The Law of Moses - Review

The Law of Moses (The Law of Moses, # 1)

By: Amy Harmon

Published: November 27th 2014 by Amy Harmon

333 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal, Mystery

Source: Borrowed from Holly

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Goodreads description--If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.

Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.

It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.

And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.

And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all...a love story.

I was suffering from a book hangover after reading Making Faces by Amy Harmon, and I thought "what better cure for an Amy Harmon hangover than more Amy Harmon?" See I knew that Holly had The Law of Moses and so I decided that this would be my next read, and I'm so glad that I did.

The description above tells you all about Moses's beginning. His mother was a crack addict and did drugs while she was pregnant resulting in a "crack baby". She left Moses in a basket in the local laundromat. But Moses's mother was from a small town and her family was easy to find. So Moses was shipped from family member to family member throughout his life, ending up with his great-grandmother at the age of eighteen when the story really begins. Georgia's always been intrigued by Moses. And so when he basically moves in next door she takes it upon herself to be his friend. Only Moses isn't exactly friendly. Moses constantly pushes Georgia away, but she refuses to be deterred. Only, of course, Georgia begins to develop feelings for Moses, and his periodically caving in to making out with her isn't exactly going to make Georgia leave him alone.

I actually loved that Georgia was kind of "in your face". She's honest and real, and even when she's insecure that doesn't stop her from putting herself out there. I was pretty much the opposite growing up--quiet, shy until I knew you well, and definitely never going to put myself in a vulnerable position. And Moses actually likes that about Georgia too, but he doesn't quite trust it either. She's also a really positive person. She has a habit of trying to find 5 great things or 5 things to be thankful for even in the worst circumstances.

The Law of Moses was nothing like I expected. Although I didn't really have any expectations because I don't think I even read the book description before I picked it up. There's romance, suspense, mystery, and even a hint of paranormal. This book was so layered that I truly have no idea how Amy Harmon covered so much in only a little over 300 pages. But I guess maybe that's what I'll expect from her from now on because she did the same thing in Making Faces. It's not just a story about an abandoned boy with commitment issues or a girl who falls in love with him, or a boy with a secret who has to come to terms with who he is, or love lost. It is just so so much all in one, and I don't want to ruin any of it for you. I will say that I picked up on the subtle clues that Amy Harmon planted throughout the story that hinted at twists to come. So by the time the twists came several of them I predicted, but not all of them. This ladies and gentlemen is how you do twists though because I felt like the clues were subtle enough that they might be missed so that the reader doesn't completely feel like the characters are morons for missing them also yet present enough to make the reader feel like they might know more than they should. It's a good balance.

Due to being sick during the time I read this one and the fact that I was reading it on Holly's kindle, I didn't highlight any sections or take any pictures of text that I wanted to share. It was pure laziness on my part. I really regret not having some great quotes to share with you guys.

I truly want to say so much more about The Law of Moses, but due to the nature of this type of book I really don't want to spoil anything for you. This makes reviewing the book a little more difficult than normal because I want to compel you all to pick it up and read it and fall in love with the characters and the beautiful and unique way that Amy Harmon told this story, but I have so little details that I feel comfortable sharing with you guys that would make you say "yeah this sounds like a book I need to pick up." BUT IT IS! I mean this was a book where when Husband and I sat down for dinner I said "hey, I just finished this book, do you want to know what it was about?" And he kind of had this "not really" look on his face and I said "GREAT. Let me tell you about it." before he could say that he wasn't interested. And once I got done telling him about it he said "yeah that does sound like a really good book." But I spoiled all the things for him because I knew he'd never read it. And even still I knew I was leaving stuff out.

The Law of Moses was the perfect cure for the book hangover I was suffering from due to Making Faces since both were written by Amy Harmon. However, The Law of Moses was so good, I felt like it created a book hangover itself. I didn't cry, but I seriously have no idea how not. The Law of Moses gets 5 Stars. Have you read The Law of Moses? What did you think? Let me know!