Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Release Date: August 1st 2010
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Add it: Goodreads
Overall: ♥♥♥♥

Graffiti Moon pleasantly surprised me! At first, I couldn't get into the story alot and I put the book down, read the worst thing ever (see Halo review) and then picked this back up! I'm so glad I did, I honestly feel there was nothing wrong with the book apart from the fact I wasn't in the mood for it at the time and the beginning didn't *grab* me.

Lucy is going on a night out with two of her friends to celebrate the end of Year 12 (it IS a pretty good reason, although I spent a good deal crying on my Grad night).. ANYWAY. The main character, Lucy spends most of her night looking for a guy named 'Shadow', who leaves beautiful art all over the city. The kind of art Shadow creates gives Lucy the illusion that this is somebody she could really be in a relationship with. After attending a seriously dodgy party, she ends up looking for Shadow with a guy named Ed, who's nose she broke after he grabbed her arse (hahahaha, this is the reason I love Lucy).

Graffiti Moon is told from both Ed and Lucy's prespective as well as Ed's best friend, Leo.
I adored the different perspectives in this as it didn't feel forced and Crowley has created characters that are in depth and lovable. At first, I thought Lucy was going to be another idiot who wanted some guy she didn't know, however, the further into the story you get, the more you grow to love her. Cath Crowley has this amazing way with words and awesome ability to create three dimensional characters! Not only did the primary characters have depth, the parents/guardians/bosses also did and we see even less of them than we do any other character! I honestly believe it's Crowley's storytelling ability that creates such great characters and such a nicely-flowing story. The thing I loved most about this is that we see character growth, and although the book is only one night, the growth is gradual and subtle and you don't realise how much they've grown until the book has ended! Lucy's friends, Jazz and Daisy are great supporting characters and I loved Jazz in particular!

Ed is another character I adored, he isn't mentioned to be the "hot guy" (although, I just get the impression he is seriously hot), he is completely real and you feel the pain he goes through. Ed's friends were also awesome and deep for secondary characters, including Dylan! I found Leo to be incredibly moving and emotional, I know so many people like Leo (except they don't write poetry) and his character captures the essence of someone completely real. He was awesome! Although I wasn't as invested in Dylan and Leo's relationships as I was with Ed and Lucy, I still loved them and they are possibly some of the best secondary characters!!

Although I thought I was going to be bored, the story overall was lovely and promising. I became incredibly attached to Ed and Lucy, but I wasn't on the edge of my seat. Which, I suppose is a nice change! This was still an incredibly compelling and addictive story once the ball started rolling and I read this in two sittings!!

I'm SO glad this is being published in the US because Australian authors tend to create, deep and meaningful characters and stories (YAY AUSTRALIA!) and Ms. Crowley definitely keeps up the standard! (Although, this does not include Halo-she gives Australia a bad name)

PS-I put the US cover because I like the US cover better :) it's really pretty!!

Thankyou Netgalley for providing me with this for review