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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Some violent confrontations; one involving a gun; Ed witnesses domestic violence
Language
A lot
Adult language throughout, including profanity
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief sexual references; one scene of sexual threat that Ed must address
Substance Use
Some
Social drinking among the young adult characters
Emotional Intensity
Some
Themes of purposelessness and the fear of an unlived life; some emotionally heavy missions
What this book is about
Ed Kennedy, nineteen-year-old cab driver and chronic underachiever, accidentally foils a bank robbery. Soon after, he begins receiving playing cards in the mail—each suit bearing three addresses or names that will require him to act. His missions take him from comforting the lonely to confronting the violent to witnessing the quietly heroic. Zusak's earlier, lesser-known novel shares The Book Thief's gift for voice and its belief that ordinary people can matter. The ending plays a remarkable metafictional trick.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A scene involving sexual threat and coercion
Ed witnesses domestic violence
Adult language throughout
Reader Verification
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