Content levels
Trigger warnings
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
Indu, a boy from the moon, feels like he doesn’t belong. He hasn’t since he and his adoptive mom disembarked from their spaceship—their home—to live on Earth with their new blended family. The kids at school think he’s weird, he has a crush on his pen pal who might not like him back, and his stepfamily doesn’t seem to know what to do with him. Worst of all, Indu can’t even talk to his mom about how he’s feeling because she’s so busy. In a moment of loneliness, Indu calls out to the moon, begging them to take him back. And against all odds, the moon hears him and agrees to bring him home on the first day of the New Year. But as the promised day draws nearer, Indu finds friendship in unlikely places and discovers that home is more than where you come from. And when the moon calls again, Indu must decide: Is he willing to give up what he’s just found?
Is Lunar Boy appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 8 and up.
A gentle middle grade fantasy about a boy from the moon adjusting to life on Earth with his blended family. Features themes of belonging, identity, and found family with a queer crush subplot appropriate for the age group.
What to know going in
This book has no graphic violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include abandonment, anxiety, and divorce.
Who'll love this
Kids will connect with Indu's struggles to fit in at a new school and find his place in a complicated family situation.