From: omgary at childrencomefirst.com <omgary>
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 14:52:54 -0600

waters...it's person's

Based on Hollis and Nancy's response to my post I've revisited my first comment about Peter's book. It's not "LUNA" the book I didn't like but rather the character Luna totally turned me off with his/her self?nterness. I know many a teen, straight or GLBT, can be that way but Luna was sure extreme for me... and again, maybe his/her own particular circumstances made him/her like that. But I tend to want to believe, and to also help kids understand, through the titles I recommend and sell, that the lot that life deals you does not justify that type of behavior. Regan, on the other hand, trully won me over. In many ways she was dealt the same lot as Luna because she had to go through tremendous amounts of anguish over Luna's behavior/situation. But how she responded rather than reacted to pain is what I admired in Regan. The fact that Peters chose to portray, no holds barred, the pain non-GLBT feel in a situation such as this is what makes me stand up and take notice of LUNA as a book.

That's what I meant to convey in my post. That it takes a talented/gifted writer to write a book that allows for both sides of an issue to show through...for showing what the ramifications that taking a stand on an issue are...for allowing readers to validate known and unknown feelings they may have on an issue. Had Peters not done that with LUNA then the book would have been nothing but a propaganda piece, an evangelistic sort of writing on behalf of one side of an issue. Because she didn't, because she allowed nonGLBT kids/adults to read LUNA and see both sides of the issue while validating the very strong feelings that this particular issue brings forth, again, on both sides, then I think that's what will keep LUNA from becoming marginalized and keep it as a learning tool for both GLBT and nonGLBT kids and adults.

complex I agree 1000% with your comments here... I'm just glad that Peters chose to represent the pain on both sides for reasons I stated above.

kid's Nope. It shouldn't be... though it does feel like it is at times, doesn't it? :-)

transgender is or Nancy, you're quite right in your assessment here. Pain is a relative thing, meaning pain is greater in the heart/soul of the one feeling it. Do GLBT kids feel this pain and suffer through it? Sure they do. Do the family/friends of the GLBT kids feel this pain and suffer through it? Sure they do. Funny... the more I talk about this the more I see the brilliancy in the way Peters wrote LUNA. It's a book that, while trying to widen the path for GLBTs to walk on, allows nonGLBTs a validated place alongside them.

This was a good topic choice for this month. Not a topic I'm well read in and only know of Peters' work because I know and value her as both a writer and a friend. Julie Peters also moderates an awesome listserve for children writers, books4children, and that list has been a constant source of inspiration and support for me for the past several years. So, needless to say, I've been bookmarking the suggested readings that are coming in and will try to get to them as I'm able.

By the way, last month's discussion was "just what the doctor ordered" for me! I'm 2/3 done with a middle grade historical novel and the comments from last month were very valuable/instructive for me.

All for now,

Olgy
________________________________________________ Olgy Gary, M.A., CCF's General Manager Children Come First...because they're our greatest treasure! http://www.childrencomefirst.com
Received on Thu 10 Jun 2004 03:52:54 PM CDT