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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Review can also be found here - Book Boudoir
Ah Y'ALL!!!! I had a friend rave about Graffiti Moon after I mentioned my interest in reading it. After she gushed about it, I knew I had to bump it up on my list. I so was not disappointed that I did!
Graffiti Moon follows Lucy, who has the biggest crush on a graffiti artist named Shadow. She and her closest friends plan a night out to celebrate their completion of Year 12 in school. They run into three guys they know, one which Lucy has a rather funny past experience with. Ed is the last person she wants to spend her night of celebration with. But the six of them make a night of it together.
Lucy is determined to spend some time looking for Shadow, who she's always managed to just miss every other time she's tracked him. Shadow's art is all over the city, on legal and illegal walls. Ed tells Lucy he knows where to find Shadow and they set out on their own after a stop at a party.
As they explore the city on Lucy's bike they come to realize they have more in common than they originally thought. They spend their journey discussing art, their hobbies, and the miscommunication that had them at odds. It was so fun to see them get to know one another and for their crush from the past to start to bloom again.
When Lucy realizes Shadow isn't the person she thought he might be she begins to see Ed in a different light too. I couldn't help but cheer for Ed. He is a good person; a nice guy that only wants to take care of his family. He was definitely easy to love, both for me and for Lucy.
And Lucy, she's a strong, smart character. A breath of fresh air.
Graffiti Moon is a read that I just sailed through. It gave me that feeling of, when I finished it, I just sighed happily. As a side note, it sort of reminded me of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. If you enjoyed that, you will probably like GM. I just really loved it. Can't say it enough.
Ah Y'ALL!!!! I had a friend rave about Graffiti Moon after I mentioned my interest in reading it. After she gushed about it, I knew I had to bump it up on my list. I so was not disappointed that I did!
Graffiti Moon follows Lucy, who has the biggest crush on a graffiti artist named Shadow. She and her closest friends plan a night out to celebrate their completion of Year 12 in school. They run into three guys they know, one which Lucy has a rather funny past experience with. Ed is the last person she wants to spend her night of celebration with. But the six of them make a night of it together.
Lucy is determined to spend some time looking for Shadow, who she's always managed to just miss every other time she's tracked him. Shadow's art is all over the city, on legal and illegal walls. Ed tells Lucy he knows where to find Shadow and they set out on their own after a stop at a party.
As they explore the city on Lucy's bike they come to realize they have more in common than they originally thought. They spend their journey discussing art, their hobbies, and the miscommunication that had them at odds. It was so fun to see them get to know one another and for their crush from the past to start to bloom again.
When Lucy realizes Shadow isn't the person she thought he might be she begins to see Ed in a different light too. I couldn't help but cheer for Ed. He is a good person; a nice guy that only wants to take care of his family. He was definitely easy to love, both for me and for Lucy.
And Lucy, she's a strong, smart character. A breath of fresh air.
Graffiti Moon is a read that I just sailed through. It gave me that feeling of, when I finished it, I just sighed happily. As a side note, it sort of reminded me of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. If you enjoyed that, you will probably like GM. I just really loved it. Can't say it enough.
I liked the atypical YA characters but the story just never pulled me in liked I expected it to.
I was just sitting at home one evening this week, piddling around on the computer, when I received a notification that a book I had pre-ordered had just been automatically downloaded to my kindle. The thing is, when I opened up the link it showed that I had pre-ordered Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley, and I could not for the life of me figure out why I had done such a thing. I hadn't heard of the book, and even when I read the book blurb it didn't sound so interesting that it would have been a book that I would have jumped to order ahead of time when I have so many other books on my to-be-read list. But, after a bit of digging, trying to figure out my motivation I found this wonderful review of the book from the talented book reviewer Anna at annareads.com. Once I found that review I remembered why I was excited to start this book. The thought of finding a book that would inspire me to stay up all night to finish it made me a bit giddy, so I began reading immediately. I am soooo glad that I did. What a beautiful book! I hardly know where to begin.
First of all, it is refreshing to find young adult books that are a bit complicated. These books don't talk down to their audience, but instead the authors give young adults credit for understanding the complex world that they are learning to navigate. I still only have a limited experience in this area, but in the few young adult books I have read which were written by Aussie writers I have found an amazing ability to really catch the excitement/fear/happiness/sadness/volatility that can often dominate the life of a young adult as they figure out their role in the world. It is not a black and white world that is created in these novels. The characters are neither all good, nor all bad, and the happy endings they find at the end of the novels are not necessarily a happy couple skipping their way into the distance without cares in the world. The complexity of the characters create a richer novel that can almost reach into my soul and wrench out those deep emotions that make reading so worthwhile.
