Graffiti Moon

Graffiti Moon by Cath CrowleyGraffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Publisher: Pan MacMillan Australia
Number of pages:  244
My copy: paperback borrowed from Chachic

“Let me make it in time. Let me meet Shadow. The guy who paints in the dark. Paints birds trapped on brick walls and people lost in ghost forests. Paints guys with grass growing from their hearts and girls with buzzing lawn mowers.”

It’s the end of Year 12. Lucy’s looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about.

His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere.

Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow’s thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls.

But the one thing Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes.

* * *

The good thing about having book-lovers as friends here in the Philippines is despite the lack of availability, when someone manages to acquire it, it’s easier to borrow instead of finding a way to buy it. That’s what my book friends and I are doing now, especially for hard to find/buy books such as Aussie YA books. :) Thanks so much to Chachic for letting her copy of Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley (and her other Aussie YA books) go around.

Graffiti Moon, US edition

Graffiti Moon, US edition (to be reased February 2012)

In Graffiti Moon we meet Lucy, who’s about to graduate high school. We find her rushing after she receives a message from her instructor, rushing to meet Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose paintings have touched Lucy’s heart and made her feel an instant connection. Then her paths cross with Ed, the last person she wants to see because of their unfortunate shared past — but he knows Shadow. And he can bring her to him. What follows is a long night full of heart-to-heart conversations, graffiti art viewing and a possible breaking-in and stealing. Lucy realizes that Ed isn’t so bad and their shared past may just be a misunderstanding…but if she finds out who Ed really is, will she still think the same?

People often compare Graffiti Moon with Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and it is an accurate comparison. What music is to Nick and Norah is art in this novel. I am not an artist, so it was kind of hard for me to imagine how Shadow’s graffiti pieces look (seriously, I can only imagine them as crudely drawn images because they’re from spray paint cans, but I’m pretty sure they all look better than what I can imagine). However, I liked that this book was relatable enough even without much art knowledge. I like it when a story makes use of a magical night for two people — magical in the sense that they end up spending it together and realize that their preconceived notions about each other were all wrong, or at least, inaccurate. I liked that there was a lot of conversations done in this book that made the characters get to know each other, and it wasn’t just love/crush at first sight and then followed by intimacy the next second.

Personally, I didn’t like Lucy at first. I found her fascination of Shadow and her belief that she will fall in love with this person because of his art kind of annoying and unrealistic. Color me jaded, I guess. Or maybe just…eh, unromantic? Maybe it’s the teenage idealism of love that got to me. I ended up liking her after some time, though, especially after she had more conversations with Ed. Even if it was all in the span of a night, it was still filled with conversations and shared adventures, and not just eye-contact and an “amazing” kiss that would make them declare their love for each other “forever and ever”.

But as much as I liked Ed and Lucy in this book, my real favorites are Leo and Jazz, Ed’s and Lucy’s best friends. I guess it shows how much I am more of a sucker for words than for art, seeing that Leo is a poet. My favorite piece from all of his works in the book:

Almost

Your jokes kind of make me laugh
And your hair is faintly close to being cute
Your smile isn’t half bad, either
You know, I almost, almost kind of like you

The dress you’re wearing is short and sweet
And your boots are kind of cool
You’re not, not turning me on
You know I almost, almost kind of like you

The way you dance definitely isn’t stupid
I could maybe get used to the way you move
I’m not saying I’ve made up my mind
But you know, I almost, almost kind of like you (p 164-165)

I swear, Leo and Jazz are practically begging for a spin-off. Can I request for one, please?

Graffiti Moon will be released in the US by February 2012, but an e-galley of the book is available in NetGalley, so if you can’t wait, sign up and get it! I still like the Australian cover of the book, though. And speaking of covers, look what I spotted in Madrid while I was bookstore hopping:

Graffiti Moon in Spanish :)

Graffiti Moon in Spanish :)

It took me a while to translate the book title, and if I hadn’t seen the insides with Lucy/Ed/Poet headings, I wouldn’t have recognized it. :)

Graffiti Moon is charming. It’s one of those books that would leave the reader smiling, not because of a neatly-wrapped ending, but because of an ending full of possibilities. And possibilities are always good, right? :)

Rating: [rating=4]

Other reviews:
Chachic’s Book Nook
Book Harbinger
inkcrush
Irresistible Reads
Persnickety Snark

4 Thoughts on “Graffiti Moon

  1. LOL my copy of this has been passed on from Aaron to Celina to you. Aaron currently has Six Impossible Things and Celina has Raw Blue. I’m glad you enjoyed reading this one, it was the first book that I finished this year and I had fun reading it. I think it’s great that the ebook is already available in NetGalley because this book deserves to get more attention.

    The Aussie edition is still my favorite, I think it’s perfect for the story. I don’t know much about art either, I just know that I like seeing pretty things. :P If you’re curious about graffiti art, search for Banksy. He’s a UK graffiti artist and he’s the only one that I’m familiar with.

  2. I want to read this one. Ah, one day!

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