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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Well, I typed out a lot of thoughts and then bumped my phone and lost them all. Suffice it to say, I was deeply impressed: impressed by Ginny's skills and intelligence once I realized exactly why her mind works the way it does; impressed by the nuance and complexity with which neurodiversity was portrayed here, in a way I'd never seen before; impressed by how skillfully the whole story is conveyed.
I was engrossed in this book from the start - Ginny's very first Facebook chat with Gloria left me aching for the resolution and closure this girl so desperately needed. I couldn't put the book down until I knew that Ginny, and her Baby Doll, would be okay. ***MILD SPOILERS*** There are moments in this book, mostly toward the end, in which an adult has a lightbulb moment in their understanding of Ginny and Ginny's past. The relief I felt in those moments, and the frustration I felt at how few and far between they seemed to be, was palpable. And yet, the novel maintains sympathy for the adult characters even when they seem to be making mistake after mistake.
I think I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
I was engrossed in this book from the start - Ginny's very first Facebook chat with Gloria left me aching for the resolution and closure this girl so desperately needed. I couldn't put the book down until I knew that Ginny, and her Baby Doll, would be okay. ***MILD SPOILERS*** There are moments in this book, mostly toward the end, in which an adult has a lightbulb moment in their understanding of Ginny and Ginny's past. The relief I felt in those moments, and the frustration I felt at how few and far between they seemed to be, was palpable. And yet, the novel maintains sympathy for the adult characters even when they seem to be making mistake after mistake.
I think I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Told from the perspective of Ginny Moon, an autistic 13 year old girl. She is living with her adoptive, forever family and is trying to to get back to her birth mom and her “Baby Doll”. The journey leads her through some challenging times as she discovers her true home and family. Frustrating in parts and towards the end I found myself anxious about how the book would end. Would love to know about what happens next with Ginny.
LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH. It is so unique and so nicely written! The perspective is so important and honestly I love it!
De primeras, tedioso y repetitivo hasta la naúsea. Y no es lo peor.
Aún siendo el autor un padre adoptivo de un adolescente autista me ha resultado poco creíble. No entiendo que la represente como manipuladora, no digna de confianza y maltratadora. No es realista.
Y el terapeuta es horrible y solo sirve para estigmatizar, aún más, la profesión. Nadie actuaría así, joder.
No me ha gustado nada de nada.
Aún siendo el autor un padre adoptivo de un adolescente autista me ha resultado poco creíble. No entiendo que la represente como manipuladora, no digna de confianza y maltratadora. No es realista.
Y el terapeuta es horrible y solo sirve para estigmatizar, aún más, la profesión. Nadie actuaría así, joder.
No me ha gustado nada de nada.
Told from the perspective of a 14-year-old autistic female, this book was captivating and heartbreaking all at the same time. Ginny Moon was put into the foster system after being pulled from her abusive mother at the age of 9. The 5 years that follow are full of hopeful starts are tragic ends primarily as a result of misunderstanding. Ginny is a character that you just want to love and hold to keep away from the harsh realities of the world.
3.5⭐️ read - a wonderful book with such a poignant and beautifully written story. Ginny is just a fabulous character, that truly opens your eyes and heart as to what it can be like to be autistic.
3.5 stars. I really appreciate a story from the perspective of a person with autism .....there's so much to learn about working with communication challenges and rigid and literal thinking. As a teacher I've had experience with students on the autism spectrum.....and Ginny reminds me so much of a student I had 3 years ago....her expressions, thinking, and communication were eerily similar and I pictured her as the character while I read....her name was also similar...Jenny. It saddened me in the book that Ginny didn't receive the help she needed from the adults in her life....no one took the time to truly determine the cause of Ginny's angst and fixation. It concerned me that more was not done to help Ginny deal with her childhood trauma of abuse and neglect. The weakness in the read for me was that it seemed (using Ginny's word).....tedious at times. The repeating of phrases such as "baby doll" "forever mom" "forever dad" etc started bothering me but perhaps this was more pronounced because I listened to an audio version. Overall this is an important and meaningful read. Readers will fall in love with Ginny and be deeply touched by her heart's desire to belong (can't we all relate?), her struggle with being stuck on the wrong side of forever, and her desperation to get back to help her sister.
For more reviews visit my blog at readingladies.com.
For more reviews visit my blog at readingladies.com.
This book really surprised me - in a good way. I don't know exactly what I expected, perhaps a cosy, life-affirming read, but I certainly didn't expect that I would be sitting at the edge of my seat and forgetting the time every time I sat down to read it!
I also need to say that I adore Ginny. She frustrated me at times, but for most of the book her big heart shines through, and her unique way of dealing with the world was awe-inspiring and even surprisingly relatable in some instances; as an example, she uses the phrase "I came up out of my brain" a lot, and I thought that was an excellent description of what happens when we get lost in our thoughts and are pulled back to the present - her way of dealing with such experiences are just more literal, and thus she describes it as literally coming up out of her brain. Actually, the characters that frustrated me the most were the adults. Almost every single adult - except perhaps Rick - pissed me off more than once, they were so determined not to understand (or so it felt).
I have a few minor issues with the book, but nothing to really influence my experience of it, most of them related to inconsistencies in how Ginny deals with the world - but I did read an early proof of the book, so some things might have been changed.
It broke my heart a few times, again in a good way, and raised my hopes several others (before sometimes crushing them again... oh, cruel world). In short, this book got to me, and you'd be doing yourself a favour by reading it.
/NK
I also need to say that I adore Ginny. She frustrated me at times, but for most of the book her big heart shines through, and her unique way of dealing with the world was awe-inspiring and even surprisingly relatable in some instances; as an example, she uses the phrase "I came up out of my brain" a lot, and I thought that was an excellent description of what happens when we get lost in our thoughts and are pulled back to the present - her way of dealing with such experiences are just more literal, and thus she describes it as literally coming up out of her brain. Actually, the characters that frustrated me the most were the adults. Almost every single adult - except perhaps Rick - pissed me off more than once, they were so determined not to understand (or so it felt).
I have a few minor issues with the book, but nothing to really influence my experience of it, most of them related to inconsistencies in how Ginny deals with the world - but I did read an early proof of the book, so some things might have been changed.
It broke my heart a few times, again in a good way, and raised my hopes several others (before sometimes crushing them again... oh, cruel world). In short, this book got to me, and you'd be doing yourself a favour by reading it.
/NK