In this novel the two main characters are Ed and Lucy. Lucy is fascinated by the elusive graffiti painter, Shadow, who creates amazing graffiti murals throughout the city, but no one knows who he is. Lucy is drawn to his art, and she has a great desire to meet this artist. Ed is Shadow, but only a few people know this. He has admired Lucy from afar for a long time, but a few years ago they had an unfortunate first date that eventually led to him crying at home with a broken nose. By fate on this one evening Lucy and her friends are pulled together with Ed and his friends, and once the boys realize that the girls are searching for Shadow they decide to have a bit of fun with them and take them out for the evening to search for Shadow. No one reveals Ed's secret at all. Ed is thrown together with Lucy, and eventually they get separated from the group. This is when the book really takes off, in my opinion. Lucy is eager to find Shadow, so she pays little attention to Ed, except to explain to him her preconceived ideas about the type of person Shadow is. Through both her internal dialogue as well as her spoken communication with Ed it is clear that she has her own preconceived notions about Ed as well. As the evening progresses Lucy begins to find that her ideas about both of them are flawed. The progression of Lucy's feelings and understanding is done beautifully. Although everything in this book takes place in the course of one night, it never seems rushed. The pacing of the evolution of Lucy's feelings is perfect and real.
I have to say that my favorite character in this book was Ed. He is a character that could so easily be pigeon-holed into a certain box by those around him. He has so many struggles to recognize the goodness and the genius in him. He spends a good portion of the novel caged in by his low opinion of himself. One of the graffiti paintings that he creates is of a man (I think it was a man, but I might be wrong) inside a covered jar, trapped. I think this was an excellent visualization of who Ed is as he goes throughout this evening with Lucy. He has all of these ideas and paintings stuck inside him, but he doesn't have the confidence to let anyone else really see them. Instead he paints anonymously in the night and hides away during the day, not rising to the potential that he has inside him. Lucy sees that potential, although at first she is only noticing it in Shadow, not Ed. But by the end of the novel she sees Ed's genius and encourages him to live up to it. I loved that.
I think that one of the things that made this book so hard to put down was the fact that I, as a reader, knew Ed's secrets. I knew the things that he was holding back from Lucy. Since I could also see the thoughts of her head I knew that she was prepared to hear the truths about Ed, but still Ed held back. He never had the confidence to step out, take a chance, and risk showing another person exactly who is was, warts and all. I was on edge for more than half the book, silently begging Ed to just come out and say the things that were in his heart. But he wouldn't do it! Erg! Come on, man, say it! She's ready to know exactly who you are! So frustrating -- yet so awesome! One scene that illustrated this so well and matched similar scenes found throughout the book occurs when Ed and his friends have gotten roped into committing a robbery in order to pay back a loan shark and avoid being physically harmed. Ed does not want to go through with the robbery. He wants to do what is right, but he cannot figure out a way to do this. So the least that he wants is for Lucy to not be involved. He believes that he is just not good enough for her. He believes that Lucy will be disappointed when she discovers that it is him who is Shadow. He says:
This happened all the time. Ed tried to make a decision that his heart was leading him to make, but he never had the courage to follow his heart (and often his brain as well), so he stayed silent, leading Lucy to stay in the dark about exactly who Ed was. Luckily, primarily through his art and the discussion that it promoted, Lucy was able to start to deduce things on her own, and her actions eventually had the potential to give Ed the courage to show his true colors.
And now for the art -- absolutely amazing in every way. This was a book that read very differently from most books in this genre. The graffiti art of Ed and the glass art of Lucy could be said to be characters in the novel as well. The art takes center stage in so many of the conversations between the two main characters, and even when they are not outright discussing their art with one another each of them, and especially Ed, are planning their next art pieces to commemorate the events of the night. I almost wish that I had an illustrated version of this novel so that I could see the work as they described it. But another side of me kind of thinks that it is nice to be able to imagine it in my mind as Ed and Lucy describe the art. The descriptive language of this novel is AMAZING. I kept feeling the need to find the nearest art gallery and immediately become a funding patron so that I could regularly attend and see the wonderful things that are in works of art. It was amazing (I know, I'm using that word too much!) to see how one piece of art could portray an entire story of emotions and history. I especially love how the art related to Ed. Ed had difficulty with reading, and sometimes it seemed as if he had trouble creating the thoughts he wanted to portray with his words. But he could easily take those thoughts and emotions, and in one night he could draw the thoughts and emotions through his art. Amazing! I loved the spots in the book where he could not come out and speak his feelings to Lucy, but in his head he was creating the graffiti that he would draw to show the feelings. Beautiful!
So anyway, I am really wavering between giving this a four or a five star. I loved how my emotions were churning throughout this book, and that isn't easy for an author to achieve with me. I also loved the originality of the book and the complexity of the characters. I may change my opinion after I sleep on it tonight, but for now I think that I'll keep my review as a four star review (probably closer to four and a half) simply because I'm not sure if this is one that I will be drawn to read again, and that is usually my standard for the five stars that I had out. Still, I still HIGHLY recommend this book, especially for fans of young adult lit who like sweet romances without all the sugar, if that makes any sense. I loved this!
