Surviving the tormentous teenage years can be hard enough for the typical developing
child. But consider if you are autistic. And your mother lost parental custody when you
were nine. And you’ve been in the foster system trying to find your forever family. And
you find a wonderful family. But then you have an opportunity to reconnect with your
biological mom. What choices do you make? Can you stay true to yourself when you
are not even sure of your true self and how to communicate your needs? What if that
means losing your forever family? This is Ginny Moon’s life. Benjamin Ludwig has
created a brilliant debut novel, The Original Ginny Moon, in which the reader gets the
opportunity to meet Ginny Moon and glimpse into her world and her unique way of
interacting with the world around her as she tells her story to the exact minute.
This novel is a page turner from the very beginning as Ginny tries to deal with a plastic
electronic baby that won’t quit crying. You are immediately drawn into the inner
workings of Ginny’s brain as she tries to cope and problem solve, with no sucess. And
her problems just escalate as her life around her begins to spiral out of control. Your
heart goes out to Ginny and her forever parents, as they all try to not only love each
other, but to like each other!
Fostering or adopting children removed from their parents takes a strong heart. These
are children that have experienced unimaginable horrors and have seen things we can’t
even begin to comprehend. But these are the children that need our help the most.
These are the children we can not give up on, no matter how hard it gets. I am in awe
of Benjamin Ludwig who gallantly writes an important novel and brings thiese children
alive so we have to watch. We have to respond. We need to start conversations, and
learn how to support each other in school and our work place. We need to engage and
not turn a blind eye.
The Original Ginny Moon will live in your heart. It is a book that will make you cringe,
cheer, and then love. You will be horrified, shocked, and then you’ll recover to discover
you are just a little bit changed for the better after spending time with Ginny Moon. I am
extremely excited to meed Mr. Ludwig when he visits the BookBar!
-Marilyn Robbins
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