Book Review: Graffiti Moon

Graffiti Moon
by Cath Crowley
Hardcover, 224 pages
Expected publication: February 14th 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (first published August 1st 2010)
Source: NetGalley

Summary:

"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.

Review:

I've been looking forward to reading Graffiti Moon ever since it was published in Australia last year. That's why I just about died when I found out that this was made available on NetGalley by the awesome Knopf Books for Young Readers. And what's even more awesome than that is, this book lived up to my super high expectations!

The summary absolutely doesn't do justice to how awesome this book is. It sounds cliched, predictable and bland. But wait! There's actually more to Graffiti Moon than those. What I like about this book is that the readers know from the start that Ed and Shadow are the same person, unlike what the summary seems to imply.

This is told in alternating POV's of Lucy and Ed with Leo's poems (those beautiful, beautiful poems) before some chapters. Ed dropped out of school in year 10 and has been working at a paint store until the owner who he view as his own father died and he was left jobless. Lucy has been obsessing over meeting the elusive graffiti artist, Shadow, feeling as if an artist like him is the only one who could understand what the artist in her truly feels. Leo is Ed's best friend and works with Ed on writing poems on his graffitis. Jazz is the resident psychic. Daisy is Dylan's girlfriend, and he is the only one who knows who Shadow and Poet are.

Crowley's characters are distinctive and very well-crafted. They are very fun to read and are extremely likable. Though there were also times that I'd find myself tearing up at some parts of the story. Most of which are from Ed's flashbacks. His father left his mom when she got pregnant at 16. His mom is still attending nursing school and also, he couldn't read.

Crowley's Graffiti Moon is one beautiful story I would love to read a hundred more times. Crowley's writing is eloquent. The dialogues, descriptions and poems were simply divine! I absolutely, totally, highly recommend  this book to all readers out there! Believe me, you will not be disappointed!

Rating: 5/5 stars!

Disclosure: This e-galley was received from the publisher (Knopf Books for Young Readers via NetGalley) for free in exchange for an honest review.