I Am The Messenger is by Markus Zusak (who wrote The Book Thief), and is probably suitable for girls and boys, 14 and up. Ed Kennedy is pretty much your average 19 year old. His life pretty much revolves around underage cab driving, playing cards, his coffee drinking dog, and just generally being hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. But, on a seemingly ordinary day, Ed, the civilian without many prospects, inadvertently stops a bank robbery. And that's when his whole world is turned upside down and the first ace arrives in the mail. Ed is now 'The Messenger'. Tasked with the cryptic and vague job of helping and hurting (where needed), Ed makes his way through his assignments. The only thing left to find out is… Who's behind Ed's mission?
The characters are instantly likeable, and Ed's honesty and smart Alec nature makes him the person you root for throughout the whole book; I genuinely wish I knew Ed, simply because how great and funny a guy he is. Zusak has a unique, remarkable talent for being able to make me laugh and cry all within the space of a few pages. It's difficult to describe, but the book reads with a sort of rhythm and pace and is yet another example of Zusak's incomparable skill. The book is funny and self deprecating, the second chapter entitled: 'sex should be like maths: an introduction to my life'.
The moral; the story, so to speak, of the book is beautiful and poignant, and you won't realize just how attached you've become to it until the end. I found my perspective of things irrevocably changed after reading this. I would give this book a well deserved 4/5 stars.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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