gabbysnieto's reviews
187 reviews

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is veryyy slow-paced, so just be warned. The writing style is more literary fiction than thriller, but that’s not a bad thing. There definitely is a mystery though. I love the multiple POVs and the non-linear timeline. It creates a disjointed, mysterious feel. You never really have a chance to 100% connect with any of the characters, which builds distrust. Overall, it’s so very well written, but the unnecessary slow pace brings down the rating for me.

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I read this book for my Forever YA book club that met on 11/19/24. I unfortunately didn't get to finish the book until later in the week, but wow. I've read Markus Zusak before, and his writing style really shined here. It wasn't flowery or overly descriptive, but I felt that I could place myself right in the middle of the story. Zusak made me care for the characters even at the beginning of the book, and the cold open was probably the best character introduction I've ever read. The ending was also such a beautiful way of saying that the characters we read about still live on after the books end. I went in thinking I would like it okay but ended up marking this book as one of my favorites. 5/5 stars.

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