Benjamin Ludwig

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig is the story of an autistic girl who needs to find her forever home and learn to let go of the past. At the age of nine Ginny was taken from her abusive mother, Gloria, and now, at fourteen, is starting to feel safe and loved by her adoptive parents, Brian and Maura. Maura is expecting a child which triggers memories in Ginny, that of her own baby doll and how she once loved and protected it.

Ginny becomes more and more anxious about her baby doll, but everyone show more assumes that she is talking about an actual doll so they don’t understand why she is increasingly getting more and more troublesome. By the time Maura’s baby arrives, they are afraid that Ginny may harm the new baby, and start to make the difficult decision to send Ginny away. The story is told by Ginny in her own words and the reader becomes immersed in her closed, careful and claustrophobic world. Everything must be black or white for Ginny, she doesn’t understand shades of grey.

This story alternates between being heartwarming and heartbreaking. Dealing with Ginny is difficult but I thought the story got a little far-fetched when none of the adults in her world, even her therapist, actually listened to her more carefully. Even once it was discovered that the baby doll was Ginny’s real baby sister, little effort was made to understand Ginny’s dilemma. This was a very good story that unfortunately was about 100 pages too long causing the read to become quite tiresome at times. show less

I thought this was a YA book, but it turns out it's being marketed to adults (making it a good candidate for a YALSA Alex Award). Told in the voice of 14-year-old Ginny, this has the markings of YA -- particularly the portrayal of very flawed, irritating adults treating kids unfairly. I listened to the audiobook, which made Ginny sound very young. I imagined her as much younger than 14 -- more like 11 or 12. Because of her autism and her traumatic upbringing, Ginny is naïve and literal in show more some ways, but also streetwise and canny in others. She is a unique and compelling character, for sure.

I was completely drawn into the story and almost ridiculously, viscerally angry at Mara, Ginny's adoptive "forever mom" who suddenly turns into a bitch after she gives birth to Ginny's new "forever sister." I hated Mara for how she treated Ginny, but I was grudgingly sympathetic, too. When you have a new baby, you get very little sleep. And no sleep can make a person terrible. On top of that, I experienced a version of what Mara went through myself. When my daughter was born, all my love for my dog Stanley seemed to evaporate and I irrationally saw him as a threat to my baby's safety and an irritating drain on my energy (which, due to lack of sleep, was already super low). He growled at my daughter a few times and I told my husband we had to find a new family for him, like now. Of course, I was overreacting because I was exhausted and paranoid. So basically I was Mara, but with a dog. Which is different.

I think this would be an excellent pick for book clubs because it raises so many questions about parenthood, adoption, abuse, caretaking, and it doesn't give any easy answers. While things seem to work out for Ginny in the end, it is not entirely comfortable and heartwarming. While I don't think she would harm anyone in her family on purpose, let's not forget Ginny was on the verge of setting the house on fire. The last lines of the book lead us to believe that Ginny will settle into her life. "I don't have to be Negative Ginny if this forever family wants me around..." But there is something a little ominous about the "if" to me. It's like Ginny will always have this potential to make dangerous decisions if she doesn't feel wanted. But isn't that true of all human beings? Don't we all carry a "negative" version of ourselves around? Don't we all have the capacity to hurt each other? And should be we be just as worried that Mara and Brian will hurt Ginny if she can't be what they want her to be? Let's not forget, even though they adopted her and called themselves her "forever parents" it felt like they were trying to get rid of her by giving her to her biological father or to an institution. show less

Amazing novel about a young Autistic teenager who feels torn between her forever family and her biological one. Her birth mother is trying to steal her back, her father keeps trying to spend time with her, and her foster parents struggle to cope. I am deeply impressed by how well fleshed-out the characters are—ALL the characters. Ginny’s voice feels authentic, both with regard to her young age and (as far as I know) in terms of her ASD. The author has adopted a child on the Autism show more Spectrum, and I’m sure that those experiences have lent realism to Ginny’s methods. The supporting characters are also very well-written. The aunt’s good intentions but inablity to follow through seem quite realistic, and the biological mother’s growing frustration adds considerably to the mounting tension. But the most interesting for me, by far, were the forever parents. The foster mother, now pregnant, is so protective of the baby that she can no longer be so supportive of Ginny’s struggles. The foster father wants to keep the peace between the others, but he finds that his position as a buffer becomes more and more tenuous. Gripping, exciting . . . Absolutely wonderful. show less

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig is a 2017 Park Row Books publication.

This is one of those rare novels that everyone should read, no matter which way your tastes in books may run.

I realize the author has some experience dealing with special needs children, which gives him a great deal of personal insight. However, climbing inside the mind of an autistic fourteen year old girl and giving her a voice that is so realistic, is quite a feat.

Ginny will touch your heart in so many ways. She will show more break it, warm it, and steal it all in one sitting.

Maura and Brian adopted Ginny, an autistic child, who has lived through a disgusting level of abuse. While Ginny is challenging under normal circumstances, the impending birth of the couples’ first biological child, brings about an entirely new set of concerns.

But, what no one seems to recognize is that Ginny has a secret locked inside of her, and it’s ripping her apart. What she knows, and feels, no matter how many ways she attempts to voice it, does not seep into the consciousness of the adults in her life.

She is desperate to find her ‘baby doll’, and no one understands why her quest is so important to her, which explains so much about why she keeps trying to find her birth mother.

I can’t praise the writing enough. The author has done a fantastic job of breathing life into such a precious girl, while highlighting the inward struggle those with autism live with. I felt as though all the characters were well drawn, and very credible.

I admit I have no first -hand experience with autism, but I trust the author’s, and as such, I believe this book is a fine representation of what it might be like to live with the disorder, not only from Ginny's perspective, but also examines the challenges parents and caregivers face.

It is frustrating on one hand, because I knew what was in Ginny’s mind and couldn’t understand why no one else picked up on it, but I could also understand how exhausting it must be, especially with so many other factors involved. I tried not to pass judgement, and understood the feelings of the adults involved were very raw and quite feasible and honest.

Although it is a slow and ‘tedious’ journey, not only for Ginny, but also for her ‘Forever’ family, the rewards made it all worthwhile.

I am so glad I discovered this book! It’s an awesome portrait of a very special young lady, and is a very affecting story that had a big impact on me.

4.5 stars show less