The Original Ginny Moon
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5.0 • 4 Ratings
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
‘Brilliant’ Graeme Simsion, author of The Rosie Project
Ginny sees the world differently.
Now you will too.
‘Funny and wildly moving’ Daily Mail
My name is Ginny Moon.
Ginny is fourteen years old and has autism. She likes the colour red, making lists and knowing exactly what time it is. She doesn’t like hugs, surprises or people telling lies.
After years in foster care, she has finally found her forever family. She has a new house, new parents and even a new name. But Ginny also has a Big Secret Plan of Escape.
Every day she wakes up at nine o’clock and eats nine grapes for breakfast. Because when she was nine years old something terrible happened. Something only Ginny knows. And she’s the only one who can put it right…
The Original Ginny Moon is a poignant story of love and family, inspired by the author’s own experiences. Perfect for fans of A Boy Made of Blocks and Shtum.
Reviews
‘Brilliant’ GRAEME SIMSION, author of THE ROSIE PROJECT
‘I’ve never read a novel that gets inside an autistic child’s head like this one. It’s funny and wildly moving but never patronising or prurient.’ DAILY MAIL
‘Complex, clever, original, charming and moving. I loved it.’ SARAH MORGAN, bestselling author of MIRACLE ON 5TH AVENUE
‘A moving and thought-provoking debut.’ EOWYN IVEY, Pulitzer Prize Finalist
‘A triumphant achievement.’ LIBRARY JOURNAL, starred review
‘Compassionate, evocative and heartwarming.’ INSTYLE, UK
‘A unique coming-of-age tale.’ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review
‘A heartwarming and unforgettable page-turner.’ BOOKLIST, starred review
‘Heartwarming and heartbreaking.’ KIRKUS REVIEW
‘A sparkling debut.’ MARGOT LIVESEY, author the THE FLIGHT OF GEMMA HARDY
Honest and raw. Ludwig gives voice to the voiceless.’ ALEXI ZENTNER, author of THE LOBSTER KINGS
About the author
The author, Benjamin Ludwig, knows whereof he speaks: he’s a middle-school language arts teacher, and he and his wife are licensed foster parents. He assures us his own adopted autistic daughter is not Ginny – Ginny’s a composite drawn from his experiences working with dozens of foster children.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Benjamin Ludwig has created a unique and fascinating voice in Ginny Moon. A teen with autism, she was removed from her abusive mother and is trying to settle into an adoptive family when she learns that her new “Forever Parents” are expecting a baby. This awakens ghosts of Ginny’s very troubled past, and her subsequent struggle is at once heart-wrenching and uplifting. Ludwig—the adoptive parent of a daughter with autism—shapes Ginny’s inner life into a gripping narrative, while also offering profound insights into autism and adoption.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ludwig's excellent debut is both a unique coming-of-age tale and a powerful affirmation of the fragility and strength of families. We meet 14-year-old Ginny, who has autism, as she settles into life with a new "forever family" and unexpectedly reconnects with Gloria, the abusive, drug-addicted mother from whom she was taken away at the age of nine and Rick, the father she never knew. The rediscovery unsettles the tentative bond Ginny's forged with adoptive parents Maura and Brian, exacerbates the teen's heartbreaking fears for the "baby doll" she left behind, and ultimately triggers a wildly heroic, secret plan to run away to Canada with Gloria and Rick. Ludwig brilliantly depicts the literal-minded and inventive Ginny whose horrifying past and valiant hope for the future are slowly unveiled and the alternately selfish, sympathetic, and compassionate adults who would do anything to get Ginny to choose their love. "I just wish someone would talk about what a delightful young lady she is," a frustrated Rick says. "We're trying to keep her apart from everything... but I think what she needs is to be closer to people."
