Book Review - Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig 

Once every so often, I read a book that is so special and so amazing that I am left in awe of the author's work, wondering how such a story was created.
That book becomes a memory that I will look back on and think of with a smile on my face, in the coming days, months, and even years. 
Ginny Moon is the latest book to have that effect on me.
I adored this book from the first page.
Ginny Moon is a girl who has been in the care of her foster parents, Brian and Maura Moon (or as she calls them, her Forever Parents), for about 2 years.
We meet her just as she approaches her 14th birthday.
Ginny has autism and learning difficulties, and she was taken from her birth mother Gloria when she was 9 years old.
Gloria was deemed to be an unfit mother as she was a drug user and very often, abusive and neglectful. 
This is the third home that Ginny has been welcomed into since being taken away from Gloria, and here, in what is known as the Blue House, she is safe and protected by her foster parents who adore her.
Ginny is going to be a big sister soon, but she misses her 'baby doll' that she used to care for when she lived with Gloria. 
Nobody takes her claims seriously enough, as no doll was found when she was picked up by Social Services, but Ginny is adamant that a baby doll was with her in Gloria's home. 
It has been over 4 years of Ginny not knowing what happened to it, and given Gloria's sordid past, Ginny is forbidden to contact her.
However, she keeps thinking of her 'baby doll', and needs to find out if it is safe.
With the help of a school friend, Ginny manages to track down Gloria and contact her to ask for it back.
But once she does, the repercussions are damaging and dangerous..
And once Ginny's baby sister Wendy is born, there is even more friction bought into the family. Her foster parents struggle with juggling a newborn, whilst being as accommodating to Ginny as they can, even though her recent actions are making them reconsider all of theirs. 
Ginny can't seem to find anyone that is willing to help her uncover the truth, and in contacting her birth mother again, she simply doesn't realise the harm that it's bound to cause...

This book had me hooked from the start. I couldn't put it down, and my mind kept reverting to it when I wasn't reading it. I finished it within 2 days as I needed to know how things turned out for Ginny. The story is told from her point of view in her very unique voice which wholly captivated me. She is at times as fragile as an eggshell, but is also very determined and will go to great lengths to get what she wants. I was on her side for the entire duration of the story. 
Reading the author's notes and discovering that he himself is a foster parent just added to my over all love for the novel.
This is one of my favourite books that I have read this year, and I will definitely delve back into Ginny's world again soon. It is a book that you will long remember after the final page is read. 


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