I enjoyed this book for the most part. The artwork was stunning and Indu's journey was a great story to follow. The issue I ran into was with the whole Moon trying to take him back. It felt like it took away from him finding his place on New Earth with his new family. Overall fun read though.

Indu is a boy from the moon who has never really felt like he belonged. His adoptive mother moved them from their spaceship to New Earth, and it’s been hard to find a place to fit in. His new classmates think he’s weird, his new family doesn’t seem to know what to do with him, and his new penpal suddenly ghosted him.

In a moment of loneliness, he calls out to the moon for help. The moon answers and promises to bring Indu back home to the moon on the first day of the New Year. But as the date draws near, Indu makes new friendships that might make him change his mind.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAlley for an advanced copy of Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo to review! This title caught my eye when I was scrolling NetGalley, and I am absolutely not disappointed. I loved this middle grade graphic novel from beginning to end.

Let’s start with the artwork. Every single panel throughout this book was gorgeous. The character design, the world building, the color palettes, I loved everything about it. It all works together so well to craft this emotional, fantastical story.

And the characters! Indu is such a sweet main character, trying to figure out how he fits in. Not only is he from the moon, but he’s also transgender. Part of his story is finding the queer community that accepts him for who he is. He finds people who understand, and makes connections that make him realize that his new home isn’t as bad as he thought it was.

The side cast of characters were just as fleshed out as Indu. From his new stepfamily to his new friends that he makes, he eventually finds connections that make him want to stay. Indu’s story is one that a lot of middle grade readers will relate to, in a variety of different ways.

All in all, if you love queer middle grade graphic novels, definitely check this one out in May!

I LOVE the art - the color palettes are gorgeous. The story is sweet and original enough to find a niche in the queer finding-yourself/coming-of-age genre. What I found really unique and compelling though was the idea of an Indonesian space society which I haven't seen before. It was very interesting and a lot of fun to see a water planet colonized by an island people with boats and floating houses, space temples in a candi style, and a theme of migration and cultural/language barriers among a blended/adopted family in space. Also the community center with the history of queer Indonesians and mention of indigenous queer identities pre-colonization was a great inclusion.

I can see this title resonating with a wide variety of readers as it deftly touches on so many topics.

This heartfelt graphic novel is a re-imagining of The Little Prince retold with a queer lens. We meet Indu, a trans boy who was literally found on the moon. His adoptive mother raises him on a space ship where they grow close and form a family with the crew. But everything changes when they arrive planet side where Indu joins a blended family which his mother is marrying into. Indu’s new family has lost their mother and no one is sure how this new family will work. Indu is struggling to learn a new language that everyone else speaks natively and is worried that his queer identity is putting him even further at odds.
With a wonderful blending of Indonesian culture and science fiction, this story tugs at my heart strings while also making me feel hopeful for the future in this book universe and the real one. The characters come in a variety of skin colors and body types and values. I loved this and was really thankful that @netgalley allowed me to read a DRC copy of it.

Favorite Parts - Indu learning about the coming of age celebrations, learning about the trans community and terms used in Indonesian culture, the creation of Indu’s new family.

Read This If You - want to see a diverse queer space universe that gave me just a hint of Firefly vibes, trans coming of age stories, family acceptance, making queer friends, found family, and self acceptance.

This was an enjoyable read. I found the story interesting, the art was beautiful, and the way various topics were explored was fantastic. I can see my students enjoying this!

Definitely a wonderful title in terms of representation, but I did feel it was a bit didactic and I wish the elements of identity came up more naturally in the story.

I loved everything about this! It was so sweet and handled tough topics really well. An Indonesian-based space society is such a cool concept, and the art was beautiful, too!

A beautiful, heartbreaking and heartwarming story about feeling alone, finding family, belonging, queer community and learning how to love yourself and make a place for yourself amidst great change. This graphic novel has gorgeous illustrations and boasts a full cast of queer characters. I absolutely loved every minute of this book and can't recommend it enough, especially for fans of Across a field of starlight by Blue Delliquanti. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Lunar Boy by Jess and Cin Wibowo is the story of a boy, Indu, from the moon that is adopted by a mom that lives on a spaceship. When they move to New Earth, Indu struggles to fit in. Besides adjusting to life on a new planet, he also faces integrating into his new blended family, a language barrier, trying to make new friends at a new school, being misgendered, and being hurt by those that just want to help. Indu struggles to determine whether he should continue trying to adapt to life on New Earth or whether he should leave everything (and everyone) behind and return to the moon.

This story is so well-told and so deep that I feel like older audiences including young adults and adults will be able to enjoy and appreciate it as much as the intended middle grade audience. The romantic elements are perfect for middle grade readers as they begin to navigate their own identities, including developing those first crushes. I love the way the story included all types of relationships, not just the romantic ones. I really enjoyed the depth of the characters in this story. There is so much to think about and process, both during and after reading this book. As far as the artwork goes, it is beautiful and absolutely takes the story to the next level. The color schemes go a long way with portraying the emotions the characters as feeling throughout the book.

This is a book that I will happily add to my high school library and I would also recommend it to middle grade readers. In fact, I will likely purchase a copy for my own tween daughter who is an avid reader. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the opportunity to review an eARC of this title!

Such a wonderful and creative story. The artwork is beautiful and the colors are perfect for the mood of different scenes. I love the characters and their personality. Great LBGTQ+ representation.
The main character struggles to find his place, but it's more than moving to a new planet, or new school, it's finding out what to call home and defining who the person as a whole is. There is the journey of acceptance on a personal level, but also into a new family and community: an Indonesian-inspired culture as well.
Although some see others as strangers and offer criticism this story reminds us that some are there for us.
All the scenes that are space have very beautiful colors, but the ones with the festival are warm and full of emotion. I recommend this to all pride readers. It's fabulous.
Thank you, Publisher and Netgalley for this e-arc.

Wow that was phenomenal!! As an Indonesian I’m thrilled to see Indonesian writer go International and implanted a lot of Indonesian culture in their works. The art is STUNNING, The dreamy pastel color looks awesome. And I love the theme too, considering queer isn’t generally accepted in Indo right now, this implies that it can happen in the future. cant say that this is wholly inspired by The Little Prince but the reference to it was fun to notice. Love it

“I already like you. Every part of you. Even the parts you’re still figuring out.”
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Indu was discovered on the moon by his now-adopted mother. Together they live on a spaceship where Indu is happy, but when his mother has to return home, Indu now must learn how to coexist with his new family. He feels like his new dad doesn’t get him, his siblings won’t talk to him, the kids at school think he’s weird and he can’t talk to his mom about it because she’s so busy. When Indu reaches out to the moon asking to return, the moon agrees, but as the date grows near, Indu finds himself becoming more human on earth. When the moon pulls him back, will he want to go?
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This was such a feel-good MG book about belonging, found family and connections. I loved how the authors weaved Indonesian culture and trans discovery into the story. Fans of Witch Boy and Galaxy: The Prettiest Star will love this novel. I can’t wait to get this graphic novel into my collection on May 14!

CW: coming out (theme), adoption, language barriers, some minor bullying

Gosh, this gives me so many feelings. This is such a great story of understanding oneself and finding family and community even when everything is changing. This was such a fantastic graphic novel and I cannot wait to read more from Jes and Cin.