I hadn't seen when I was approved of this title originally so I tracked down a copy from the library to finally give my feedback.
I think this was a solid first outing. I think the strongest parts of this book was definitely the grief storyline while some of the character dynamics could use a little strengthening. I really felt for Moses but I wish that the book had just a little more depth in some areas. While the author dug into the grief and some of the complex feelings Moses was going through some areas, like race felt like they were intentionally left bank and skirted around. maybe that's just the perspective of reading in 2020 and maybe I'm not even the best person to chime in on that but it was just one area I felt could have been explored more. It was a good book though and I'm sad to see that it looks like it's the author's only book but perhaps there will be more in the future!

The synopsis of this book tells you everything you need to know about it: that you mist read it! I was so impressed with Unstoppable Moses and his quest to prove that he isn't who everyone assumes he is, based off of a single mistake in his life. Such an enjoyable read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title! I REALLY enjoyed this one. I thought so many things about this book were fantastic. I'm still so in love with the cover. I loved the gritty voice and the heart touching and heartbreaking moments in this one, of which there were many.

This was a good book on grief, mystery, and family but had a few scenes that I felt didn't add to the overarching plot. Felt out of place and like it was only added as an afterthought.

While I think this is an enjoyable read for teens I don’t think it is as strong as it could be. There are a lot of important themes that are started but do not develop well throughout the book so I feel like opportunities for discussion or learnings are lost.

Interesting that a book about a police shooting never really addresses race. Interesting but a little concerning. It feels like it needed to be a part of the conversation. He takes two interesting perspectives, though. 1) Moses and his cousin are not innocent. They're bored suburban kids involved in a prank gone wrong, committing a crime. It adds an unique element. 2) This is Moses's story. It's not about politics. It's about grief and guilt and the way we're perceived by others. The way those things can drive our behavior. It's not a straight line journey and there's a lot of unnecessary detail. More literary than is typical of teen fiction.

This was a fun read and I expect that students will enjoy it! The characters were fun and relatable for teenagers.

We are definitely ordering for the library!

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books from my free copy in return for my honest review.

I was sucked into the novel and couldn't put it down. Unstoppable Moses was a pretty awesome read. I will admit I didn’t know if I was going to be into it. Boy was I wrong! The first chapter had me hooked! Unstoppable Moses is a journey about moving on from loss, and life’s struggles that come. I really enjoyed the character’s and was sucked into caring for them and their stories.

We are giving Unstoppable Moses 4/5 stars. It’s a great quick read, that will bring you back to your teenage years. It’s a great read for any age, or maybe I’m just a big kid at heart. Anyhoo, pick up the book, buy a copy for a friend or a classroom.

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Tyler James Smith’s debut novel Unstoppable Moses is a powerful coming of age story that explores what happens when boys just being boys takes a tragic turn. Seventeen year old Moses Hill and his cousin and best friend, Charlie, accidentally burn down a bowling alley. It is a prank gone wrong, but things escalate when the police arrive and Charlie is killed. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Moses is left trying to pick up the pieces of his life and figure out how to deal with the loss of his beloved cousin. Moses and Charlie had been nearly inseparable so without Charlie, Moses doesn’t even know who he is anymore. In the midst of dealing with his grief and the legal fallout from the deadly prank gone wrong, Moses is court-ordered to serve as a counselor at a children’s camp.

I thought the author did a wonderful job of portraying the raw emotions of grief, confusion, and even anger that Moses experiences in the aftermath of this tragedy. He’s angry at himself, he’s angry at Charlie, and he’s really just all around lost. Being sent to work at the children’s camp is a blessing in many ways because it actually gets him out of his own head a bit and also gives him a clean slate where he can interact with people who don’t know him as the kid who burned down a bowling alley and got his cousin killed.

