Title:  Graffiti Moon [indie bound] [amazon]
Author: Cath Crowley [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre:  Contemporary
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Series: None
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher (via Net Galley)
Parental Advisory: criminal activity, language, alcohol, drugs, sex
Teachable Moments: art, self-worth

Describing Venus (from publisher):
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.

How Mars & Venus Don’t Meet:
I must be an alien placed on Earth because pretty much everyone on I know who has read this book has loved it.  Yet, here I am….not adoring it.  I really could not get into this book at all.  Which, frankly, is a shame, because it was beautifully written.  Crowley does have the ability to create a beautiful piece of prose without being too wordy and descriptive.  She also knows how to set a mood.  Two things I typically enjoy in a book.  But here, it just fell flat.  I couldn’t connect to it at all.

I’m going to blame myself for this.  Perhaps I was looking for a more superficial read, something that lacked depth.  Graffiti Moon was definitely not that.  It had depth (in plot and character) in spades.  Yet, here I am….not adoring it.  It’s sad-making really, because so many people I admire and trust had such wonderful things to say about it.  But despite creating a book that I could in some ways compare to the movie Before Sunrise, the characters just didn’t grab me.  Despite it’s slow pace (which may be one of the biggest reason’s I didn’t enjoy it — I’ve never been good with slow reads) there was plenty of emotion, action, and development in each of the characters but not a single one grabbed me enough to make me want to root them on.  It didn’t matter to me if Lucy found Shadow or not, or if Ed was able to make something of his life, or if the others were able to find love, passion or whatever it was they were looking for.

So, yea, you get where I’m going with this right?  This is probably the one book in this feature that I honestly and truly feel like the issue was far more about me as a reader than anything related to the book.  I definitely think you should give it a go if it interests you.

Maybe your Mars & Venus Align:
My inability to get into this book should not be the only thing you hear.  I’d much prefer you end on a positive note.  Please visit these reviews to get more information and make a more informed choice:

Steph Su Reads
G-Reads!
Hobbitsies
Anna Reads