Review: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Title: I Am the Messenger
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: YA - Literary Fiction

"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?" ~See it on Goodreads

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Why did I wait so long to read I Am the Messenger?! I mean really. I’d read The Book Thief (which you absolutely must read if you haven’t already) a few years ago and it became one of my favorite books of all time because I loved it so much. I’d had I Am the Messenger on my bookshelf for quite awhile but for some reason I never really seemed to get around to it until now, and I’m so ridiculously glad I did! 

Markus Zusak’s writing is truly amazing, I has an almost poetic quality to it and it draws you in so completely you feel somewhat like you’re in a dream of sorts. Or at least that’s how I felt lol. This book has such a powerful message but it’s not presented in a forceful/obnoxious way, you come upon it gently but it’s extremely moving. To put it simply this book was just pure brilliant.

The characterization was complete perfection. Each character was wonderfully developed and had their own unique personality traits, and that made them even more real and relatable. I also loved the fact that all of the minor characters weren’t lacking in their development; I’ve seen that before in some books, the main characters are great but then the minor characters are just kind of flat. But I’m extremely glad that this was most definitely not the case in this book.

I know this book is listed as YA, and I know nowadays some YA books can be borderline adult with some of the content. And for me with this book the graphic content and language made it feel more like an adult book. And I didn’t have an issue with the content personally, but I know some people might not approve of their younger teens reading it just yet.

There were so many amazing quotes throughout this book, I could sit here and list so many of them but I won’t haha. I think my top favorite quotes would have to be: 

“Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are.” 

"It's not the place, it's the person."

“If a guy like you can stand up and do what you did, then maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of. ”

I enjoyed reading this book so very much and I highly recommend it!

4.5 Stars!