Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

by:  Cath Crowley
published by:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
publish date:  February 14, 2012

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.
  This was one of those books I didn't have any special expectations for, but it caught my eye at the library.  I ended up really enjoying it.  The audiobook was very well done with an ensemble cast.

This was a very sweet, simple YA book.  There were no love triangles, no crazy cases of instalove.  It was just a good story about a some boys and girls that already knew each other, like most normal teens do, and the long night they spend together looking for Shadow and Poet.  Lucy and Ed have a past together that they would both rather forget, but they end up stuck together for the night and they both begin to remember what drew them to each other for their first awkward date.

The book is told from alternating view points of Lucy, Ed, and two of their friends.  For the audiobook, this is where the ensemble cast really works well.  A lot of YA books talk about art, but this one talked about two types of art that I hadn't really thought much about, glass-blowing and graffiti art.  I did find myself paying more attention to some of the graffiti as I drove around town after reading this book.

I haven't read of Cath Crowley's other books, but I would definitely recommend this one to the YA readers.  The audiobook was worth a listen for sure.  It would be great, quick beach read.