First of all, it is refreshing to find young adult books that are a bit complicated. These books don't talk down to their audience, but instead the authors give young adults credit for understanding the complex world that they are learning to navigate. I still only have a limited experience in this area, but in the few young adult books I have read which were written by Aussie writers I have found an amazing ability to really catch the excitement/fear/happiness/sadness/volatility that can often dominate the life of a young adult as they figure out their role in the world. It is not a black and white world that is created in these novels. The characters are neither all good, nor all bad, and the happy endings they find at the end of the novels are not necessarily a happy couple skipping their way into the distance without cares in the world. The complexity of the characters create a richer novel that can almost reach into my soul and wrench out those deep emotions that make reading so worthwhile.
In this novel the two main characters are Ed and Lucy. Lucy is fascinated by the elusive graffiti painter, Shadow, who creates amazing graffiti murals throughout the city, but no one knows who he is. Lucy is drawn to his art, and she has a great desire to meet this artist. Ed is Shadow, but only a few people know this. He has admired Lucy from afar for a long time, but a few years ago they had an unfortunate first date that eventually led to him crying at home with a broken nose. By fate on this one evening Lucy and her friends are pulled together with Ed and his friends, and once the boys realize that the girls are searching for Shadow they decide to have a bit of fun with them and take them out for the evening to search for Shadow. No one reveals Ed's secret at all. Ed is thrown together with Lucy, and eventually they get separated from the group. This is when the book really takes off, in my opinion. Lucy is eager to find Shadow, so she pays little attention to Ed, except to explain to him her preconceived ideas about the type of person Shadow is. Through both her internal dialogue as well as her spoken communication with Ed it is clear that she has her own preconceived notions about Ed as well. As the evening progresses Lucy begins to find that her ideas about both of them are flawed. The progression of Lucy's feelings and understanding is done beautifully. Although everything in this book takes place in the course of one night, it never seems rushed. The pacing of the evolution of Lucy's feelings is perfect and real.
I have to say that my favorite character in this book was Ed. He is a character that could so easily be pigeon-holed into a certain box by those around him. He has so many struggles to recognize the goodness and the genius in him. He spends a good portion of the novel caged in by his low opinion of himself. One of the graffiti paintings that he creates is of a man (I think it was a man, but I might be wrong) inside a covered jar, trapped. I think this was an excellent visualization of who Ed is as he goes throughout this evening with Lucy. He has all of these ideas and paintings stuck inside him, but he doesn't have the confidence to let anyone else really see them. Instead he paints anonymously in the night and hides away during the day, not rising to the potential that he has inside him. Lucy sees that potential, although at first she is only noticing it in Shadow, not Ed. But by the end of the novel she sees Ed's genius and encourages him to live up to it. I loved that.
I think that one of the things that made this book so hard to put down was the fact that I, as a reader, knew Ed's secrets. I knew the things that he was holding back from Lucy. Since I could also see the thoughts of her head I knew that she was prepared to hear the truths about Ed, but still Ed held back. He never had the confidence to step out, take a chance, and risk showing another person exactly who is was, warts and all. I was on edge for more than half the book, silently begging Ed to just come out and say the things that were in his heart. But he wouldn't do it! Erg! Come on, man, say it! She's ready to know exactly who you are! So frustrating -- yet so awesome! One scene that illustrated this so well and matched similar scenes found throughout the book occurs when Ed and his friends have gotten roped into committing a robbery in order to pay back a loan shark and avoid being physically harmed. Ed does not want to go through with the robbery. He wants to do what is right, but he cannot figure out a way to do this. So the least that he wants is for Lucy to not be involved. He believes that he is just not good enough for her. He believes that Lucy will be disappointed when she discovers that it is him who is Shadow. He says:
I stay outside, thinking things through. If I was a good guy, I wouldn't take her for this ride. Don't take her for this ride, Bert would say. If she gets arrested, then there go her chances at college. There go her chances at studying glass. "Ed?" she asks. Go home now, I think. Go home and forget about me and Shadow. Go home and sit in front of the TV and get up in the morning and make glassed-in memories and go to college. But then she smiles and I think about sitting next to her, so I cram in and close the door.
This happened all the time. Ed tried to make a decision that his heart was leading him to make, but he never had the courage to follow his heart (and often his brain as well), so he stayed silent, leading Lucy to stay in the dark about exactly who Ed was. Luckily, primarily through his art and the discussion that it promoted, Lucy was able to start to deduce things on her own, and her actions eventually had the potential to give Ed the courage to show his true colors.
