I don't know why I was so surprised to love this book so much. After all, The Book Thief and Bridge of Clay written by this author are two of my favourite books. Now I can add this one to that list as well. I loved the characters in this book--all the characters!. I loved Ed, the underage cab driver who is the protagonist in this book, and his many friends, family and acquaintances. Ed is not prepared for a life-changing event when he reads a playing card in the mail, the ace of hearts, but he embarks on a journey that will totally change his life. Ed becomes the Messenger, and the last hope for some of the people that he meets through the direction of the cards. ""Protect the diamonds, survive the clubs, dig deep through the spades, feel the hearts."-Markus Zusak - I Am the Messenger. This book is poignant, sweet, sad, touching, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. The story for Ed begins when he inadvertently stops a bank robber. That's when the cards start arriving, and that's when Ed becomes the Messenger. Ed is an underachieving, unsure of himself teenager whose best firiend is an aging, smelly Labrador by the the name of the Doorman. By the time his quests are complete, Ed becomes a confident, caring young man with a girlfriend he adores. I highly recommend this book. The book is set in and around Christmas, so it was a wonderful book to read at the end of November. I highly recommend this book. Its one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. ( )

Started out interestingly but it ended up going on too many juvenile tangents and too much of what is happening has no explanation. I didn't see any kind of growth, and the MC continuously kept just being silly and without agency. Maybe I was too impatient but over halfway through the book, I still felt like the story hadn't made a single step of progress toward anything tangible.
And honestly, the MC is just stupid. This is part of the premise of the story of course, but it doesn't get any better.
The author tries to portray a gritty and unforgiving world but at the end of the day, most of it is still childishly naive despite the many darker elements. ( )

I listened to the book on Cd, and loved being read to in an Australian accent. It was wonderful! I love this book. It takes you on an emotional roller coaster and makes you think more about the strangers you meet everyday. It makes me wonder what they need in their lives. What their "Message" could be. I almost want to be a messenger. ALMOST. Not too sure about the ending, but at least it was a happy one. I love Audrey and Ed, oh, and the Doorman. Ritchie I'd like to hang out with.

No worries! ( )

Flawed brilliant novel ( )

I was all for a five star rating for this book... until the end. I thought the conclusion was rushed, made almost no sense, and therefore left me quite unsatisfied with a book that I absolutely loved reading for the first 95% of it.

Ed Kennedy is a cab driver in an unnamed Australian town. He is 19 years old, and does little except work, and hang out with his three best friends, and his smelly old dog. But he begins to get cryptic messages written on playing cards, which he must first decipher, and then act on; completing the task that an unknown person has set before him. Some tasks are easy; some very hard. Some make him feel very good; others terrible. The big mystery is... who is the puppetmaster sending him the cards, and other messages? And that is what is so irritating about the ending. ( )