Rating from ~2008 or whenever I read this, I doubt it holds up that well ( )

Regan is too whiny and boring and I could not stand Luna. Weird book in general.

I mean, look, this book is very much of its time. ( )

I liked this book. It was a quick read, interesting and good to get into. I did feel it left a little something to be desired, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what that was. ( )

Luna is a transgender girl at the tail end of high school. She's a computer genius, managing to earn an evidently substantial income from doing computer work on the side. She lives with her younger sister, Regan, and her parents. Dad is a former jock, working for Home Depot. Mom is a self-centered almost prescription drug addict. And Luna is not out. With the exception of her sister Regan, she is known by her given name, Liam, and is known as a boy. To everyone.
What makes this book a little different than the bulk of transgender themed middle grade or teen books out there now (and there have been many of late) is that Luna is not the narrator or the protagonist. That would be Regan, the sister. There is a great deal about Luna's need to be her true self; but the story line is more focused on Regan, and how constantly worrying about her brother/sister is affecting her own life. She has a boy interested in her, and she wants desperately to date him, but in one way or another, Luna keeps inadvertently getting in the way. Regan feels she can't ever really live her own life, because she's always obsessing about Luna/Liam.
I wanted a more dynamic conclusion to the book than I got, but otherwise, a good read on a relevant subject, from a different perspective than most of the other books in the genre. ( )