Cath Crowley
Release date: February 14th, 2012
by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Goodreads / Purchase
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.
*A copy was provided by Random House
Children's Books for review purposes*
I know nothing about graffiti, I know even less about art - why the heck
did I read this book? Well, for the same reason you should! It's an
incredibly sweet, delightfully romantic story that can not be on your unread shelf. Why?
-True to life, complex romance
-Artistic imagery that will enthrall any reader- art fanatic or not
-Characters that make you fall in love
-A story that is simply too gorgeous to be left unexplored
If this isn't enough to convince you, maybe you should go back to playing with Legos - or something.
I must admit, I did not get into the story right away. I don't know if it was the unique lyrical writing, or the artsy details, but I kept getting distracted. The writing, although beautiful, is much more elaborate than what I was expecting from a young-adult novel so it threw me off at first. However, once I got into it, I couldn't stop staring at these beautiful sentences that simply blew me away. Or these outstanding characters that do nothing less than take your heart, and pull you inside the pages.
Lucy is desperate to find this graffiti artist who calls himself Shadow. Ed is a lost soul who paints to find himself. We're taken into this story with a dual perspective that lets us see into each of these characters hearts; these characters who are notably profound, yet believable. I loved how they aren't stylized to fit the unconvincing image of prim and proper teenagers we often get in YA novels. These are real, raw personalities who express themselves with art, while trying to find their place in this big, unforgiving world. Cath does not soften the edges to make a cute, romantic story, she gives us a story so pure, so deep, that it bleeds out the truest of love stories.
There is a lot more in here than a love story, however. We see these kids struggle through real life problems - financial dilemmas, marital issues and death are all a part of this well rounded tale. It's undoubtedly a one of a kind novel that is bound to impress a wide range of readers, from young to adult. I'm glad that, despite my lack of artistic knowledge, I decided to give this one a try- and you should too!
-True to life, complex romance
-Artistic imagery that will enthrall any reader- art fanatic or not
-Characters that make you fall in love
-A story that is simply too gorgeous to be left unexplored
If this isn't enough to convince you, maybe you should go back to playing with Legos - or something.
I must admit, I did not get into the story right away. I don't know if it was the unique lyrical writing, or the artsy details, but I kept getting distracted. The writing, although beautiful, is much more elaborate than what I was expecting from a young-adult novel so it threw me off at first. However, once I got into it, I couldn't stop staring at these beautiful sentences that simply blew me away. Or these outstanding characters that do nothing less than take your heart, and pull you inside the pages.
Lucy is desperate to find this graffiti artist who calls himself Shadow. Ed is a lost soul who paints to find himself. We're taken into this story with a dual perspective that lets us see into each of these characters hearts; these characters who are notably profound, yet believable. I loved how they aren't stylized to fit the unconvincing image of prim and proper teenagers we often get in YA novels. These are real, raw personalities who express themselves with art, while trying to find their place in this big, unforgiving world. Cath does not soften the edges to make a cute, romantic story, she gives us a story so pure, so deep, that it bleeds out the truest of love stories.
There is a lot more in here than a love story, however. We see these kids struggle through real life problems - financial dilemmas, marital issues and death are all a part of this well rounded tale. It's undoubtedly a one of a kind novel that is bound to impress a wide range of readers, from young to adult. I'm glad that, despite my lack of artistic knowledge, I decided to give this one a try- and you should too!
 |
| 4 Hot Espressos |
