Nineteen-year old Ed Kennedy drives a cab, is failing in love, and has a best friend in his dog until the day he becomes a hero by unwittingly stopping a bank robbery. Suddenly Ed is seen and that's when the playing cards start coming in the mail to him.
It seems Ed has been chosen to bring help and hope to a stream of characters who enter his world. As each card arrives, he reads the words scrawled across the aces and is led to the person who needs his help. As Ed helps them to make changes in their lives, he finds himself changing as well.
This story of great heart centers on the stories of the characters, the challenge of change and the mystery of who is the source of the playing cards.
Powerful and transformative this is a story much needed in our days of confusion, materialism, the relentless tales from Madison Avenue and the treachery of those who would have us deny ourselves the knowledge and value of our true selves.
This book may be the messenger millions have looked for.
357 pages 978-0375836671 Ages 12 and up (Grades 7-12)
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
*******
By the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Book Thief, this is a cryptic journey filled with laughter, fists, and love.
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?--from the publisher
This book is a 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book and recipient of five starred reviews.
