I Am The Messenger

I loved, loved, Markus Zusak's book The Book Thief. It has definitely found its way into my top twenty list. I was thrilled to find I Am The Messenger on one of those "We Recommend" shelves at Borders. Both Messenger and Book Thief are young adult books, but The Book Thief was smartly written, emotionally engaging and just all around fabulous. I figured that Messenger would follow the same rules. Unfortunately, no. While the premise was unique and interesting (a down and out cab driver gets chosen to right some wrongs and change lives in his town with the help of cryptic messages left on playing cards), the writing was simplistic and often trite and the ending belonged to the "say what?" category.

Too bad. Maybe I am judging it too harshly because of my overwhelming fondness for the other Zusak book I've read and the fact that it is a young adult book. Anyway, don't choose The Messenger as your entry into the literary world of Zusak - stick with The Messenger.