Luna

Luna

Specifics

APA Citation: Peters, J. A. (2004). Luna: a novel. New York: Little, Brown.

Meets EDU 333 Blog Requirement For: Middle school readers, Diverse Protagonist

Lexile Level: 500L

Audience: Middle School Readers

Summary

Luna is about a young transsexual teenager and her journey in transitioning from male to female. The story is told in first person from Luna's sister, Regan's, point of view. Regan is a typical high school student who struggles in school, meets boys, babysit's for work, and argues with her parents. The only difference between Regan and the average teenager, is that her older sibling is transsexual and she is the only one who knows and supports Luna. 

Evaluation

This book is a great read for middle school because it brings up a subject that is becoming more and more popular, but not everybody truly understands it. The author uses many literary devices throughout the novel, such as a butterfly being a symbol for Luna breaking out of her cocoon and becoming who she truly is. 

The author does portray some stereo types throughout the novel, but it is done with a purpose. For example, the parents are both quite sexist, such as the boy needing to play sports and only the girl can cook dinner. Also, the teacher that is portrayed is also sexist and quite stereotypical a jerk as well, as many teachers are portrayed in novels. Also, Regan's teenager actions tend to be a bit on the extreme side, such as sneaking out of babysitting to go on a date, which shows lots of immaturity and paints a bad picture of hormonal teenagers. 

Mini Lesson

I would like to have a Socratic Seminar on this novel. Although it would be quite difficult for me to stay quiet, I'd really like to watch the students work though this text together, without my opinion and input.