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More copies of this ISBN:I Am the Messengerby Markus Zusak
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. Synopses & ReviewsPublisher 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:"Australian cabdriver Ed Kennedy is 19, aimlessly lurching into adulthood when he thwarts a bank robbery in the hilarious opening scene of this gritty, gripping and ultimately romantic mystery. Ed's 15 minutes of fame set his life in a new direction: he begins receiving playing cards with cryptic clues, such as addresses or names unknown to him. Following these clues leads him to intervene in the lives of others. In the most chilling bit, a gun appears in his mailbox, which he assumes is intended for his use in dealing with a man who is brutalizing his wife. The assignments don't get more violent but they do get more personal, such as those involving Ed's mother, 'one of those tough women you couldn't kill with an axe,'and his lovable misfit mates — Ritchie, Marv and Audrey. Zusak takes the subtleties of family dynamics, previously examined in his Fighting Ruben Wolfe and Getting the Girl, to a new level here. As the novel progresses, even Ed's unsympathetic parents take on three dimensions. The author artfully pulls readers through the many plot twists, building to a startling revelation. The metafictional ending may strike some readers as a shortcut, but it's sure to spark discussion, and readers will remember the characters long after they close the book. Even Ed's rank-smelling dog, The Doorman, is well-drawn. Graphic situations (both violent and sexual) mark this as a book for more sophisticated readers. Don't start this compulsively readable book without enough time to read it straight through to the final page. Ages 12-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) 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. About the AuthorMarkus 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. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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