Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I Am The Messenger

Ed is the main character in the young adult novel, I Am The Messenger, by Markus Zusak.  Ed is basically a guy who isn't going anywhere. He drives a cab and has three friends, but they are not that close or perhaps they are.  They just don't talk about anything too deeply or do they?  He is secretly in love with one of them; however, she, Audrey, stops herself from loving anyone because of an abusive childhood.

Ed finds himself face down and then running when he stops a bank from being robbed by shooting the bank robber.  The local paper shows his picture prominently and declares Ed as the one who saved the day.

Shortly after, Ed starts receiving Aces one by one from a deck of cards over several months.  He receives an Ace for each suit with three addresses or hints scrawled on each card about people he must help.  Ed must (and I mean must) decipher each situation in order to figure out who he needs to help and how to help each one.  Then, he must follow through and actually help, or in terms of the title, bring a message to that person.  Some assignments are easy and heart-rendering; others are dangerous and violent.

Ed thinks he's finished after completing the 12 orders.  Then, he recieves one more card and finds out that he may not be a messenger at all.

I Am The Messenger is another best-selling, award-winning book by Markus Zusak, also the author of The Book Thief.  I recommend it for teens and older as a book about finding out who you are and what you really can do in life.

4 comments:

  1. I read this one awhile ago. I'm not really sure I enjoyed it.

    Thanks for visiting my blog yesterday.

    If you enjoy the history of Ireland, I recommend The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey. I reviewed it in February and I loved it!

    As for "The Book Thief" it's one of my favourites. I don't think i've heard a bad thing about it. Don't get your hopes up too high, sometimes that spoils the book. Honestly, I loved it!

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  2. Great review! This sounds like a really good story. I loved The Book Thief so I'd probably enjoy I Am The Messenger as well.

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  3. This is the first review I've seen of I Am The Messenger and it sounds intriguing! Will need to read The Book Thief first, since it's been on my shelf for quite some time...

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  4. I like I am Messenger a lot and posted on it last year-The Book Thief is of a higher order but I am The Messenger is for sure worth reading-I enjoyed your post a lot

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