Friday 6 April 2012

Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Title: Graffiti Moon
Author: Cath Crowley
Publication date: February 14th 2012
Publisher: Knopf
Age group: Young Adult
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Cover rating: 3/5
Content rating: 3/5
Buy: Amazon
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


Description:
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.
My thoughts:
Graffiti Moon has hundreds of glowing reviews so I think it's safe to say it has wide appeal and has captivated many readers. The book's description didn't give me much of an idea of what to expect or what kind of tone the book would have so I was really curious as to what I'd find. While I really liked Graffiti Moon, I didn't adore it and it didn't take my breath away. It was a good, quick read that I was done with in a few sittings but not one that will stay with me forever.

Graffiti Moon is the story of a group of young people on the night they finish year twelve. It specifically focuses on Lucy and Ed. Lucy is searching for someone- the graffiti artist whose art she has fallen for after seeing it pop up all over her town. She is really determined to find ''Shadow'' and has definitely romanticized him in her mind. I liked Lucy a lot! I didn't expect her to be so fun. I liked the way she views the world and enjoyed her observations. Her family is a little wacky and so is she. She's independent and I enjoyed that about her.

Ed is hiding secrets of his own. I didn't enjoy his narration as much as Lucy's. It wasn't bad but I just didn't find it very interesting. Some of the phrases he said when contemplating situations were written nicely but for the most part I didn't find him to be an incredibly exciting character. He was however well developed and certainly believable. He's just a regular guy who has a lot of stuff going on in his personal life. I liked that he was so loyal to those around him and willing to forgive peoples' mistakes!

I enjoyed their journey through the night at the beginning but did grow weary of it after a while. There is a lot of talking and contemplating and sometimes I found it hard to concentrate on just wanted to skim it. By the last 50 pages or so, I was just wishing the book would hurry up and end already! It just lost its spark for me and I felt like in the end, the book really hadn't built up to all that much. Overall, I definitely have mixed feelings about this one but I'd recommend it as I can see why many people would love it.

11 comments:

  1. Ooh I might have to check this book out...

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  2. Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this wonderful book, as you dismiss it as a once-only read. I loved the gentle humour. I loved the characters, not only Ed and Lucy. Like the couple about to break up because he thought it funny to egg her on end-of-year muck-up day(an Australian tradition for last day of high school). This, Ibelieve, is based on a true incident. It has a little more depth than you'd expect of this kind of story and got a well- deserved Honour Book in the Children's Book Council of Australia. If you don't intend to read it again, how about a giveaway? BTW, I HATE that cover! The Aussie one with the spray paint can is much better.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you liked it, Sue. I liked it too.

      I got an ebook ARC from Netgalley. I'm not able to give it away.

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  3. Great review! This book is on my wishlist, and for the most part I've heard that it's a quick and cute read. I can see how towards the end you got bored with it, because I feel the same way when there's too much talking and not enough doing in a book. Thanks for sharing! =D

    -Shanon @ Escaping With Fiction

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  4. Sorry you didn't enjoy this more. I hate trying to struggle through a book when I'm not enjoying it (I'm kinda doing that at the moment and I have no desire to pick up my kindle). Great honest review though.

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  5. The synopsis of this book really captivated me but the one thing I do have to say about it though, is that it reveals a lot! I can guess right now who Shadow is.

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    Replies
    1. I thought that at first too, Hazal! But it's actually not supposed to be a secret in the book. Part of the story is told from Shadow's point of view so we know the whole way through. :)

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  6. Wonderful review, Nicola! I have been meaning to get round to this after all the glowing reviews. I'm glad you were still able to enjoy it despite a few issues. :)

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  7. I loved this one! I like books that take place in one fun night. I actually loved both Lucy and Ed's thoughts. It was funny the way Lucy kept mentioning Shadow and what Ed felt and thought about when she was talking about him.

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Thanks SO much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it.

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