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Description

Meet Ed Kennedy—underage cabdriver, pathetic cardplayer, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack with his coffee-addicted dog, the Doorman, and he’s hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank... read more

Summary

Ed Kennedy was a nobody whose life changed when he received an ace in the mail. The ace has three addresses and times and obviously he is supposed to go to these places. Ed first wonders who's sending them then debates on whether he should go to addresses at all. He convinces himself to go. At... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Cast of Characters/Important People

  • Ed Kennedy: "And at nineteen, Ed Kennedy found the first card in the mail."
  • The Doorman: Ed's smelly, coffee-drinking dog that Ed loves.
  • Audrey: One of Ed's best friends, he's in love with her.
  • Ritchie: Ed's friend who's actual name is Dave Sanchez. He is called Ritchie because the tattoo of Jimi Hendrix that actually looks more like Richard Pryor.
  • Marv: One of Ed's friends who saves all his money and likes to smoke cigars.
  • Ma: Ed's mother who doesn't really like him all that much.
  • The Gunman: The man who held up the bank.
  • Simon: Audrey's taxi-driving boyfriend.

Memorable Quotes

  • “A dark wind makes it through the trees. The sky is nervous. Black and blue. My heart applauds inside my ears, first like a roaring crowd, then slows and slows till it’s a solitary person , clapping with unbridled sarcasm.”
  • “My first memory is of being four years old and getting a piggyback from Gregor Kennedy, my father. That was when the world wasn't so big and I could see everywhere. It was when my father was a hero and not a human.”
    Ed Kennedy
  • “Believe it or not - it takes a lot of love to hate you like this.”
    Ma
  • “Marv, you will kiss this dog. And when you kiss him, you're going to like it.”
    Ritchie
  • Show all quotations from this book (warning: contains spoilers)

First Sentence

The gunman is useless.

Authors & Contributors

  1. Markus Zusak (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. David Goldin (Cover Artist)
 

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Books with Additional Background Information

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