Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig

Writing: 4; Characters: 4; Plot: 4

Tags: Fiction, first-person narration, good for book clubs

Ginny Moon is an autistic teen living with her “Forever” parents.  She calls them “Forever Mom” and Forever Dad”.  Soon, she will have a “Forever Sister”. But Ginny has an obsession with the Baby Doll she had 5 years ago in her original home before she was taken away for abuse and neglect. With single minded determination she works hard to fulfill the responsibility she feels towards her Baby Doll with some pretty surprising results.

I’m fascinated by Autism for some reason – I find brains that work differently to be intriguing and there is something very appealing about the direct, lie avoidant, non conformist, approach that autistic brains seem to take.  I’ve always liked this line from a poster written by someone with autism about neurotypicals (the rest of us): “Neurotypical syndrome is a neurobiological disorder characterized by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity.”

In any case, Ginny Moon is a delightful book.  Ludwig appears to do a good job of presenting the story from Ginny’s perspective, but of course we are all listening to the story with our neurotypical responses so reading the story often gave me brain confusion as I struggled to rectify the two – it was fun to experience! Benjamin Ludwig and his wife adopted a teenager with autism so I’m guessing this book is written with some real experience.