dio's Reviews > Blue Graffiti

“I thought about our lives, and the graffiti of our town. We each left our mark. We are cracks in sidewalks, bent street signs, rusted gutters and train tracks.”

Blue Graffiti is a book I have been waiting for since June 15 2023, the very first moment it was announced. It has now been a few weeks since I first read the book and have been unable to finish this review as I was struggling to put my feelings and love for this book into words, but I’m gonna try again.
A big thank you to unnamed press for providing me with an arc and allowing me to read this debut💙

In this book you follow the main character, Cash, throughout his days in Johnston, from his work to drinking with his friends, while every few chapters making jumps to his childhood, his complicated and hard relationship with his father, the loss of his mother, friends he’s lost and gained, and many more good, bad, and complicated memories.
It’s a beautiful and sometimes heavy story about love, grief, faith, and freedom and it is easily one of the best books I’ve ever read. It cuts open your chest and places itself inside to stay with you long after you finish it. The way the words wrap themselves around your mind in such a raw and beautiful way makes sure of that.

Throughout the book I was so in awe of the way Cash’ thoughts and feelings were written and described. Calahan’s ability to transform the most complicated and heavy feelings into words is admirable and forces the reader to confront their own emotions.
“When Doctor Clark gave us the news there was nothing alive in the depths of my chest. There was no soul. No heart. No guts. I was cavernous.”

“There is no way to go through the world and not have our name in the heavens, written by someone who knew us.”
While the characters were not perfect and all had their own flaws, they felt real and you grow to love them as you follow them.
Especially the relationship between Cash and Rose, which was one of my favourite parts of the book. They were two people, both having dealt with loss and tragedy, finding each other and healing.
“If you write mine, then I’ll write yours.”


“We are nails in wooden boards, handprints in cement. We are creaks in the doors of diners, stains from cigarettes. We are streaks of graffiti, blue as the sky.”




Pre-read, 15 June 2023:
I really cannot wait for this I love him