I Am the Messenger in Pick-a-Shelf

Sep 02, 2011 Kellie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-for-trade, fiction-literature, 2011-reads

This was a wonderful book. I LOVE Ed Kennedy. I thought the idea of this book was enlightening and heart warming. The story is about Ed. He thwarts a bank robber and saves the lives of his friends and bank customers. The scene is actually humorous. I giggled through it. Soon after the attempted robbery gone bad, Ed receives the ace of diamonds in the mail. It has 3 addresses on it. So begins the life of The Messenger. Through Ed鈥檚 adventure, he shares his life with his friends Ritchie, Marv, Aud ...more

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Sep 02, 2020 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, coming-of-age, australia, read-in-2020, pbt-vote-challenge

Ed Kennedy is a cabdriver who spends most of his time playing cards with his friends. After Ed manages to stop a bank robber he begins receiving cards in the mail. Each card leads him to a person with a situation he needs to solve. I liked the main theme that even small acts can have a big impact and you don't have to be someone special to do good deeds. I loved Ed's dog, The Doorman. Ed's love for Audrey wasn't as well developed to me. I never really got why he was so interested in her. The end ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 Lorna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: realistic-fiction, friendship, young-adult, printz-award, ala-best-book, a-z-challenge-2015

This was a very different and original book! It was dark at times but I liked that it was also tender and funny.

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Jan 07, 2009 Luann rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, young-adult, fiction, adult, printz-honor

I didn't love this nearly as much as The Book Thief. The writing style from The Book Thief was there, although not quite as refined. Mostly, I just didn't care as much about the characters. And I'm still deciding how I feel about the ending.

I did really like the structure of the book and how the cards were used to carry the story along in addition to their symbolism in Ed's tasks or messages. And I did feel compelled to finish the story and find out how it ended. But if you are only planning to ...more

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Apr 26, 2020 Tehreem rated it really liked it

After reading some books I wonder how can they be placed in the category of children books or young adults, this is one of them. I think this book is meant for everyone and don't be discouraged from picking up this book because it doesn't fall in your age group category.

Sometimes, you come across a book that addresses themes that reflect your weird habits. Something that you won't normally admit to people, a habit that is not common and if you think about it for too long it is downright weird. T ...more

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May 02, 2009 Sunflower rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-read-2009

"Ed Kennedy. Taxi driver. Local loser. Cornerstone of mediocrity. Sexual midget. Pathetic card player. Weird-shit magnet." Via the delivery of a series of playing cards Ed is given challenges and finds that in caring for other people and finally himself, he discovers he can move beyond his self-defined limits.
The bits I liked best were his interactions with his dog, who smells terrible, drinks coffee, communicates in hilarious one-liners with his owner, and is described as a sage at the end of ...more

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Nov 14, 2007 Joanna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, 2009-read

I really enjoyed this book. Yes, the book followed a pretty set formula. Yes, it was sentimental. Still, the writing was brilliant and the characters were wonderful. The story traces a few months of Ed Kennedy's life as a lazy slacker post-high school. He drives a cab, plays cards with his friends, and lives in the small town where he grew up. Nothing much is happening in his life. Then, he begins the journey of the book. He starts receiving instructions for people to visit, and, somehow, he kee ...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Cora rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, metafiction, coming-of-age, australia, australian-author

Ed is a perfectly ordinary person living an ordinary life until one day he gets a playing card in the mail. The card has three addresses on it and soon Ed finds that people at those addresses need something. As Ed pushes himself to help others, both strangers and friends, he become more than ordinary. I really enjoyed reading this novel. I really liked all the characters and liked the variety of tasks that Ed tackled to complete the cards. I really appreciated the message that the author was try ...more

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