Book 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.
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23252517-the-law-of-moses
Excerpt:
The look on his face had me dropping my hands and stepping away, recognizing the fury stamped all over his features for exactly what it was. I was in trouble. Georgia’s back was to her father, and when my hands dropped she stumbled a little, grabbing at me. I gently set her aside but I let her father come without protest or warning.
I didn’t even lift my hands. I could have. I could have easily dodged the clumsy fist that connected with my jaw, but I took it. Because I deserved it.
“Dad!” Georgia shoved herself up between us. “Dad! Don’t!”
He ignored her and stared into my eyes, his chest heaving, his mouth hard, his hand shaking as he pointed at me.
“Not again, Moses. We let you in. You ransacked the house. And worse, there were casualties. This isn’t happening again.”
He looked at Georgia then, and the look of disappointment he leveled at her was far worse than the anger he’d directed at me. “You’re a woman, Georgia. Not a child. You can’t act like this anymore.”
She deflated right before my eyes.
“You hit me all you want, Mr. Shepherd. I had that coming. But don’t talk to Georgia that way. Or I’ll kick your ass.”
“Moses!” Georgia’s eyes flashed, and her spine was straight again. Good. She could be angry at me. Anger was better than defeat.
“You think you can come in here and get away with murder again? You think you can just get away with it?” Martin Shepherd said, outrage making his voice hoarse.
“None of us are the same people we used to be, Mr. Shepherd. I was one of those casualties, too. And I didn’t get away with anything. Neither Georgia nor I got away with a damn thing. We’ve paid. And we’ll keep on paying.”
He turned in disgust, but I saw his lips tremble, and I felt bad for the man. I wouldn’t like me if I were him. But it was better that we air it out.
“Mr. Shepherd?” I said softly. He didn’t stop. I thought about what Georgia had given me. I thought about the five greats. About forgiveness. And I passed it along.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Shepherd. I am. And I hope someday you can forgive me.”
Georgia’s dad missed a step, stumbled, and stopped. There was something powerful about that word.
“I hope you can forgive me. Because this is happening. Me and Georgia. This is happening.”
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 5 Amazing Stars
**ARC Received for honest review**
“But there are laws. There are rules. Laws of nature and laws of life. Laws of love and laws of death. And when you break them, there are consequences.”
I think that this is going to be the hardest review that I have ever written, I need to do this book justice and I just hope that I can articulate just how amazing this book really is. I am a huge Amy Harmon fan and have been since the beginning, there is something about her books that resonates deep within my heart and soul. If I pick up an Amy Harmon book I am guaranteed to be touched in some form or another. Her books reach places that few authors have ever managed to uncover so I went into this one with high expectations and I have to say Amy Harmon did not disappoint.
This next statement is HUGE! The Law of Moses was better than Making Faces and I thought that was impossible. This book is by far Amy Harmon’s best book; it is definitely one of my top reads of all time and one that I will pimping out to everyone and anyone to read. I felt a better person after I had read this book, the underlying messages making you think about how you live your life, if there are things that maybe you could do better. This book just makes you want to be a better person, to never judge a book by its cover, whether that “book” is a book or maybe a person. What people perceive to be correct about outward appearances is nigh on always incorrect, take the time to see the inside, read the words, see the person and then you are in the position to make an informed decision. Be that better person.
“If you don’t love, then nobody gets hurt. It’s easy to leave. It’s easy to lose. It’s easy to let go.”
As usual with an Amy Harmon this book is written exquisitely, it is evocative, hauntingly beautiful and extremely powerful. This was more than a reading experience, this is a book that you will live and breathe, and the emotional push and pull will have you heart heaving, your emotions rushing and your tears falling. So touching was the prose throughout this book I found myself crying for no apparent reason other than just how moved I was and that is a very rare occurrence.
“… when Moses came to Levan, he was like water—cold, deep, unpredictable, and, like the pond up the canyon, dangerous, because you could never see what was beneath the surface.”
I will not go into the plot at all as this is a book that you need to experience blind, experience the meticulous attention to detail first hand, run the gamut of emotions, ebb and flow with the tide that Amy Harmon creates through words, be present with Georgia and Moses, live their life with them and I will see you on the other side.
