Review: Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo

Lunar Boy
Jes and Cin Wibowo
HarperAlley
Published May 14, 2024

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About Lunar Boy

For fans of The Witch Boy and Squished, Lunar Boy is a must-have heartwarming coming-of-age graphic novel about a young boy from the moon who discovers a home in the most unlikely places, from debut twin creators Jes and Cin Wibowo.

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?

My Review

I’m sure I saw a review of this book somewhere or saw someone posting about it on social media, but I’m terrible at keeping notes on that, so I can’t remember who told me to read this book. If it was you, thank you.

Lunar Boy is an unusual story. Indu begins alone on the surface of the moon. He hears a voice in his head that he identifies as belonging to the moon. The voice warns him that being alone is safe, and that forming connections to others opens a person up to the possibility of pain and heartache. Indu decides to leave anyway and lives as a part of a blended family. He and his mom move to a newly colonized planet where he learns a new language and attends school.

He faces some big adjustments, and learns to navigate different conflicts, both external and internal. He also explores his identity and encounters others coming to terms with their own identities. The book handles this very gently. There is one spot where someone misgenders Indu. He apologizes and is supportive after the fact, though.

I really liked the elements of found family/adoption in the story. It was also interesting that Indu faced being part of a blended family after acclimating to a smaller family with just him and his adopted mom.

I could see readers who enjoyed The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu or The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang liking this one a lot. I’m eager to see these authors create more books.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to an older couple in a dating relationship. One panel shows two characters kissing.

Spiritual Content
Indu hears the Moon speaking to him about the risks of forming relationships with others and living in community (loneliness and pain). At one point the Moon tells Indu he can come home at a certain cycle of the moon. References to ceremonies to honor coming-of-age for boys and girls.

Violent Content
Some homophobic or transphobic statements. One instance of misgendering. (The person apologizes and promises to do better in the future.)

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I borrowed a copy of this book from the public library. All opinions are my own.