The character who actually stole my heart in this book was not Moses, however, and this is why my rating is a little lower than it would normally be. For me, the shining star of Unstoppable Moses was a secondary character, a young camper named Lump. Lump, whose real name is Allison, has struggled to make friends at camp in the past and so Moses is assigned the task of taking her under his wing and to look out for her. Lump, whose hero is Amelia Earhart, is easily one of the most endearing children I’ve ever read about. She’s clever, brave, and just has the biggest heart. When a fawn goes missing from the petting zoo, Lump makes it her mission in life to find the fawn and bring her home. Even though she’s tiny, Lump is a character who is just larger than life and, at times, I honestly found myself more interested in Lump’s story than I did Moses’. While both of their stories were compelling, Lump was just a little easier for me to relate to than Moses.

Even with that issue, I still found Unstoppable Moses to be a riveting read and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to fans of contemporary fiction, especially if stories of how to cope with grief and loss are of interest. 3.5 STARS

Unstoppable Moses is a terrific debut for Tyler James Smith.

Moses opens the story by explaining how he died and came back after his cousin Charlie accidentally shot him when they were kids, hence his “unstoppable” reputation. The two of them became inseparable companions in a variety of stunts, until a prank gone wrong leads to a destructive fire and Charlie being shot in the head by a cop. As part of court-ordered community service for the fire, Moses is required to be a “buddy” (read, counselor) at a camp for kids. Moses just wants to put his head down and get through the experience, like he’s done for every moment of every day since Charlie was shot. But three potential new friends and a kid who’s pretty unstoppable in her own right force Moses out of his emotional stasis and encourage him to reconnect with the people around him.

I’m not sure the style the book is written in will work for everyone. The story flips back and forth between Moses’s present experiences at the camp and episodes in his past with Charlie and after Charlie was shot. That shifting between past and present might annoy some readers. Moses’s narration is also sometimes interrupted by endnotes that contain additional information and commentary about things Moses says or thinks as he is telling his story. Sometimes they seemed unnecessary to the actual meat of the novel, like telling the reader how to say “I love you” in binary. However, most of the time they worked for me, because they gave deeper insight into what Moses is feeling at certain points, since what he says and what he feels aren’t always the same.

That’s really the key to the book, Moses learning to feel again after shutting down emotionally for a long time, and the way Smith describes that process and the language he uses are both often wonderful. Some of the emotional moments are just amazingly written; they left me thinking, “Yes, that, that’s just right for that character right now.” The short chapter where Moses describes exactly what happened as Charlie was shot is one long run-on sentence, which absolutely conveys how shocking it is. I won’t say the book is always perfect—sometimes the description of what Moses is feeling is maybe a little too elliptical—but generally it works.

I think Tyler James Smith is an author to watch, and I’d highly recommend this novel for adventurous readers of YA contemporaries.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

FTC DISCLAIMER: I RECEIVED AN E-ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER THROUGH NET GALLEY. I VOLUNTARILY OFFER MY HONEST REVIEW OF THE BOOK, THOUGH IT IS NOT EXPECTED OF ME! RECEIPT OF THIS BOOK IN THIS MANNER DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION OF THE BOOK OR THE CONTENT OF MY REVIEW!

I enjoyed this book a lot. If you liked The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas you will enjoy this book.

Moses was a very well written character, he had many dimensions and wasn't just some screw-up who burnt down a bowling alley and got sentenced to community service, he was also very intelligent and compassionate.

Charlie, on the other hand, was very one-dimensional thought a smaller character in the story, by the end you didn't really feel sorry for what had happened to him. He seemed like a big jerk!

Mattie, Micheal, and Faisal were a bit one-dimensional also, but since it was told form Moses POV and he didn't know them well that makes more sense. I was definitely Lump as a child, so I really enjoyed that character, who was also well written.

