them a chance to see just a glimpse of what it would be like if she told everyone about herself. I think it was hard on her, but it was probably something she needed to hear, or see, at some point if she was going to seriously consider transitioning. I think it's a really hard situation, and hard to deal with other people's reactions.

Liam and Regan's Mom

I personally feel that Liam and Regan's mom isn't exactly playing a very motherly roll in her kids' lives. While I understand that she has to work, she still should give her kids the time of day and at least acknowledge them a little. It just seems that every time she appears in the book (which isn't very often) she's already on the phone or she gets on it immediately afterward. Perhaps being there to support her children and listening to them might bring them together (as a family) more.

After Luna and Reagan went to the mall I think Liam was very scared about what had happened I think that since she didnt talk about it with Regan or seemed kind of shut down, maybe shed become scared about coming out or something.

Author Website

Here's the links to Julie Anne Peter's, the author or Luna, website.

http://www.julieannepeters.com/

Shopping

Liam took a really big step by going out to the mall in public as Luna. It is the first step to "becoming a woman"

This is a cite about an interview with Julie Anne Peters about LUNA. http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/stories_behind/storypeters.html

Please check it out.

Regan herself

Regan needs to construct her own life. Liam needs her help, but sometimes she is so worried about him that she doesn't treat herself. Luna herself commented that Regan needs to put 'some color in your life'. She said this when they were talking about Luna's/Regan's clothes, but Luna meant more than just the clothes...

If you had an enormously big secret like Liam, or knew your sibling's or friend's huge secret, like Reagan, what would you do if you had to support them 24/7? Would you get tired after a while and convince them to tell, or help them take control of their life?

what is with the mom?

Why is the mom taking so many pills? Does she have to? When did she become so uncaring about her family?

Some other covers

Hi Maddie I was looking at the cover you posted and found some for Luna. Which is you favorite including ours?

Regan's Support

Regan always seems to put Liam's needs and requests before her own, and as sweet and supportive as it is, she needs to sometimes step out of his worries and focus on what's going on with her. In the book she says to Chris, "I can't I have to go shopping with my sister, " this shows that she sacrifices so much for him.

Security Precautions

Liam takes serious precautions to make sure no one sees him in "girl role". Do you think part of him wants to get caught so his secret can be out?

SPOILER ALERT- Liam Tries Out For Baseball

I can't believe Liam's dad actually made him try out, stalked him to his last class, and sat in the bleachers to make sure Liam didn't ditch. Liam is so busted up over this, poor guy. His dad just doesn't understand, and I'm glad Liam's finally deciding to slowly reveal his true self; Luna.

Riddle

Sofa
King
We
Todd
Did.

Liam and Regan

So what does anyone think about their relationship?

Other cover for Luna.

Does anyone else like this photo better than the one we have?

Pills

The book mentioned pills quite a bit, do you guys think this has an effect on Liam's family?

Liam

Does anyone else feel really bad for Liam?

Gotta love Blogger!

Title says it all...(:

So what do you all think of Luna?

Luna

Luna, Luna, dame una blogging software that works.