Juvenile Fiction
Random House of Canada
2006 (first published 2002)
ebbok
357
Overdrive
2006 Michael L. Printz Honor Book
protect the diamonds
survive the clubs
dig deep through the spades
feel the hearts
Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.
That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.
That's when Ed becomes the messenger.
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?
I have a copy of Zusak’s book “The Book Thief” sitting on my bookshelf. I bounced off it when I tried it awhile back, and have always meant to try again (I guess that’ll come true here after a few more books….). Having bounced off a previous book, I approached this one with trepidation.
I was fearful for absolutely no good reason because I loved this book. It has that fairy tale quality that appeals to me so much. Was it real or wasn’t it? Does it really matter?
I’ve been thinking for more than a week about what to say when I write about this book, adn I still haven’t come up with anything very good that might express why I think someone else should read this. “Because you should” isn’t very compelling.
The intricate plotting, the lovely language, the likeable characters (who are definitely not perfect…), and the powerful message of doing good, even if the good things is as simple as a buying someone an ice cream cone: all of this combine (with lots of other awesome bits) to make up what I loved about this book. So go read it, because you should.
