Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

9781489220707_0517_GinnyMoon_CVRTouching, humane and compelling, Benjamin Ludwig has created a complex portrait of a young girl who sees the world so very differently from those around her – and, at times, far more painfully clearly. Readers will warm to this atypical heroine, who will break your heart and give you unexpected insights into some of society’s greatest wrongs.

It’s been four years since Ginny, then nine, was taken away from her abusive birth mum, Gloria. But now Ginny has a new ‘forever home’ – somewhere she will always be safe from Gloria’s violence and neglect, and her string of even scarier boyfriends.

But as her new Forever Mum prepares for the birth of a baby sister, Ginny starts to think about the little Baby Doll she left behind. Whatever it takes, even if it means breaking all the rules to get in touch with Gloria, she needs to make sure her little one is safe. But how can she make the well-meaning adults in her life understand the importance of her mission? And how far will she go, what risks will she take, to get that Baby Doll back?

It’s hard not to draw parallels between Benjamin Ludwig’s Ginny and Mark Haddon’s self appointed sleuth Christopher (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). And not only because both are written from the perspective of a character on the autism spectrum. Ludwig’s use of the unreliable narrator offers searing insights into the way in which those who think and communicate differently are misjudged and maligned – even by those who mean well.

AuthorPhoto_BenLudwigGinny is the classic outsider. But Ludwig has given us that chance to look at the world through her eyes. Where metaphor is translated into the literal, with sometimes surprisingly apt re-interpretations. And her retelling of often harrowing incidents adds an endearing element of humour to what could easily have become a gut-wrenching tale.

But when the hard-knocks land, they really hit home. There is something chilling in the way Ginny introduces us to Gloria as ‘the second-scariest person I know’, leaving the reader with a sick feeling about what that could mean. And as she contemplates the knocked-over letterbox and tire tracks on her ‘Forever Parents’ front lawn she can’t focus on anything else until she resolves the ‘more pressing’ issue. ‘Someone is angry’, she thinks. And ‘you have to be careful around angry people. They get mad and hit.’

This is a strong debut novel by an already assured author, who – as the adoptive father of a child on the autism spectrum – has a particular insight into the issues he raises. But more than anything, Ginny Moon is a superbly written and achingly humane novel. And Benjamin Ludwig is undeniably a talent to watch.

A life-long teacher of English and writing, Benjamin Ludwig lives in New Hampshire with his family. He holds an MAT in English Education and an MFA in Writing. Shortly after he and his wife married they became foster parents and adopted a teenager with autism. The Original Ginny Moon is his first novel, which was inspired in part by his conversations with other parents at Special Olympics basketball practices.

Purchase a copy or start reading here

 

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                      Publisher details

                      Ginny Moon
                      Author
                      Benjamin Ludwig
                      Publisher
                      Harlequin
                      Released
                      24 April, 2017
                      ISBN
                      9781489220707

                      Synopsis

                      Told in an extraordinary and wholly unique voice that will candidly take you into the mind of a curious and deeply human character. For the first time in her life, Ginny Moon has found her "forever home" a place where she'll be safe and protected, with a family that will love and nurture her. It's exactly the kind of home that all foster kids are hoping for. So why is this 14-year-old so desperate to get kidnapped by her abusive, drug-addict birth mother, Gloria, and return to a grim existence of hiding under the kitchen sink to avoid the authorities and her mother's violent boyfriends?While Ginny is pretty much your average teenager she plays the flute in the school band, has weekly basketball practice and studies Robert Frost poems for English class she is autistic. And so what's important to Ginny includes starting every day with exactly nine grapes for breakfast, Michael Jackson, bacon-pineapple pizza and, most of all, getting back to Gloria so she can take care of her baby doll.Ginny Moon is a compulsively readable and touching novel about being an outsider trying to find a place to belong and making sense of a world that just doesn't seem to add up.About the AuthorA life-long teacher of English and writing, Benjamin Ludwig lives in New Hampshire with his family. He holds an MAT in English Education and an MFA in Writing. Shortly after he and his wife married they became foster parents and adopted a teenager with autism. The Original Ginny Moon is his first novel, which was inspired in part by his conversations with other parents at Special Olympics basketball practices.
                      Benjamin Ludwig
                      About the author

                      Benjamin Ludwig

                      A life-long teacher of English and writing, Benjamin Ludwig lives in New Hampshire with his family. He holds an MAT in English Education and an MFA in Writing. Shortly after he and his wife married they became foster parents and adopted a teenager with autism. The Original Ginny Moon is his first novel, which was inspired in part by his conversations with other parents at Special Olympics basketball practices.

                      Books by Benjamin Ludwig

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                      1. Monica Woods says:

                        Great starting pages. I am hooked.
                        I will look forward to adding this book to my book list.
                        Congratulations to Benjamin on his first novel.
                        Thanks for the insight.