There were some unneeded elements to the story, like the porcupine, which I really didn't like. That element and the fact that after a strong start it got a bit boring for about 20% of the book, then picking up for the last 50-75% of the book, is why I gave it 4 stars.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I have a penchant for grief-and-loss books, and Unstoppable Moses definitely delivered a compelling portrait of one suffering a great loss. I found Moses journey from robot-boy back to feeling-human-boy quite beautiful. His pain, confusion, and complex emotions were well illustrated, and I found the exploration of his complicated relationship with his cousin quite interesting.

I also really enjoyed being at camp. The camp served an important purpose, because it was there, that Moses began to heal and feel again. After almost a year, Moses was connecting with people again, and it was quite an interesting trio, who took Moses under their wing. They gave us some breaks from all the emotional turmoil, and the camp shenanigans were rather amusing.

I struggled a little with parts of the story. There was one scene with an animal, which was really horrible. What made it worse, was that I didn't quite understand why I had to suffer through it. I didn't see its importance in the plot. Then there was the ending. Yes, Moses comes to some sort of understanding about his relationship with his cousin and works through a good amount of his pain, but I still had so many questions, and if there's one thing I struggle with the most, it's those open endings.

Overall: This was an emotional exploration of grief, which was often heartbreaking and undeniably real.

It's very rare that a story like this comes along and hits all the right notes and heartstrings. I loved this story, it was emotional, raw, and vivid.

Once I got a few chapters in, I had trouble putting it down. Loved the characters. Didn’t love the ending, but it didn’t ruin it for me. Full review on goodreads.

I must confess that when I started reading Unstoppable Moses, I did not think I would like it. I was wrong. After the first chapters set up the direction of the story and Moses arrived at the camp, I couldn’t stop reading. Moses’ growing attachment to Lump, or Allison, the young camper who dedicated herself to saving a baby deer was riveting as it unfolded.
This novel is about self-acceptance, loyalty, and perseverance. It is well worth reading.

Note: I received a copy of Unstoppable Moses by Tyler James Smith via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

17-year old Moses Hill takes on the position of a camp counselor to prove to the authorities & to himself that he isn't a delinquent who deserves to be tossed away in jail. Why? A prank goes horribly wrong, as Moses and his cousin Charlie, accidentally burn down a bowling alley. But, that's not all! With the destruction of the bowling alley came the burning of a stolen Rock-and-Roll Jesus, and other religious figures like Buddha and Vishnu. Unstoppable Moses is a coming-of-age novel that's filled with real human emotions we've all felt at one time or another.

Listen, the first chapter of Unstoppable Moses really had me in its grasp. Not to be dramatic, but wow -- talk about amazing novel beginnings. I envisioned the entire scene as I read it, and felt that I could even hear Guns N' Roses playing in the background. The beginning of Unstoppable Moses truly felt more like a cinematic experience, than a novel. & it's the ending of the beginning chapter that really begs you to keep reading.

Unstoppable Moses held a cast of relatable & well-developed characters. Through dialogue and actions, you are able to learn so much about each supporting character; without being bombarded with long and drawn out back-stories. Moses, who is constantly seen as the delinquent who committed a hate-crime, finally finds a group of friends that don't know he's the kid behind the very publicized fire. He finds himself in awe with the fact of how open they are about their lives; as if secrets are non-existent. I loved watching the development of Moses becoming more comfortable with this new crew.

But my favorite part? Lump. Allison, nick-named Lump, is one of the campers. She's young, she's courageous, and she has a huge heart. Everyone can learn something from this little girl. Her hero is Amelia Earhart, and she even names a missing fawn Harriet Tubman. I love this girl. & it's Lump that truly pushes the story forward, and shows Moses that he's not some cold-hearted human. Honestly, everyone should be more like Lump.

There are other things I enjoyed in Unstoppable Moses, such as the footnotes added throughout the chapters, and the chapters that alternated between past & present. Everything just fit.

I enjoyed Unstoppable Moses by Tyler James Smith. Contemporary isn't usually my go-to genre, but I did enjoy watching Moses development throughout. I enjoyed all of the characters, and again, that opening scene was epic. Unstoppable Moses is definitely a book I recommend.