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Original Essays | April 30, 2013

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I Am the Messenger

by

I Am the Messenger Cover

 

Staff Pick

I've got to hand it to Australian author Markus Zusak: this book single-handedly made me want to be a better person. As a lifelong reader, I feel a book like this, one that can really change people, comes around so rarely that Zusak must be recognized as the innovative and fascinating author he is.
Recommended by Jill S., Powell's City of Books

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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?

Winner of the 2003 Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.

Review:

"Zusak's characters, styling, and conversations are believably unpretentious, well conceived, and appropriately raw. Together, these key elements fuse into an enigmatically dark, almost film-noir atmosphere..." School Library Journal

Review:

"...Zusak succeeds brilliantly." Booklist (Starred Review)

Review:

"Funny, engrossing, and suspenseful." KLIATT, Starred

Review:

"A touching and intriguing exploration of the need to live one's life significantly, to value the richness knowing one another brings along with its terrible vulnerability." The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, (Starred Review)

Review:

"[A] wild ride of a novel..." VOYA

Synopsis:

Winner of the 2003 Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, this tale is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.

Synopsis:

protect the diamonds

survive the clubs

dig deep through the spades

feel the hearts

 

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

 

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

 

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?

A 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book and recipient of five starred reviews, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.

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About the Author

Markus Zusak is the author of Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Getting the Girl. He lives in Sydney, Australia, where he writes, occasionally works in a real job, and plays for a losing soccer team.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 8 comments:
mizmeliss87, January 1, 2012 (view all comments by mizmeliss87)
I love Markus Zusak's writing style. He writes as his characters would think and talk. The book is written from the perspective of a 19 year old Australian boy who is trying to figure out his place in the world. He is a flawed character who makes mistakes, takes forever to act, and can retreat far into himself. His flaws make him human and his struggles make the reader think. This book challenges readers to think beyond a good story and to ask the tough ethical questions of the grey areas in life. As Ed Kennedy struggles to answer the questions of "who am I?" and "What the hell am I doing with my life?" the reader in turn asks the same questions. Ed is challenged in the story but at the same time, he challenges readers as well.
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hbrophy, January 15, 2011 (view all comments by hbrophy)
I couldn't put this down...I love Markus Zusak's voice...after all, in some small way we are all messengers...
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pixie cat, April 8, 2008 (view all comments by pixie cat)
A remarkable story and amazingly addictive. Really tells you that sometimes the smallest acts of love can really change another person’s world. For the better.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780375836671
Author:
Zusak, Markus
Publisher:
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Subject:
General
Subject:
Self-Esteem
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General
Subject:
Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
Subject:
Heroes
Subject:
Social Issues - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
Subject:
General Juvenile Fiction
Subject:
Children s Middle Readers-General
Subject:
Mysteries & Detective Stories
Copyright:
2006
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
20060531
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Grade Level:
from 7
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
368
Dimensions:
8.00x5.25x.76 in. .60 lbs.
Age Level:
12-17
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Related Subjects


Children's » Awards » Michael L. Printz Award Winners
Children's » General
Children's » Historical Fiction » General
Children's » Middle Readers » General
Children's » Oregon Battle of the Books
Featured Titles » Bestsellers
History and Social Science » World History » General
Young Adult » Featured Titles
Young Adult » Fiction » Social Issues » Self-Esteem and Self-Reliance
Young Adult » General

I Am the Messenger New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$10.99 In Stock
Product details 368 pages Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers - English 9780375836671 Reviews:
"Staff Pick" by ,

I've got to hand it to Australian author Markus Zusak: this book single-handedly made me want to be a better person. As a lifelong reader, I feel a book like this, one that can really change people, comes around so rarely that Zusak must be recognized as the innovative and fascinating author he is.

by Jill S.
"Review" by , "Zusak's characters, styling, and conversations are believably unpretentious, well conceived, and appropriately raw. Together, these key elements fuse into an enigmatically dark, almost film-noir atmosphere..."
"Review" by , "...Zusak succeeds brilliantly."
"Review" by , "Funny, engrossing, and suspenseful."
"Review" by , "A touching and intriguing exploration of the need to live one's life significantly, to value the richness knowing one another brings along with its terrible vulnerability."
"Review" by , "[A] wild ride of a novel..."
"Synopsis" by , Winner of the 2003 Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award in Australia, this tale is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.
"Synopsis" by , protect the diamonds

survive the clubs

dig deep through the spades

feel the hearts

 

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

 

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.

 

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?

A 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book and recipient of five starred reviews, I Am the Messenger is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.
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