Review: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

(summary from goodreads)

Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That’s when the first Ace arrives. That’s when Ed becomes the messenger. . . .

Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission?


Review: Before reading this I had heard a lot of good things about Zusak's books, but I didn't have any expectations about I Am The Messenger. After reading this, however, I have very high expectations for his other books. 


The idea behind I Am The Messenger was a very unique one to say the least. It was fun to watch Ed go through different situations that ultimately taught him how to live his life and how to make something of himself. 


I though Ed was a wonderful character. He had true emotions and reactions and didn't seem like a teen aged character created by an adult; he had all the mannerisms of a teenager. Although I also loved Marv, Ritchie, and Audrey I just don't feel like I got to know them. They were each significant, but they felt more like a friend of a friend who you met once and never saw again. 


The plot was driven by finding out who was sending Ed the messages. I felt that the ending (which consisted of an explanation of the aforementioned sentence) was very fast and not very satisfying.*Spoiler alert. Highlight to read.* I just find it hard to believe that someone watched Ed for that long while making a plan and got that many people to cooperate with him. *End spoiler.* 


Overall though, this was a great book and hopefully it is only the first of many Markus Zusak books to come in my TBR pile.