I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak is about Ed Kennedy, an average nineteen-year-old living in the town he grew up in without much future prospects. That is, until he stops a bank robbery! Just after his instant fame, strange messages begin arriving in the mail, printed on playing cards. The first card, the ace of diamonds, simply has three addresses and times printed on it. At first, Ed thinks it might be one of his friends sending him the messages, but as he works to solve the mystery, he soon realizes that they are coming from someone else entirely. When he goes to each address at the designated times, he sees people who need something from him. One woman and her daughter need his help to escape an abusive man, one girl needs help with her confidence, one family just needs something to brighten their spirit, a priest needs help filling his church, etc. On and on it goes, until the final card is revealed - the Joker. Through helping all of the people on these cards, Ed learns a lot about himself and what he wants to make of his life.

This was an excellent book - I loved it. It is definately for a more mature audience due to language, violence, and other physical scenes. I would even suggest this book for high-school or adults. The message (and messenger) in this book was incredible. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author.