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Book Reviewed by:Told in an extraordinary and wholly unique voice that will candidly take you into the mind of a curious and deeply human character.
Meet Ginny Moon. She's mostly your average teenager—she plays flute in the school band, has weekly basketball practice and reads Robert Frost poems for English class. But Ginny is autistic. And so what's important to her might seem a bit…different: starting every day with exactly nine grapes for breakfast, singing along to Michael Jackson, taking care of her baby doll…and crafting a secret plan of escape.
Ginny has been in foster care for years and for the first time in her life she has found her "forever home." After being traumatically taken from her abusive birth mother and moved around to different homes, she is finally in a place where she'll be safe and protected, with a family who will love and nurture her. This is exactly the kind of home that all foster kids are hoping for. But Ginny has other plans. She'll steal and lie and reach across her past to exploit the good intentions of those who love her—anything it takes to get back what's missing in her life. She'll even try to get herself kidnapped.
Ginny Moon is at once quirky, charming, heartbreaking, suspenseful and poignant. It's a story of a journey, about being an outsider trying to find a place to belong and about making sense of a world that just doesn't seem to add up.
Excerpt
Ginny Moon
6:54 at Night, Tuesday, September 7th
The plastic electronic baby won't stop crying.
My Forever Parents said it's supposed to be like a real baby but it isn't. I can't make it happy. Even when I rock it. Even when I change its diaper and give it a bottle. When I say ush, ush, ush and let it suck on my finger it just looks dumb and screams and screams and screams.
I hold it close one more time and say, Nice and gentle, Nice and gentle, in my brain. Then I try all the things that Gloria used to do whenever I went ape-shit. After that I put my hand behind its head and move up and down on my toes. "All better. All better," I say. From high to low like a song. Then, "So sorry."
But still it won't stop.
I put it down on my bed and when the crying gets louder I start looking for my Baby Doll. The real one. Even though I know it isn't here. I left it back in Gloria's apartment but crying babies make me really, really anxious so I have ...
Here are some of the comments posted about Ginny Moon.
You can see the full discussion here.
At the end of the book, did you feel that Ginny had evolved? What about Maura? In what ways do you think they both still have progress to make? Were you surprised by the way the story concluded?
I’m not sure what I expected at the end, but the revelations that occurred along the way weren’t going to result in a neat package tied up with a bow. Ginny has traumatic experiences from Day One of her young life, and her short time in the Moon ... - marianned
Do you as a reader become more or less sympathetic toward Maura when she is forced to increase her interaction with Ginny after Brian's heart attack?
After having the baby, Maura lost her initial commitment to Ginny. Her reaction showed a definite loss of attachment to her. This really made me dislike her. Toward the end of the book, Maura found herself again and began to bond with Ginny. The ... - janee
Do you consider Ginny to be an unfriendly person? How do you think she might define the word "friend"?
No, I think she is misunderstood. She is a child with autism, so she deals with people differently. - JulieAB
Do you envision a time when Gloria, Crystal or Krystal can be a part of Ginny's life?
Gloria, probably not. She is too emotionaly stunted to make room for Ginny in her life. Crystal, I’m not sure.
Possibly when she’s older and understands the importance of family, she will reach out. - pennyp
Do you identify with Ginny's struggle?
Personally I do not identify with Ginny’s struggle, however I am able to empathize with her. Weeks after reading Ginny Moon, I still think about her and her struggles. An autistic 14 year old who was abused, cared for a newborn, saw many “uncles” ... - janicea
Benjamin Ludwig completely captures his young protagonist, and as a result Ginny Moon is without doubt one of the finest novels I've read all year. I whole-heartedly recommend it for a wide audience, including young adult readers; book groups in particular will find much material for discussion...continued
Full Review
(635 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Alexi Zentner, author of The Lobster Kings and Touch
Benjamin Ludwig's Ginny Moon is both honest and raw. Ludwig gives voice to the voiceless. You might not know that the book is partially inspired by Ludwig's adoption of a teenager with autism, but you should be among the first to get to know Ginny Moon. Erika Swyler, bestselling author of The Book of Speculation
Ludwig creates a startling, powerful voice in Ginny Moon, a character who lingers well beyond the pages. This is gripping work. Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project
Ginny Moon is a brilliant debut... I was unable to put the book down… This novel has all the elements for critical and popular success! John Lescroart, New York Times-bestselling author
Artfully rendered, heartbreaking, funny and suspenseful, Ginny Moon is a veritable smorgasbord of a read that will stay with you long after you've consumed the final page. Excellent! Lori Roy, Edgar Award-winning author
In his riveting debut novel, Benjamin Ludwig has given life to the unforgettable Ginny Moon. With a compassionate and insightful voice, Ludwig shares a story that will have readers cheering for Ginny, fearing for her and wanting to reach inside the pages of this poignant novel to guide and protect her. Ginny Moon will live on well past the last page and will forever change those who spend a little time with her. Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of Mercury and The Flight of Gemma Hardy
Benjamin Ludwig does such a wonderful job of conjuring Ginny onto the page and of making us turn those pages at breathless speed. Ginny Moon is a sparkling debut. Rebecca Makkai, author of The Borrower and The Hundred-Year House
Ginny Moon had me wrapped around her little finger from the first page, and I'd have stayed under her spell for a book twice as long; it made me late for many appointments, and I was never sorry. This is a thrilling, often hilarious story, as heart-pounding as it is big-hearted.In Ginny Moon, the protagonist's participation in the Special Olympics plays an important part in the storyline.
The Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for individuals with intellectual disabilities. From its modest start as a summer camp in 1962, the Special Olympics now offers competition in more than 30 different sports with over 100,000 events organized annually across the world. Like other Olympic athletes, participants start with local competitions and work their way up to regionals and nationals before competing at the international level. The Summer and Winter games alternate every two years ("odd" years, so as not to conflict with the Olympic Games that are held in "even" ...
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