Friday, March 6, 2015

REVIEW: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley



            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. Somewhere in the glassy darkness, he’s out there, spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night. And Lucy knows that a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for—really fall for.
            The last person Lucy wants to spend this night with is Ed, the guy she’s managed to avoid since punching him in the nose on the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells Lucy he knows where to find Shadow, the two of them are suddenly on an all-night search to places where Shadow’s pieces of heartbreak and escape echo off the city walls. And what Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

            I have to say that this is one of my favorite contemporary books so far. It was a sleek, urban story about love, life and art. The way that Cath Crowley so vividly described the urban nightlife of this city in Australia was superb. Even better, though, was the way in which she describing all of the art. It was beautiful. From Lucy’s glassblowing to Ed’s graffiti to Leo’s poetry to all the rest of the art referenced throughout. The book had no magic in it whatsoever, but it was one of the more magical books I’ve read in a while.
            In general, I really loved the way Crowley laid this book out. The story was told through the dual perspectives of Ed and Lucy, with the occasional poetry intermission by Leo. Though the story took place through the course of one, singular night, there was still so much going on. Nothing was revealed until it had to be, and everything had a reason or a place in the overall story.
            Along with that, the characters were amazing. I simply can’t choose which one I enjoyed the most. Ed was this perfectly imperfect character who could only really speak properly through his art. And Lucy’s view could only be described as looking through a kaleidoscope. Then there was the psychic, Jazz, who started the whole crazy night, and then we see his and Leo’s love progress through Leo’s poems. It was just a perfect book if I’m being honest.
            Okay, but I think my favorite character might actually be Ed’s mom. She was barely mentioned (talk about super secondary character), but it was the little things about her that made me cry like a baby. I don’t know why, but she got to me. And the mother of the year award goes to her. She had no money and spent most of the book working on her budget, but she had this money jar that went toward Ed’s pens and Pez but she didn’t have a jar for herself. The only thing that made me cry most was the book ending. If I could give this book more than five stars I would.

XOXO Tia

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