I Am The Messenger

Zusak, M. (2005). I am the messenger. NY: Alfred A Knopf.

Ed Kennedy is a 19 year old taxi driver that lives with his dad's old dog that stinks call the "Door Man".  He is going no where until he stops a robbery at the bank.  Then these mysterious playing cards start showing up with names or addresses.  He has to find out what is wrong and fix their problems.  He is friends with Marv and Ritchie and Audrey who he is in love with.  His mother is horrible to him and treats him very bad.  In the end he finds that it was all about him fixing his life. 

I really enjoyed this story and was waiting to find out how he was going to solve their problems and figure things out.  I think this would be a great book for 10-12 grade students to read and study about life choices and the development of the plot.

I loved the plot in this book.  It left you wondering until the end as to who was setting up all these situations that Ed had to figure out.  It made his mundane life seem more interesting and as if he had a purpose in life.  He was finally able to stand up to his mother and let Audrey know how he felt.  These playing cards gave him the confidence to do things that he would never had done before.