Reviews

I don't know why I was so surprised to love this book so much. After all, The Book Thief and Bridge of Clay written by this author are two of my favourite books. Now I can add this one to that list as well. I loved the characters in this book--all the characters!. I loved Ed, the underage cab driver who is the protagonist in this book, and his many friends, family and acquaintances. Ed is not prepared for a life-changing event when he reads a playing card in the mail, the ace of hearts, but he embarks on a journey that will totally change his life. Ed becomes the Messenger, and the last hope for some of the people that he meets through the direction of the cards. ""Protect the diamonds, survive the clubs, dig deep through the spades, feel the hearts."-Markus Zusak - I Am the Messenger. This book is poignant, sweet, sad, touching, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. The story for Ed begins when he inadvertently stops a bank robber. That's when the cards start arriving, and that's when Ed becomes the Messenger. Ed is an underachieving, unsure of himself teenager whose best fir\iend is an aging, smelly Labrador by the the name of the Doorman. By the time his quests are complete, Ed becomes a confident, caring young man with a girlfriend he adores. I highly recommend this book. The book is set in and around Christmas, so it was a wonderful book to read at the end of November. I highly recommend this book. Its one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time.

mariethelibrarian's review against another edition

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5.0

DO NOT READ THE LAST 100 PAGES IN PUBLIC YOU'LL PROBABLY CRY. It was so good and some stunning lines and the message was so great and I loved it. Zusak is wonderful.

titanic's review against another edition

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5.0

I often find that the beginning of books are boring, but as this book starts by Ed and his friends being held up in a bank, I can't help but feel it grab my attention. It's unique, and I find myself reading it for hours at a time.

The most adorable of things has to be how much Ed cares for his dog, the Doorman, and even when two men break into his house, he wakes and asks about his dog straight away. Gosh, Ed's a great character (even if he did attempt to kill a man)!

I really enjoy mystery books and I'm so glad that this one didn't let me down, the whole puzzle of who's sending the cards had me hooked. It was such a great read and I honestly have nothing bad to say about it.

meiklejohn's review against another edition

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Deeply unpleasant.

carlylevan's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

abdus's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

ablotial's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a very interesting book. From the start, I wasn't sure I was going to like it due to the language, topics, and in particular the way in which some topics were discussed. In the first few chapters, I was already skeptical of this being a book for teenagers -- and the more I read, the more I think this is definitely an ADULT book. The topics/messages it covers are pretty heavy reading!

But I did like the story and the message(s) in the end. It's the story of a 19 year old boy named Ed and the (incredibly strange) way in which he became a better person, and caused others to become better people as well. Ed originally finds a single playing card in his mail with a series of addresses on it, which he determines are places where he needs to help someone out. Once he completes those three tasks, he receives a new card with new people to help, etc, etc. And I'm sure you can guess who the last person is who he is supposed to help ... awwwww...

Anyway, I can't say much more than that without giving far too much away. If you don't mind some swearing and vulgarity and a sort of ... desperation? It really is an interesting story and kind of heart-warming and nice in the end. I'd recommend it. To adults.

And now, some of my thoughts/complaints about spoilerific things....

Spoiler

I found it incredibly, no, impossibly strange that Audrey knew just what to do with the addresses and times. After all, there were absolutely no instructions given at all, just addresses and times. I thought for sure that he was supposed to be at those addresses at those times THAT DAY, and that by waiting days/weeks before going, he was missing out on ... whatever it would turn out to be. Suffice to say, I was wrong, but how in the world did Audrey know that? I guess she was in on it. (Or possibly, if my theory is right [keep reading] the author just made her say it even though she would have no way of knowing it so that the story could happen.)

I didn't like that not all of the stories were given to us as deeply as others. Some of the people he gave messages to I felt like they were real characters, like we got to know them. Others barely even made a mark. I guess maybe that was part of the point but ... I dunno. I would have liked to hear more about the ice-cream mom. And I would have liked a better message for the Rose boys (was anything really actually solved?). And I think he should have gone for the running chick instead of Audrey, even if she was a few years younger. That wouldn't matter forever...

Finally, the ending. What the hell? There is absolutely no conclusion there, nothing is really explained! I am pretty sure that I think it's the author breaking the fourth wall -- i.e., the guy who wrote the notes is Zusak himself, in the way that sometimes you see the artist's hand come into a cartoon and pick up the cartoon character and turn it around or whatever. The manuscript he gave Ed began exactly the same way as this book, he knew things about the future that a book character couldn't possibly have known, he said he had killed Ed's father ... some kind of all knowing, god-like dude. So... the author.

Either that or it's Ed imagining it all "Fight Club" style.

Thoughts?

If you've read the book, I'd love your thoughts on the ending -- please feel free to read my spoilerific thoughts about it under the spoiler link above!

bellsthekitten's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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