I AM THE MESSENGER

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak is a contemporary fiction novel about Ed Kennedy, a young, unremarkable cabdriver who becomes the messenger for a mysterious series of tasks after stopping a bank robbery. The tasks arrive via playing cards—Ace of Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts, and Spades—and lead Ed through the city on a journey of helping and hurting people, all while he struggles with his own life and unrequited love for his best friend, Audrey. The book is described as a darkly funny, suspenseful, and uplifting story about an ordinary person discovering their potential, and it concludes with a great puzzle about the mission’s originator.