"I Am The Messenger". 
 Where do I even begin with my review? 
 I guess I should first say that I have, of course, read "The Book Thief". It's one of my all-time favorites, actually. But you see, here's where I need to give a bit of information about my reading habits from time to time. Every once in a while, I find a book (or series) that is so good, I become very timid to even attempt to read any of their other other work. Perhaps it's mostly due to fear that their other work may not be "up to par" with the greatness of the book or series that I've already read, and I don't want to affect my thoughts of them by reading something bad. So yes, I will get extremely hesitant at times. 
 That's how I've been with Markus Zusak since reading "The Book Thief". Hesitant. 
 I bought "I Am The Messenger" almost a year and a half ago, and it has sat on my bookshelf waiting to be read. Just waiting patiently for the day when I finally make the move and break down my barrier to give Zusak a shot to see if his other work is just as good as "The Book Thief". 
 It wasn't just good. It was brilliant. 
 Zusak has officially been listed as one of my favorite authors. Anything else he releases, I will be grabbing up for sure now. 
 "It's not the place, it's the person." I really liked that quote within the book. Actually, to be quite honest, I liked many quotes within it. It was very quotable throughout. But it was that one that probably stuck in my mind that most. This wasn't just a story for entertainment. It really was a message. A powerful, intelligent, mind-bending read. And the characterization that was developed for each individual was so immaculately done... I loved it. The Doorman (name of dog) even had his own personality traits and I commend Zusak for not leaving the tiniest details out. Truly excellent. 
 The only thing that struck me as odd about this novel was the fact that it was classified "YA". True, a lot of YA books nowadays get a bit "over-the-top" or violent, etc. But even at times while reading this, I still felt like I was reading more of an adult literary fiction piece, rather than a YA novel, due to language and graphic content. 
 I gave this novel 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed reading this and would highly recommend it. :)