I am Le Messenger

Okay. So a couple days ago I was wasting time Googling things WHEN - I saw this link for a list of teen romance novels. Yes, yes it sounds bad. Lots of pimply sexual tension and kissing. But this was some Serious List Action.
And so I naturally reserved everything on it, because it actually looked pretty legit.
So the first book off the list I got from the beautiful, bountiful downtown library was I am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak. It's quite possibly one of the coolest and most frustrating books I have ever read.

COOL THINGS ABOUT I AM THE MESSENGER:
1. It is set in Australia. I challenge you to find Australia uncool.
2. The main character is named Ed Kennedy. Ed. Kennedy. I don't know why his name is neat-sounding, it just it.
3. Ed Kennedy (Zoh My God, I figured it out: His first name is in his last name. Maaaadness!) is an underage cab driver. (I guess you have to be twenty to drive "cabs" in Oz.) He's nineteen.
4. The book starts off when he and his friends are in a bank. And it is being robbed. Bank robberies do, in reality, suck, but in theory they are cool.
5. Ed is sent Mysterious Messages written on playing cards, specifically aces.
6. The messages lead him to find people who need to be helped.
7. There's a party in a church. A legit party, with music and free beer.

FRUSTRATING THINGS ABOUT I AM THE MESSENGER:
1. There is actually only one thing I found really frustrating: The ending.
Throughout the book, Ed et al are all "Who is sending these f*#&ing cards". And they do find out.
KIND OF.

The first time I read the ending, I was literally like: "WHAT THE F@*%, THIS ANSWERS NONE OF MY QUESTIONS THIS BOOK SUCKS SO MUCH ASS!!!"

Then I took a chill pill and read it again.
And again.
And again.

And I have come to the revelation that *even* if the ending is a LITTLE BIT OF A COP OUT (are you  listening to the Mind Messages I am sending you, Mark Zusak? Yeah, I thought so), this is still one of the coolest books I have read in a long, long time.
The characters all actually seemed like normal people, and Ed was/is really just a likeable, normal guy dealing with some really, really crazy stuff.

I am trying *really hard* to not leak any spoilers, so here goes: AFTER THE JUMP THERE ARE SPOILERS AND A RANT. READ AT YOUR OWN PERIL, SUCKERS.
So I'll insert my summary here:
I Am The Messenger is by Mark Zusak, a young Aussie who used to drive cabs.
It is definitely worth reading, but be prepared to slow down at the end so you fully process what is going on. The characters and (most of) the plot kick ass.
7/10, ka-ZAM!

I'm saying my adieus here also....

Sayonara,
Radical

'Kay, so Behind the Jump Curtain, here's what's going on:
It turns out that Ed's whole journey, his whole life: was written by this dude who visits him and is all, "I leave you my notes and shit, I'm sorry for all the crap, aren't you a better person now?"

The whole Your Life Was Written By Someone Else, You Are a Figment of Their Imagination thing is one of my least favourite Literary Cop Outs. (Other Literary Cop Outs include Death of Key Character in the Final Chapters, Baby Born At Climax of Book, Wedding at End of Book, Villain Fade Out, Blatant Setting Up For Sequel, Crappy Battle Scene, Weepy Hug Scene, Big Love Revelation, Perfectly Neatly Solved Mystery, Murderer Was Family Friend, The Evil Old Nice Man, Epilogues Where They Tell You "Where They Are Now", etc.)
OCCASIONALLY the whole "You Are My Creation" thing works, but only when the author can map it out a Little Clearer then Mr. Zusak does.
Seriously, I think I am actually a pretty good reader, but I had to read the ending several times to figure out was going on.
On the other hand, as my sister says, I am a "book chugger" as opposed to a "ponderer". But this is my blog, so ergo, eet ees ma opinions. You may find it's a really easy read, but yeah. That's what I thought.

*Rant over*