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Thursday 26 April 2012

Graffiti Moon


"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."

- Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowely

So I read this not too long ago... okay back in January and I've finally decided on to actually review books on my blog. I don't usually read contemporary books as much and this was the first in over a year (I think... my mind is like a goldfish sometimes) and it was surprisingly good! It was a short, fun, and enjoyable read.

Before I go further with this and I promise you this is not a spoiler don't worry but...
  • Shadow = Ed
  • Poet = Leo

Sorry just needed to clarify that before going any further, just avoiding some confusion I tend to refer both those characters by both names at times. 

PLOT

Basically the story is revolved around Lucy but the chapters alternate between Lucy, Shadow, and Poet although the Poet's chapters aren't consisted of a narrative of his point of view but of poems which was quite unique! I highly enjoyed that. Anyway moving on now, so the story begins with Lucy and it's here last day or should I say night of high school, finally finishing off Year 12 and she wants to spend this night looking for an unknown street graffiti artist by the name of "Shadow". On this exciting and adventurous night of stalking her beloved artist, Lucy somehow gets stuck with Ed. She's obviously way too busy looking for Shadow and really doesn't want anything to do with Ed but he claims to know who Shadow is and agrees to help her look for Shadow. So together they begin an all-nighter search for Shadow, visiting places where his works are displayed throughout the city. But what Lucy fails to realise is that the very person she is looking for has been right in front of her all along. 

CHARACTERS
  • Lucy: she a very real personality and quite relateable in my opinion... well on most things anyway. She was artistic, funny, independent, and smart. What I found interesting was that although she was just a normal average girl she was very strong as a character in ways you will learn when you read the book. 
  • Ed (Shadow): he had a sense of humour (thankfully) who is very passionate about his artworks, he tends to evoke his emotions and feelings right into his works a true artist indeed. Artworks don't lie though and he is a broken character as well an tries not to show it (that cutie), he was depressing at times and was loaded with insecurities about himself especially around Lucy. But somehow manages to cling to a glimmer of hope here and there thanks to Bert and Lucy.
  • Leo (Poet): Ed's best friend who has a thing for Jazz who is Lucy's best friend (what a coincidence), he's like Shadow's sidekick in the art world, and also suffers from insecurities here and there but overall a funny guy to hang around with. 
  • Al: an elderly man who owns an art studio in which Lucy works at in exchange for art lessons, he also makes his artworks out of glass which was surprisingly cool. Al is overall an awesomely nice character and is very supportive of Lucy, I seriously loved Al!  
  • Bert: another elderly man who owns an art supply shop in which Ed works at, he is like Ed's teacher in many ways, always encouraging Ed and is probably the reason why Ed didn't loose his mind to depression. 
Minor characters such as Jazz, Daisy, Dylan also contributed to the flow of this story, making it all the more enjoyable to read with their sarcastic, fun, and hilarious personalities.  


Can I just say the way some parts were written in this book really took me into another world... well not really but it's like I was actually looking at the artworks themselves. I swear if this is ever adapted into a movie I could imagine it being an awesomely artistic and trippy explosion of glory! And did anyone else think that  Shadow's graffiti artworks reminded you of Banksy's works?

It's amazing how so much happens in one night. WHAT?! Yes I said it, the whole story is set within one night yet their was so much exploring and discovery. Its's such a thin book if you ever come across this you'll know what I mean IT IS SO THIN! Yet Cath Crowley did such an amazing job at bring this story to life. Thank you Cath Crowley for writing such an amazingly beautiful book! Highly recommend it to all out there! 

5/5 SMILES!

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