Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

272 pages, Knopf Books for Young Readers, (2012-02-14)

$11.46 (Amazon.com)

Procurement

eARC from publisher via NetGalley

My Grade

Plot: 5

Setting: 5

Writing: 5

Originality: 5

Characters: 5

Romance: 5

Overall: 30/30 So swoon-worthy it’ll burst your heart!

Title/Cover Bonus: 3

Overall

So much swoon I nearly died by heart bursting! An epic tale of finding love, acceptance, painting, and broken noses.

Summary (Goodreads)

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.

First Line

I pedal fast.

 

Most Memorable Scene

Goodness me! There are way too many. The scene where Malcolm finds Ed and Lucy in the park is one of the best! Lucy sure knows how to handle herself.

“Why don’t you give it to Leo? Wait, I know, it’s because you’re scared of him, you cockroach-eating-coward motherfucker.”

I look at her. “Motherfucker?”

“Motherfucker,” she says.

“The next one to call me a motherfucker takes the message,” Malcolm says.

“Motherfucker“, Lucy and I say together.

Plot

So Lucy is obsessed with art. She lives in an Australian city that has  well know graffiti artist duo, Shadow and Poet, who work together graffitiing buildings with amazing artwork and creative dialogue that’s usually in the form of poetry. Lucy is also obsessed with finding out who Shadow is because she’s convinced that he is the man of her dreams. She meets up with two of her friends, Jazz and Daisy, and Daisy’s boyfriend, Dylan, and his two friends, Leo and Ed. Together they all set out for a late night scavenger hunt of these two graffiti artists.

I enjoyed the plot tremendously.

Setting

A small Australian city polluted with graffiti. The graffiti was brilliant. It popped right out of the words that described them. The group set off all across this city. It’s all very vivid and expertly portrayed.

Writing

Amazing. I haven’t swooned so many times in one book. I’d go so far as to say that it was better than any Simon Elkeles’ book I’ve read and that’s super hard to do. I loved that the point of view alternated between Lucy, Ed and even Poet. I loved that Poet’s view was mostly in poetry form. It provided a nice break between Lucy and Ed’s adventure.

One of things I loved most were the flash backs. A lot of the story is told in reminiscing scenes. Ed thinks about his past a lot and Lucy retells her tales of learning glass blowing. The retelling of Lucy’s first real date is masterfully written. I couldn’t stop laughing and then ultimately swooning.

Words of Interest

Wanker was used a lot. I find that word highly amusing and enjoyed it’s use.

Toilet was used instead of bathroom. I’m guessing this is a cultural difference since this was set in Australia.

Originality

I haven’t read anything quite like this but it did remind me of Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, which I’ve seen the movie but not read the book.

Characters

Wow. I’m usually a fan of the ass kicking female lead but Lucy really impressed me because this is not a paranormal book at all. It’s 100% contemporary and full of romantic tension that Lucy’s actions were alarming yet totally and completely adorable and pure. Her character has such depth to her.

Ed is a troubled young man but given the life he’s lived so far no one would blame him for who he’s turned out to be. And what is that exactly? He finds out along the way. His character was engaging. I had to know more about him. I loved how he replayed his past and how emotional he was deep inside.

Ed’s friends Leo and Dylan are pretty interesting just like Lucy’s friends, Jazz and Daisy were too. I loved the group trips to the toilet!

Romance

Gah! This book is so packed with so much swoon it’s not even funny! I thought for sure my heart was going to burst a few times with the amount of “Awwww” that came pouring out of some of these scenes! I was a giddy teenage girl all afternoon! Yes, I read this in only one afternoon! It’s amazing and you have to know what happens and it’s so easy to read the words just flow into you and fill you with pure joy.

Title/Cover Bonus

I saw this on NetGalley and wasn’t immediately attracted to it but then I read some of the summary they had on NetGalley and decided to request it. Both the title and the cover are nice in their own way but I think they’re not the best choices because they don’t really appeal, to me at least. Unless I was a graffiti artist I’m not sure I’d pick this up at the bookstore.

Ending

Beautiful. Amazing. Way too full of swoon to be healthy.

Series

Looks like this is a stand along novel. But I loved these characters so much I wouldn’t mind joining them again. Or in the very least reading any other books by this author!

A genuine must read! And it releases on Valentine’s Day! Swoon!