And now for the art -- absolutely amazing in every way. This was a book that read very differently from most books in this genre. The graffiti art of Ed and the glass art of Lucy could be said to be characters in the novel as well. The art takes center stage in so many of the conversations between the two main characters, and even when they are not outright discussing their art with one another each of them, and especially Ed, are planning their next art pieces to commemorate the events of the night. I almost wish that I had an illustrated version of this novel so that I could see the work as they described it. But another side of me kind of thinks that it is nice to be able to imagine it in my mind as Ed and Lucy describe the art. The descriptive language of this novel is AMAZING. I kept feeling the need to find the nearest art gallery and immediately become a funding patron so that I could regularly attend and see the wonderful things that are in works of art. It was amazing (I know, I'm using that word too much!) to see how one piece of art could portray an entire story of emotions and history. I especially love how the art related to Ed. Ed had difficulty with reading, and sometimes it seemed as if he had trouble creating the thoughts he wanted to portray with his words. But he could easily take those thoughts and emotions, and in one night he could draw the thoughts and emotions through his art. Amazing! I loved the spots in the book where he could not come out and speak his feelings to Lucy, but in his head he was creating the graffiti that he would draw to show the feelings. Beautiful!
So anyway, I am really wavering between giving this a four or a five star. I loved how my emotions were churning throughout this book, and that isn't easy for an author to achieve with me. I also loved the originality of the book and the complexity of the characters. I may change my opinion after I sleep on it tonight, but for now I think that I'll keep my review as a four star review (probably closer to four and a half) simply because I'm not sure if this is one that I will be drawn to read again, and that is usually my standard for the five stars that I had out. Still, I still HIGHLY recommend this book, especially for fans of young adult lit who like sweet romances without all the sugar, if that makes any sense. I loved this!
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just finished "Graffiti Moon" by Cath Crowley. Very much a John Hughes 80's-ish story. Loved every page of it.
This was a really nice surprise. I read the description on NetGalley and it sounded appealing. Lucy has finished year 12 and is spending the night out with her friends Jazz and Daisy to celebrate. She's been wanting to meet Shadow, a graffiti artist for some time. She's seen his work around town and really wants to meet him. Lucy is an artist herself; an apprentice to a glass blower. Ed is out with his friends Leo and Dylan (Daisy's boyfriend) on the town as well. He and Lucy had a disastrous date a few years ago which resulted in her breaking his nose. These two definitely hadn't intended on spending the evening together. Set in Australia, the book has a slightly different sensibility. Lucy and Ed are both likeable characters, though Ed has had a really tough time lately, losing his mentor and his job. There are also shades of Pride and Prejudice here . . .
I'm definitely going to look up the previous book by this author!
I'm definitely going to look up the previous book by this author!
Second read (audio): October 7, 2016
Love those accents!
First Read: February 11, 2013
Quick and easy read, a great contemporary YA.
Love those accents!
First Read: February 11, 2013
Quick and easy read, a great contemporary YA.
Cath Crowley became my new favorite author this summer. I read Words in Deep Blue and fell in love with the story, and characters she created. So I went looking for more and found Graffiti Moon. There are books I enjoy reading, and then there are books that become a part of me. Graffiti Moon and Words in Deep Blue are now an indelible part of me; they've left me changed. I can't say how exactly, except to say they have excited my mind; spoken to the inner creative spark.
Crowley takes art and makes it central to characters who are desperately trying to make sense of themselves and the world around them. It's a YA book, but YA because teenagers are the most open to trying to figure out who they are. I suspect most adults continue to try to make sense of themselves and the world, but are more afraid or more closed off to possibilities. Crowley's characters are afraid, but they are so passionate about their art and the complications of life that you can't help feeling hopeful for them.
Crowley takes art and makes it central to characters who are desperately trying to make sense of themselves and the world around them. It's a YA book, but YA because teenagers are the most open to trying to figure out who they are. I suspect most adults continue to try to make sense of themselves and the world, but are more afraid or more closed off to possibilities. Crowley's characters are afraid, but they are so passionate about their art and the complications of life that you can't help feeling hopeful for them.
I might be biased as a (lapsed) artist for whom drawing and painting was a central part of adolescence--but I seriously loved this novel. It has some gorgeous, unusual prose and great characters. The 'all in one night' story can be a gimmick but here it works (just like it works in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist). I LOVE the art conversations, which are complex and smart but also genuine and passionate. The combination of wonderfully rich characters, a fun adventure, and a whole lot of art love just gets me right in the gut--and heart & brain; I got teary-eyed during the final scenes. I initially picked up the paperback because I wanted to read it for a YALSA Hub post I'm working on and figured I would donate it to our library collection afterwards if I liked it. I still definitely want to get a copy for our library--but we'll have to order a new one because I'm adding this one to my personal collection :)