I am the Messenger Review

Title: I Am the Messenger
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: YA, Realistic Fiction

Blurb: 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?

Me: And Zusak's done it again...my heart's in pieces, my mind's blown, my eyes are just sweating, I promise. 

The Ups: After literally worshiping The Book Thief for the past few years, I was a little hesitant and quite nervous to read another Zusak book. I didn't want it to ruin my pristine picture of the author in  my mind.

I shouldn't have worried- I Am The Messenger is INCREDIBLE. First of all, and most importantly, Zusak does what he does best: character. The entire premise of the book can perhaps be summed up as Ed coming into people's lives when they need someone most. The needs vary from escape from abuse to just the small joy of knowing someone cares about you. Ed is one of the most fascinating characters out of all of them- a disappointment to his family, not finding much purpose in his daily routine of being a taxi driver at age 18. But he has the capacity to care about others.

So he follows the cards and he meets these characters that even though we only get small glimpses of their lives, they are so fully alive. Zusak doesn't shy away from or sugarcoat a single moment. Case in point: one of the most beautiful moments in the entire book was when Ed sees from afar the family to whom he gifted Christmas lights stand outside and admire them. So simple, but Zusak captures every facet of that moment in his words.

His words. Oh my. Zusak's prose is possibly my favorite in the entire world. It reads so easily yet occasionally blows my mind with these completely unexpected descriptions that just capture life so perfectly. It is simple yet captivating. It spans such a large variety of tones and characters.

And lastly, the ending left me in smithereens. Without spoiling too much, I usually don't like books that seem to have a clear moral or meaning- those books tend to be shallow. But this book ends in a GENIUS way that made me completely rethink the way I lived, and infused me with a simple unsaid message that I was amazed by.

The Downs: My one thing with this book was the beginning. It didn't seem like a very good start to the book- it made me abandon reading this two times. Still, absolutely worth getting past-

Overall: ZUSAK IS A GENIUS & MY FAVORITE AUTHOR OF ALL TIME.

“My arms are killing me. 
I didn't know words could be so heavy."

“Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of."

"I want words at my funeral. But I guess that means you need life in your life." 

Rating: Beat every scale I ever had.