I am the Messenger, Markus Zusak

 So, there I am, lounging on my best friend's bed while she's in the shower, when BAM, I find one of the greatest books I will have ever read on her bedroom floor (I'm probably overselling, so uh, I don't read many books... Yup, true story >>). I only make it through the first chapter when she waltzes through the door, but already I'm grinning like a maniac and developing an intense liking towards Ed Kennedy and his smart-ass friends.
The next day I get a little further, and then the day after it's done and dusted.
Quite frankly I haven't had such a reaction to a book since (the first time) I read White Fang. I laughed out loud and 'aww'ed ("Awr, Ed! <3", "Aw... Ed... )-':") so much I feel like I have to physically cuddle the book when I get my own copy.

 

AWWWWWWWWWR, ED!

Ed (just Ed) Kennedy is an immensely normal guy. His father has passed, his mother detests his existence, the girl he loves has brutally friend-zoned him, and his dog is cursed with an eternal stench. He's nineteen years old and hasn't achieved much, if anything at all, but all that changes when he stops the crappiest bank robbery to have ever occurred.


Receiving a series of aces in his mailbox, Ed follows the clues scrawled on the playing cards and aids in making strangers (and some non-strangers) lives better. Some of his tasks are small, and some are huge, but Ed manages to complete them all, and by the end of the book, he's practically a superhero minus the powers and spandex.
You just can't help but love Ed, and the rest of the cast. Even Daryl and Keith have replaced Darth Vader at the top of my villains list (though they're not really villians, but 'ey, was Anakin really the bad guy? Because, seriously, them Jedi's need to adjust some of their customs. Anywhoozle:), and The Doorman is officially the coolest dog ever. I think I became attached to every single person ( + one dog) in the book, and as I neared the ending I could feel myself dreading the moment I would reach the back cover.
Naturally though, I did, and for the next hour or so I was caught in that state where you think over the text, reminiscing in all your favorite parts as if you were an old man recalling your youth. It was beautiful.

I'm doing it again, darn.


... Ed is my new hero. He may be fictitious, but he taught me that anyone, even the most plain, dead-beat taxi driver, is capable of helping others and braving exploits us mere mortals leave to the men in blue. He's inspired me to speak up, not only for myself but for others as well.
I am confident 'I am the Messenger' will be a book I'll remember forever.

I love you, Markus Zusak.

 Markus Zusak definitely managed to place his name as one of my favorite living authors of today and it's 100% guaranteed that I am going to be buying every book of his I can get my hands on. His writing is just superb, and it was so easy to forget I was reading a book and imagine Ed was right there, telling me his amazingly wonderfully epic story.

cvhgjkfdhgjkbv AHHHHHHHHHHHHH, why did it have to end?!