“There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.”
Georgia is a seventeen year old girl when we first meet her, she is a horse whisperer, she is extremely talented and works for her mother and father on their ranch. Her dad is a vet but as parents they run equine therapy sessions for children and adults with issues and Georgia is proving to be an invaluable member of the team. Georgia is no normal teenager though, she loves barrel racing and aspires to being a professional when she becomes of age. Georgia was an inspiring character, beautiful both on the inside and out. She always saw the best in people and even if she couldn’t see it in the first instance she would keep peeling away the layers until she could. It is this tenacity that allowed her to be one of the few people that Moses let in. Her friendship with Moses evolved extremely slowly and this slow build lead to me connecting with the characters on an all-consuming level. Georgia needed to be on her A-game to get through to Moses, but she didn’t see the delinquent that everyone else saw, she saw a boy crying out for acceptance, crying out for understanding, crying out for love, crying out for friendship and she gave it to him in spades.
“Nobody told me that resisting would feel like trying to breathe through a straw. Futile. Impossible. Unrealistic.”
Moses was an extremely complex character, he had not had the best start in life being a “crack baby” and being abandoned in a basket in a Laundromat, hence the name Moses. His beginnings were the talk of the town for years and never forgotten so when he finally returned to live with the one person who had always believed in him, his grandmother, the Chinese whispers began in earnest once again. Moses was seen as a delinquent, a trouble maker, he was hostile, he was temperamental, he could be aggressive, he was moody but deep down he was a troubled teenager trying to find his place in the world. He had many issues that we find out about slowly and this had an enormous effect on his outward personality. Deep down though, he was just misunderstood and because of the legacy that preceded him, nobody had the inclination or the time to get to know him, only Georgia.
“And just like I’d done all my life, I jumped in head first, even though I’d been forbidden. But this time, I drowned.”
Moses was an extremely talented artist but he could only paint with inspiration, it seemed coming back to where his life began was all the inspiration he needed and herein begins his story.
“I can’t paint you Georgia…you’re alive.”
As I have tried to convey above, this is one story that I will never forget. So profound are the words you will find yourself thinking about its messages non-stop. Already I have found myself looking for my “five greats” when I am feeling down and if we all had Georgia’s attitude then I am sure that the world would be a far better place. This is a book about giving people a chance, grasping your life with both hands and making the most of it, seize the day, try to always be a better person, give people the benefit of the doubt, never give up, just be that better the person.
“Georgia’s eyes, Georgia’s hair, Georgia’s mouth, Georgia’s love. And Georgia’s long, long legs.”
Amy Harmon, all I can say is this book is truly fantastic. Definitely one of my top reads ever and one book that has already left a piece of itself deeply embedded in my heart and soul. This is a book that I will read again and again and could never tire of. Anyone still on the fence about this one, please, please take a chance, this is one of those books that demands to be read and you will for sure feel all the better for it. Totally and utterly amazing!
“A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. A story flawed and fractured, crazy and cracked, and most of all, a love story. Our story.”
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1ujlCrq
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1v8Btv4
Amazon.ca: http://amzn.to/1uHqkus
Amazon.au: http://bit.ly/1FqLipz
iTunes: http://bit.ly/MosesAp
About The Author:
Amy Harmon knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story.Amy Harmon has been a motivational speaker, a grade school teacher, a junior high teacher, a home school mom, and a member of the Grammy Award winning Saints Unified Voices Choir, directed by Gladys Knight. She released a Christian Blues CD in 2007 called “What I Know” – also available on Amazon and wherever digital music is sold. She has written five novels, Running Barefoot, Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue, Making Faces and most recently, Infinity + One.
Her newest book, The Law of Moses releases November 27, 2014.
LINKS:
Website: http://www.authoramyharmon.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoramyharmon?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aharmon_author
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/authoramyharmon/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Harmon/e/B007V3HXUY
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829056.Amy_Harmon
What a great review! Thank you for participating in The Tour of Gratitude and for supporting The release of The Law of Moses.
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