Ginny Moon - by Benjamin Ludwig (Paperback)

About the Book

"Meet Ginny Moon. She's mostly your average teenager--she plays flute in the high school band, has weekly basketball practice, and reads Robert Frost poems in English class. But Ginny is autistic ... After being traumatically taken from her abusive birth mother and moved around to different homes, Ginny has finally found her 'forever home'--a safe place with parents who will love and nurture her. This is exactly what all foster kids are hoping for, right? But Ginny has other plans. She'll steal and lie and 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"--Amazon.com.

Book Synopsis

"A brilliant debut." --Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project

Full of great big heart and unexpected humor, Ludwig's debut introduces the lovable, wholly original Ginny Moon who discovers a new meaning of family on her unconventional journey home.

Ginny Moon is exceptional. Everyone knows it--her friends at school, teammates on the basketball team, and especially her new adoptive parents. They all love her, even if they don't quite understand her. They want her to feel like she belongs.

What they don't know is that Ginny has no intention of belonging. She's found her birth-mother on Facebook, and is determined to get back to her--even if it means going back to a place that was extremely dangerous. Because Ginny left something behind and she's desperate to get it back, to make things right.

But no one listens. No one understands. So Ginny takes matters into her own hands...

Benjamin Ludwig's whip-smart, unforgettable novel is an illuminating look at one girl's journey to find her way home and one of the freshest debuts in years.

Review Quotes

"Ludwig's novel recalls Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the singular way it filters domestic tensions through the hyper-alert yet skewed viewpoint of a special-needs child.... He also succeeds in locating a plangent, unpatronizing humor in Ginny's literalness and deadpan certitude."-The New York Times Book Review

"Ginny Moon is a brilliant debut. In asking us to identify with a developmentally delayed, autistic teenage girl and her peculiar obsession, Ben Ludwig set himself an Olympic degree of difficulty, but he succeeds with the extraordinary Ginny Moon. I was unable to put the book down as I willed her to overcome the obstacles within and around her. Ben Ludwig is a fine observer of human dynamics, and his sometimes dark sense of humor means that the emotional journey, challenging as it is, never becomes wearing. I was mightily impressed--this novel has all the elements for critical and popular success!" -Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project

"Ludwig's excellent debut is both a unique coming-of-age tale and a powerful affirmation of the fragility and strength of families.... Ludwig brilliantly depicts the literal-minded and inventive Ginny." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

"At once captivating and heart-wrenching.... Ginny's is a unique and compelling voice.... Ginny Moon is original, revealing and timely. And, with any luck, it will spark much-needed conversations around foster care, adoption and autism."-The Toronto Star

In Ginny Moon, Benjamin Ludwig captures the singular voice of his heroine, a brilliant girl you won't soon forget. -Real Simple

"[E]nlightening...compelling...remarkably engaging...A heartwarming and unforgettable page-turner."-Booklist, starred review

"This stunning debut novel grabs readers by the heart and doesn't let go. Fourteen-year-old Ginny Moon chronicles her increasingly harrowing life with her Forever Parents with one of the truest voices in modern literature.... Ludwig's triumphant achievement is borne from his own experience as the adoptive parent of a teen with autism, and his gorgeous, wrenching portrayal of Ginny's ability to communicate what she needs is ¬perfection."-Library Journal, starred review

"Fresh, funny, heartbreaking and real, you will love this novel. Sometimes an author comes along who captures the moment in its complexity and fierce detail, illuminating the world in a way that changes readers perceptions and opens our hearts to understanding. Ginny Moon brings you inside the experience of autism, revealing the experience of it, not only what it must be like from the outside, but how it must feel from within. Benjamin Ludwig paints in every color with ferocity and ultimately, joy. I was galvanized by this read. You will be too. This is a book to savor and share with everyone you know. I did and I will." -Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife

"Benjamin Ludwig gives us a remarkable heroine in Ginny Moon.Writing poignantly and yet starkly believably from an autistic girl's point of view, he allows us to see the world in all its glorious mess, full of people trying to do their best and often failing, but heroically so."-Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue

"There is no guessing where Ginny Moon is going to take us in this page-turning, surprising, funny, heartbreaking, at times disturbing, and ultimately morally complex story. In Ginny's logical yet perplexing mind, it makes sense to try to get kidnapped by her dangerous birth mother. But something much larger is at stake, and we are left with the question-is love unconditional? What makes a good parent? A moving and thought-provoking debut."-Eowyn Ivey, Pulitzer Prize Finalist and national bestselling author of The Snow Child

"In telling the tale from Ginny's perspective, Ludwig captures the carefully constructed, sometimes-claustrophobic world Ginny inhabits.... By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, Ginny's quest for a safe home leads her to discover her own strong voice."-Kirkus Review

"Compassionate, evocative and heartwarming."-InStyle, UK

Benjamin Ludwig's novel is a genuine and touching debut; Ginny Moon is a wonderful and memorable heroine." -Dan Chaon, National Book Award Finalist and bestselling author of Await Your Reply and Ill Will

"A heartwarming but refreshingly honest story about the making of an American family, told by a character who is, indeed, original-and impossible not to love." -Rumaan Alam, author of Rich and Pretty

"If I could ask Ginny Moon one question-and she only does allow one question at a time-it would be what does it feel like to be the heroine of a compulsively readable novel? 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." -Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of Mercury and The Flight of Gemma Hardy

"It is the rare debut novel that reveals a writer of such immense talent as to achieve a dazzling lit¬erary home run the first time up to bat. Such is the case with Benjamin Ludwig's Ginny Moon, an extraor¬dinary coming-of-age story told from the perspective of a 14-year-old protagonist with autism.... Ludwig has interjected his often-heart¬breaking narrative with laugh-out-loud observations from Ginny, who loves Michael Jackson and displays a wicked sense of humor.... Tremendous."-Bookpage

"Ludwig creates a startling, powerful voice in Ginny Moon, a character who lingers well beyond the pages. This is gripping work." -Erika Swyler, bestselling author of The Book of Speculation

"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!"-John Lescroart, New York Times-bestselling 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."-Lori Roy, Edgar Award-winning author

"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." -Rebecca Makkai, author of The Borrower and The Hundred-Year House

"Funny and wildly moving."-Daily Mail

"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."-Alexi Zentner, author of The Lobster Kings and Touch