Audiobook Review: Graffiti Moon

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Release Date ~ February 14, 2012
Random House Audio Publishing Group
ISBN13: 9780307968180
Audio book downloaded from Audible

Goodreads Synopsis:

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.

Graffiti Moon is one of those books that really needs to be aborbed properly; you hear the words, and let them sink in for their full affect until you're completely wrapped up in this dreamlike contemporary story.

There were a number of things I really loved about Graffiti Moon, yet a few areas I found lacking. It's deeply moving at times, humourous at others, yet it still felt to me like it lacked a certain charm.

1.  Words that ebb and flow:
   
   I'm so glad I listened to this one on audio, because the prose-like writing in some passages is totally meant to be read aloud. And the writing style really lends to the story's setting, because it gives the whole book this sort of dreamlike quality to it which is perfect for a book that takes place in the middle of the night. And I loved that there was this huge emphasis on art, and different kinds of art, and how it doesn't always have to be traditional.
2. Humour, anticipation, and romance:
   
   First of all, this is definitly my kind of sense of humour. I loved the jokes, and the quirky little bits - like how Lucy punched Ed and broke his nose on their first date after he tried to make a move on her. I loved how they could laugh things off and (eventually) move on. And there's just so much build-up to all the various, mixed-up subplots that the anticipation just keeps building and BUILDING until you're waiting for it to explode. And for them to just make out already.
3. Very much a coming of age tale:
   
   There's a strong theme of growing up and change which is prevelant in Graffiti Moon; and I just loved seeing how these various characters gradually evolved throughout the night and really got to know each other, and themselves, a bit better. And of course, this ultimately leads up to some drastic changes for a couple of characters.

And while I had hoped I would fall in love with this story much like most other readers had, I still felt like something was lacking. It took me a little while to get into the story and connect with the characters, because there felt like a few too many subplots were moving forward for me. I prefer to focus on one or two central, and keep the rest to a minimum. Otherwise it just feels like background noise.

But mostly I felt like there was all of this build up (which I loved)... but with very little by the end. I'd be anxiously listening, waiting to hear what happesn next, holding my breath... only to be caught off guard by rather small conclusions and responses taking place. It was like blowing up a balloon only to watch it slowly fizzle out.

So while I really did like it, especially the poetic writing style and phrases (which are gorgeous and I could read passages from this book without needing any context at all, just little snippets of prose) and I loved the emphasis on art and growing up- I didn't LOVE it. It failed to move me the way I had hoped it would.

Thoughts on the audio:

I'm a big fan of audio books that feature multiple narrators, so having three voices: one for Lucy, one for Ed, and one for Poet worked really well for me. Plus, they all fit the personality of each character SO well & I love listening to accents. No complaints here!
Purchase Links

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