Book Review: Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Lucy and her friends celebrate the end of Year 12 by gallivanting around the city for a big night out.  Lucy is determined to find Shadow, a notorious local graffiti artist.  When the girls bump into Ed and his friends, Lucy’s not thrilled–the two have a history she’d rather forget–but her friends are intrigued.  When Ed says that he can help her find Shadow, she reluctantly agrees, not realizing that she’s closer to finding him than she ever imagined.

Cath Crowley’s book is narrated by three very distinct voices and takes place over the course of one night.  As the action rises, so does the tension, never losing its grip on the reader, who will fly through this one.  Crowley is a gifted writer, and her talent is on full display in this funny, beautiful novel about growing up and seeing the beauty in the world.

All of the main characters in Crowley’s book are remarkably well-drawn.  Lucy and Ed provide the majority of the narration, offering a he-said she-said sort of perspective to the night’s events (and to their shared past).  Ed’s friend Leo adds  some lovely poetry to the mix, providing a third perspective that allows the reader a little insight into what the others can see when they look at Lucy and Ed.  Each character has an extremely clear voice and is able to see beauty in the ordinary.  Each one is a talented artist in their own right.

The time spent describing art–the process of creating glass blown sculptures, the process of selecting a location and tagging it with spray paint art are some of the book’s strongest moments.  Crowley’s characters are in love with art, and it shows.  The amount of character development done through each character’s discovery of art itself is amazing.

Frequently funny with believable dialogue, this book zips by (but you’ll wish it didn’t).  Highly, highly recommended.  Released in Australia back in 2010 and available in the United States on February 14.

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. Knopf Books for Young Readers: 2012.  Electronic galley accepted for review via Netgalley.

Lists and Procrastination: 5 Things I’m Currently Obsessed With

Gentle Readers, welcome!  It’s time for another installment of Things I’m Currently Obsessed With.  Previous installments can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

1. State of Georgia on ABC Family

A half-hour sitcom starring Raven-Symone, Majandra Delfino, and Loretta Devine, State of Georgia centers around a recent college grad named Georgia (Symone) who has moved to NYC to become a star.  She lives with her wealthy aunt Honey (Devine) and her geeky best friend Jo (Delfino).  Hijinx ensue.

This happened accidentally.  I like Jennifer Weiner (I follow her on Twitter), and she kept tweeting about the show.  So I watched an episode.  Then I watched another.  And another.  I can safely say that I’m totally hooked, despite my initial hesitation.  I read several positive reviews of the series (one in the New York Times), and the general consensus is that it’s fun, light, and often really funny.  One reviewer remarked that Raven-Symone’s particular brand of humor is an acquired taste, and I have to agree.  But if you can get past that, there’s some genuinely sharp dialogue happening here, and it’s kind of awesome.

2. The Joy Formidable – Roarities EP

Generally, I’m not a fan of remixes.  When I heard that The Joy Formidable was releasing a new EP, I was stoked.  They’re one of my favorite bands right now.  When I heard it was comprised entirely of remixes, I was a little disappointed.  But when I actually took the time to listen to it, I was pleasantly surprised.  It works, you guys.  I particularly recommend the remix of “Austere” (remixed by The Naked & Famous, another of my favorite bands).  If you haven’t checked out this band from North Wales, you should.  They’re kind of noise-pop, but they’re more accessible than some other bands.

3.  Parks and Recreation on Netflix

A mockumentary in the same vein of The Office, Parks and Recreation follows the parks and rec department in Pawnee, Indiana.  It focuses specifically on Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), an enthusiastic but bumbling employee.  Although the first season got off to a rocky start, the show started to find its legs in its second season.  It is really smart, really funny, and amazingly well-cast.  Each episode gets better, and I can’t get through the series fast enough.  I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying it.

4. The creepy photographs featured in Ransom Riggs’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Author Ransom Riggs started collecting strange vintage photographs before he ever came up with the idea for his debut novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.  He decided to weave a story using some of the photographs, and the result is a strange novel indeed.  However, the photographs are absolutely haunting, and I’m more than a little obsessed with them.  He solicited photos from some famous collectors (because the really good, weird vintage pictures are hard to come by), and the result is pretty stunning, indeed.

You can read more about the collection here.

5. “Skyscraper” by Demi Lovato

This one is a little more than embarrassing, but I pride myself on both my candor and my relative transparency on this blog (except, for, you know, the fact that I use a fake name).  As someone who considers herself a pretty hardcore audiophile, admitting to even listening to a singer as innocuous as Demi Lovato is cringe-worthy, but owning up to the fact that I actually really like one of her songs?  That’s almost shameful.  Even so, there’s no denying that “Skyscraper” is pretty powerful.  Her voice has a raspy quality to it that works perfectly with the melodrama of the song.  I heard a snippet of an interview with her on the radio the other day, and she didn’t seem completely ridiculous.  I can’t explain it, you guys, but I’ve listened to this song a lot recently.