Book #44: I am the Messenger

Title: I am the Messenger
Author: Markus Zusak

Ed is a 19-year-old Australian guy without much going for him. His dad just died and his mom prefers his siblings. His friends are losers. He works as a cab driver and lives in a shack. Then he gets a series of messages from an unknown sender. When he figures out the puzzle and accomplishes the mission of these messages, he finds purpose and meaning in his life.

This is a cute story with a good message. It's ostensibly Young Adult literature, and although I think the message is geared toward a YA audience, it's a book filled with language and subject matter that make it more appropriate for the older end of the spectrum. But when I read Zusak's The Book Thief several months ago, I loved the freshness of the voice and the distinctiveness of the syntax and writing style. I thought it was because Death narrated The Book Thief. I thought Markus Zusak was writing that way on purpose. After reading this, I've discovered that's just the way Zusak writes. And now that I know all of his books are written with the same distinctive style, it sort of ruins my appreciation (in some way) for The Book Thief. Oh well...