Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley - Juhina

Title: Graffiti Moon
Author: Cath Crowley

Publication date: February 14th, 2012 (US release)
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)
Challenges: YA Contemporary, SARC, A-Z Title, Book Blogger Rec

Source: NetGalley
Format: Ebook

Pages: 272

"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.

Graffiti Moon is set in a 24 hour period, but the story really kicks off at night, the day Lucy graduated high school. Lucy and her friends decide to stay all night and celebrate! however all Lucy is thinking about is finding Shadow, the graffiti painter she has been fantasizing about for months and believes is her soul mate. She's an artist, and so is he; through his art he seems different from all the guys she's met, including Ed, the guy who grabbed her butt on their first date two years ago.  Her friends obviously think this is absurd, but when her friend's boyfriend declares he knows Shadow. The night journey to find Shadow begins. 

I am a huge fan of books that are set in a 24 hour period. I feel as if I am with them, reading every one of their thoughts, seeing everything through their eyes, even the little stuff. It's as if I was put in the shoes of the protagonist for a whole day and experience everything he/she experiences. 

However one thing that I couldn't connect to the book is the whole artistic aspect of it. I'm an engineer, it's math and science all the way, while I do love photography, I didn't get half of the revelations that occurred through their art. I was like.. ok you blow glass, how does that hold your memory? This is definitely a case of "It's not you, it's me" situation. Graffiti Moon is all about the art of Lucy and Shadow and the stories behind them. I loved finding out the story behind each, even though I didn't get the connection, i still felt their emotional turmoil, pain, and memories through these stories. As the hours go by, you get to know a bit about Lucy and Ed, yes the butt grabbing guy. It is told from both of their points of view and sometimes a scene would be repeated twice from each of their POVs. This was great for me since in a specific scene I always want to know how BOTH ends of the spectrum think.   

Overall Graffiti Moon was an exhilarating and exciting ride, where Lucy must outrun the night in order to find Shadow. The contemporary overall was thrilling, without a dull moment when the journey begins.  

four musical notes!