Response to Luna

This book presented some problems for me. I’m not even really sure how to go about responding to it, but I’ll give it the ol’ college try.
Okay, let’s start with the fact that I really like how the book is organized and written. The characters were believable, though not likable (we’ll get to that), the situations felt real to high school, and the insertion of the flashback scenes I thought added a lot to the narrative and were way better than if the narrator had just described those scenes to us.
Speaking of the narrator, I thought it was a great decision to have the narrator be Liam’s sister. It makes it so much more interesting to read because we don’t just see Liam and what he is going through, but we see how others are affected and how Liam’s life does not just center on himself, but has a huge impact on the lives of others, particularly Regan. She was a fascinating character, and the way her relationship developed with Chris probably would strike a chord with a lot of high schoolers. The awkwardness, the wonder, the “I don’t have time for this right now,” the jealousy, all of it is very “high schooly” and students would identify with that.
Okay, I guess I have to get to the elephant in the room. Or…on the page. Whatever. I am not okay with the topic of this book. I don’t want to make anyone angry, but my belief system does not allow for the GLBT philosophy to be okay. I believe saying it is okay for someone to be transgender implies that God made a mistake when he created them, and I don’t believe in a God who can make mistakes. I really don’t believe it’s appropriate to get into all that in depth in my book response, so I’ll try to stick with this book. When I saw what the book was about, I immediately thought, “I don’t want to read this book” and I actually considered asking if I could read a different one. But I thought it was important to have the same book experience that my classmates are having, so I read it. I wonder what I would do if a student asked me, “Do you know any good books about transgender teens?” Would I recommend this book knowing that it is a good book, but goes against what I believe in? Would I lie and just say no? Would I hand it over without a word? I really don’t know.
Interestingly, the character I had the biggest problem with in this book was not Liam. He seemed like an honest, caring, hard-working person. Granted, he maybe took advantage of Regan a little bit, and he made some really poor decisions (like dressing up during the babysitting gig), but on the whole he seemed like a likeable guy. No, the characters I had the biggest problem with were Liam’s parents. His mom didn’t take care of her family, and the outburst of “I’ve had it with you. I’ve had it with you and these kids and my life. It isn’t enough” (137) is extremely selfish. But it all starts with Liam’s dad. He obviously did not know how to make his wife feel loved, leading to the aforementioned scene. And his insistence on pushing Liam into sports when Liam clearly did not want to sends a terrible message. But of course it culminated with the lines “You’re sick” and “If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back” (222-223) I don’t care if what someone does is against your beliefs, you just don’t treat people that way. I believe the culture of the home and family start with the husband/father, and this guy failed miserably.