I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak- book review

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak is one of the most interesting books I've read in the past year, while still fitting in the generic teen book format and story line. The narrator and main character of the story, Ed Kennedy, reminds me of The Catcher and the Rye's protagonist, Holden Caulfield; however, Ed is less cynical and bleeds early 2000's. The second chapter of the book truly sells Ed's similarities' to Holden, as it is possibly the most direct chapter, and in it Ed explain's his current situation and his distaste for it. In short, Ed is a 19 year old cab driver who plays cards with his friends Audrey, Marv, and Ritchie at least once a week, has never accomplished life, and therefore questions his own purpose in life, though he is "20 years too early for a midlife crisis." Suddenly, after stopping an amateur bank robbery, Kennedy's life becomes much more interesting, as he begins receiving playing cards in the mail with addresses on them. The addresses direct him to houses where he assumes that he would have to deliver a message helping the residents of the house, thus giving his life a purpose.

One of the few issues I have with the book is the predictable and cliche "love story" of Audrey and Ed. One of the best parts about The Catcher and the Rye is that Holden Caulfield doesn't have a happy ending, and that his "love life" is as boring as the next guy's. However, in I Am the Messenger, Ed assumes the role of the generic "friendzoned" orbiter of Audrey, who has dated many guys and none of them were Ed, and considers him to be her best friend(which is a role Ed is not too happy about). From the start of the book, it became clear to me that Ed will eventually end up with Audrey, and by the end of the book my prediction was proven to be true. Overall, I would consider this book to be a 4/5, and I would read it again.