Alan Hern Hern itibaren Nanjung, Margaasih, Bandung, West Java, Endonezya itibaren Nanjung, Margaasih, Bandung, West Java, Endonezya

After reading The Book Thief, I went to great lengths to find another Markus Zusak book, and when I finally found this one, I couldn't have been happier. I think I read it in about two days. Markus Zusak's powerful prose is still at work, although Ed Kennedy is hardly an ideal subject for poetry. Zusak's protagonist is an underage cab driver with a coffee-addicted dog, a foul-mouthed mother, and an intense love for his best friend Audrey. Ed thinks he's destined to be another nothing of the city, until he finds the first card in his mailbox... It's the Ace of Diamonds, and on it are written three addresses. Someone wants Ed to help the people who live there, or else. The rest of the book focuses on Ed's mission "to help or to hurt", and deliver the messages. Ed's witty voice keeps the situations mostly light, although the book plunges into darkness frequently. I'm a bit ashamed to say that I didn't get the ending of this book the first time I read it. I wasn't expecting it, and for some reason, my mind wouldn't make the connection between the author and the character. But it is truly a brilliant twist, one that gives me further reassurance that Markus Zusak is the most pivotal YA author of our times.