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A review by halcyone
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
4.0
This review was originally posted at The Cozy Armchair.
I've always been fascinated by graffiti art, especially since one of my friends did extensive research on it for school and would always show me amazing pictures, so I was instantly drawn to this book. Full of memorable late nigh (mis)adventures, Graffiti Moon was such a good book. Really. You may have already read a million other reviews gushing about it, so you'll have to deal with me adding to the multitude.
Everything about it was atmospheric and lyrical, but it never crossed the line to become unbearably cheesy. The story is told in alternating point of views (Lucy & Ed) with poetry by the artist called Poet inserted throughout. I was initially skeptical of this, but oh man, does it work. You get a real sense of the characters and their emotions.
Even as they deal with your run-of-the-mill teenage problems, they are also each struggling with the kinds of universal issues we can understand. These characters are teens but they have a certain depth to them that isn't characteristic of typical teenagers, which can be attributed to the poetic, artsy descriptions that fill up most of the book's pages. Which isn't criticism! The descriptions of Shadow's art are so beautiful, so enticing, that I wish the book had come with photographs of the real thing.
At the start, the slow pace was really making it hard for me to get through the book. Although everything happens in one night (including a bonus subplot of money being owed to a terrible, shady, [unintentionally?] funny bad guy), the story takes its time, and I came to love that. I eventually overcame how distanced I felt from the narrative and started to love these characters. The writing is so vivid; it draws you in so you feel like you're right there with them, wandering the streets of Melbourne, chasing after Shadow. Crowley has a way of writing things that feel like a punch in the gut (see: Poet's poetry), which is very much in line with the reasons the characters seek refuge in their art.
Beyond that, I loved the way Ed and Lucy danced around each other. It was fantastic to see how Lucy had built up Shadow to be her perfect man just by what she interpreted from his art and how her image of him didn't quite line up with the real guy. Their blossoming romance was sweet and realistic enough that I wasn't rolling my eyes by the end. Bonus: Graffiti Moon also has a fabulous set of secondary characters!
Shame I don't know the slightest thing about Melbourne, though, so I couldn't appreciate or trace the path they take through the city as well I would have if I did. Regardless, Graffiti Moon needs to be read (and reread)! It takes you on a beautiful journey, by turns funny and nostalgic, culminating in everyone piling into a pink van and driving off into the sunrise (sort of). It really doesn't get much better than that!
I've always been fascinated by graffiti art, especially since one of my friends did extensive research on it for school and would always show me amazing pictures, so I was instantly drawn to this book. Full of memorable late nigh (mis)adventures, Graffiti Moon was such a good book. Really. You may have already read a million other reviews gushing about it, so you'll have to deal with me adding to the multitude.
Everything about it was atmospheric and lyrical, but it never crossed the line to become unbearably cheesy. The story is told in alternating point of views (Lucy & Ed) with poetry by the artist called Poet inserted throughout. I was initially skeptical of this, but oh man, does it work. You get a real sense of the characters and their emotions.
Even as they deal with your run-of-the-mill teenage problems, they are also each struggling with the kinds of universal issues we can understand. These characters are teens but they have a certain depth to them that isn't characteristic of typical teenagers, which can be attributed to the poetic, artsy descriptions that fill up most of the book's pages. Which isn't criticism! The descriptions of Shadow's art are so beautiful, so enticing, that I wish the book had come with photographs of the real thing.
At the start, the slow pace was really making it hard for me to get through the book. Although everything happens in one night (including a bonus subplot of money being owed to a terrible, shady, [unintentionally?] funny bad guy), the story takes its time, and I came to love that. I eventually overcame how distanced I felt from the narrative and started to love these characters. The writing is so vivid; it draws you in so you feel like you're right there with them, wandering the streets of Melbourne, chasing after Shadow. Crowley has a way of writing things that feel like a punch in the gut (see: Poet's poetry), which is very much in line with the reasons the characters seek refuge in their art.
Beyond that, I loved the way Ed and Lucy danced around each other. It was fantastic to see how Lucy had built up Shadow to be her perfect man just by what she interpreted from his art and how her image of him didn't quite line up with the real guy. Their blossoming romance was sweet and realistic enough that I wasn't rolling my eyes by the end. Bonus: Graffiti Moon also has a fabulous set of secondary characters!
Shame I don't know the slightest thing about Melbourne, though, so I couldn't appreciate or trace the path they take through the city as well I would have if I did. Regardless, Graffiti Moon needs to be read (and reread)! It takes you on a beautiful journey, by turns funny and nostalgic, culminating in everyone piling into a pink van and driving off into the sunrise (sort of). It really doesn't get much better than that!