Monday, February 27, 2012

Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

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Graffiti Moon
Cath Crowley
Release date: February 14th, 2012
by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Goodreads / Purchase

Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she’s going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He’s out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy’s stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she’s managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they’re suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

*A copy was provided by Random House Children’s Books for review purposes*

I know nothing about graffiti, I know even less about art – why the heck did I read this book? Well, for the same reason you should! It’s an incredibly sweet, delightfully romantic story that can not be on your unread shelf. Why?
    -True to life, complex romance
    -Artistic imagery that will enthrall any reader- art fanatic or not
    -Characters that make you fall in love
    -A story that is simply too gorgeous to be left unexplored

If this isn’t enough to convince you, maybe you should go back to playing with Legos – or something.

I must admit, I did not get into the story right away. I don’t know if it was the unique lyrical writing, or the artsy details, but I kept getting distracted. The writing, although beautiful, is much more elaborate than what I was expecting from a young-adult novel so it threw me off at first. However, once I got into it, I couldn’t stop staring at these beautiful sentences that simply blew me away. Or these outstanding characters that do nothing less than take your heart, and pull you inside the pages.

Lucy is desperate to find this graffiti artist who calls himself Shadow. Ed is a lost soul who paints to find himself. We’re taken into this story with a dual perspective that lets us see into each of these characters hearts; these characters who are notably profound, yet believable. I loved how they aren’t stylized to fit the unconvincing image of prim and proper teenagers we often get in YA novels. These are real, raw personalities who express themselves with art, while trying to find their place in this big, unforgiving world. Cath does not soften the edges to make a cute, romantic story, she gives us a story so pure, so deep, that it bleeds out the truest of love stories.

There is a lot more in here than a love story, however. We see these kids struggle through real life problems – financial dilemmas, marital issues and death are all a part of this well rounded tale. It’s undoubtedly a one of a kind novel that is bound to impress a wide range of readers, from young to adult. I’m glad that, despite my lack of artistic knowledge, I decided to give this one a try- and you should too!  


4 Hot Espressos
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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40 Responses to “Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley”

  1. Hannah Doermann

    Great review! I LOVED Graffiti Moon – so good! I kind of get where you’re coming from with the not-knowing-anything-about-art thing (I know nothing about art either), but, I don’t know, for some reason I usually like when books are about art – maybe fictional art works better than real art for a reader like me :p

  2. Amy

    Awesome review!! I felt my heart turning to mush just reading your review. I love stories that don’t try to gloss things over. This sounds like an amazing book, that I know I am going to have to buy.

  5. Giselle

    Thanks ladies!

    @Hannah: The art and unique writing is what made me have difficulty at first getting into it, but after 25% or so I was really enjoying it!

    @Amy: Ooh I think you’d like this Amy! Plus it’s a quick read.

  9. Annette

    I want to know how she came up with the descriptions of the art–especially the glass. Did she see these things somewhere? If so, I want pictures. Everything sounds so beautiful….

    Great review!

  15. Hazal

    I love beautiful sentences, simple as. Shakespeare comes up with the best and is my inspiration for sentences that can make people just…sigh and say wow!

  17. Danny

    This book would have completely gone past me if not for those wonderful and incredible reviews like yours! The cover didn’t really spoke to me so I’m glad you are one of those that tried it and really liked it!

  18. A. Knight

    “Lucy is desperate to find this graffiti artist who calls himself Shadow. Ed is a lost soul who paints to find himself.”

    A beautifully simple definition of the characters. And raw is exactly the right thing to say about this book. There’s no sugarcoating with Cath. She makes these characters and their stories so true to life but in a way that’s heartbreaking and wonderful and evocative.

    Excellent review! I couldn’t agree more!

    — Asher

  19. Giselle

    @Danny: I completely ignored it on Goodreads at first too until I started seeing all the amazing reviews. I never would have thought it was a love story at all. But it’s really good!

    @A. Knight: I’m really glad you enjoyed it too! I love how true it’s written.

    Thanks lovelies! <3

  20. Sam

    Wow, Giselle – what an amazing review! This book seems to be a popular one and I’m glad to see another great review for it. It’s definitely urging me to pick up a copy soon! I love the sound of the love story and it’s also great to hear that there’s a lot more to it than just that. I need to get round to this! 🙂

  23. Lexie

    Eeee! Lovely, lovely review. I’m glad you didn’t need to use the ninja moves, because I really, really want to read this one. I absolutely love beautiful writing, so I think this will be exactly my kind of book. 😀

  26. Aylee

    I haven’t seen a negative review for this one yet! And even though I’m not really into contemporaries – or an artistic person – I think I would really like it too. The characters and story seem really complex and true to life.

  27. Rebecca (Kindle Fever)

    Oh! I’m so glad you loved this one too. I keep seeing SO many awesome reviews for it and I can’t wait for a chance to read it myself. I want to, baaaad! I really do need to give it a try. Awesome review! You make me even more curious, if possible. Lol;)

  29. Jen

    I keep hearing such great things about this! It makes me super sad that I forgot to load it onto my Kindle before the NetGalley expired. Great review, as always!

  32. A Canadian Girl

    I’ve got this one in my TBR pile and though I know nothing about art, I’m looking forward to reading it because I love it when characters are realistic. I really like that there’s a love story here but it’s more than just simply that.

  33. Hilda K

    This book is on my TBR list, and your review make me even more eager to read this book! Awesome review, Giselle! This book seems like a lovely story I’d definitely enjoy! 🙂

  34. Sarah

    I’m so glad you reviewed this Giselle because I’ve been eying it for awhile but not sure if it was for me. I too know nothing about graffiti and while I used to enjoy drawing and art, I really am terrible at it. lol

    But even so, with all the praise I’ve been hearing and awesome reviews like yours, I can’t help but want to pick it up! 🙂

    ♥ Sarah @ I’m Loving Books

  35. JJ iReads

    I loved this review! I have Graffiti Moon on my TBR list and have the ARC, but just haven’t been able to read it yet with my hectic schedule. This review really makes me want to move it up my schedule. Thanks for your honest review 🙂

  37. Alison Can Read

    I’ve heard fabulous things about this book. Australian authors seem to be consistently good. At contemp fiction at least. I love the there is a complex romance as well as real life issues.

  38. Book Sake

    I know squat about either subject – but definitely think that the read sounds good. I wasn’t sure before from the synopsis, but from your review I think I will give it a try.
    – Jessica @ Book Sake

  39. Asheley (@BookwormAsheley)

    I kinda liked this one. I mean, contemporary books aren’t really ‘my thing’ but I DID challenge myself to read more of them this year. So I read this one and I liked it. It was sweet.

    I did, however, want to read through and push those two together, like you do with Ken and Barbie doll to make them kiss when you’re a kid. I was like OH COME ON!! You two like each other! Go ahead and kiss the girl!

    Haha.

  40. Vicky

    I know how you feel about being thrown off because of artsy details. I’ve read quite a lot of similar books and I kept getting distracted as well.

    It sounds like a fantastic read! Thanks for the review, Giselle 🙂