Lefty's Lowdown: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
(standalone)
Published: February 14, 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (first published in Australia in 2010)
Source: Purchased

Summary from Goodreads: 
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.

 I first read this book in 2012 and was abosoLUTELY BLOWN AWAY BY IT. This book made me fall in love with contemporary books, which is saying something since contemporary YA is my favorite genre. At te very end of 2016, I decided to give it another go, afraid that it wouldn't live up to what I remembered it being. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded. BECAUSE THIS BOOK WAS JUST AS AMAZING THE SECOND TIME AROUND. Wowza. A stunning combination of gorgeous writing, interesting characters, and a night of adventure make for an utterly intoxicating contemporary read.

The prose in this novel is exceedingly lovely. Things are described in terms of colors and art. I don't want to guarantee that this it's unlike anything else you've ever read, but I'm fairly confident you've never read a book written quite like Graffiti Moon. It's vivid and fascinating and addictive. And I just ADORE the characters. Lucy and Ed are both interesting narrators, artistic and confused about what they want, though I think I was more into Ed's perspective. Both of these characters experience delightful growth. Their relationship is a hate-to-love type, and I am absolutely here for that, even if I wish there was a lil more kissing. The secondary characters are great, too. Jazz and Leo are so funny and they are actually good examples of friendship in YA, which is always a plus.

This review is kind of short simply because this is my second time reading the book, but don't let that make you think I don't love it BECAUSE I DO. I love this book a lot. It is one of my favorite contemporary books (and I read a lot of contemporary). It is beautiful and romantic. Do not sit this one out.

5/5 

Flashback Friday #2: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Left-Handed Book Lover's Flashback Friday. I'm not sure if this feature has been done on other blogs. I haven't seen it, but if it has been, let me know so I can give some credit! 

FF is a feature here where I talk about books I read a while ago but still want to give major love to. This feature is designed to give some exposure to books that may have been forgotten about or that some people haven't heard of, even though they're really great! 

This week's FF goes to.,.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
(standalone)
Published: February 14, 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary from Goodreads: 
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes. 

When did I read this?  

I read this in 2012, when the U.S. version was released. I'm pretty sure I got it as an eARC. I stayed up until 4:30 AM reading it.

Why did I pick this book?  

Y'all don't understand. I love love love contemporary books, but that has not always been the case. I was like a die-hard paranormal fan, and this is one of the first contemporary books I ever fell in love with. It's this beautiful adventure of a book. I takes place in only one night, but it is a night full of growth, flashbacks, and feelings beyond belief. I feel like it was pretty popular in the blogosphere when it was released, but I haven't heard mention of it in way too long.

It is a dual narrative novel, and both the narrators are a delight! They're flawed and so honestly written. Sometimes in between chapters there would be a poem that actually enhanced the story a lot, so that was really cool. There is a gorgeous, genuine romance, brimming with chemistry. I promise you, you will ship so hard in this novel. You will feel the kisses in your bones. You will feel this entire novel in your bones. The writing is stunning.

Bonus: This novel has an art focus, if you're into that sort of thing. There's painting and glass blowing and pottery. It's really cool even if you're not into that sort of thing.

Bonus part 2: It takes place in Australia. I was obsessed with Australia in 2012, so that was like amazing to me. It's still pretty cool, because the point of books is to take you to far-off places.

Now that all my love for this book is resurfacing, I'm probably going to go order it and re-read it. You should order it and read it, too. You will not regret it.

Other info--

Author info: 

Cath Crowley is an award-winning author of young adult novels, The Gracie Faltrain series, Chasing Charlie Duskin and Graffiti Moon. She lives, writes, and teaches creative writing in Melbourne. Her next book, The Howling Boy, will be out in 2016.

visit her website ~ give her a tweet