A message to us all

52 cards
4 suites
  Diamonds
  Spades
   Clubs
   Hearts
13 cards/ suite
     Aces
     2-10
     Jack
     Queen
     King

Picking up the cards leads to a full hand.
A deck may have a joker, but this is no laughing matter. This is no joke.
Will you play the game, the hand that you've been dealt?

*One thing about this book is that it does contain swearing, drinking, and references to sex. But teens are going to say or think the words if not hear them for certain. Drinking may very well happen, but his book does not necessarily glorify or demonize drinking; it is just there as it is in real life. And they are teens so references to sex are likely to draw them in not push them away. But parents may object. It does have so much more to it though. Actually it all combines to send its own message that is worth hearing and should be heard by young adult readers. Ed just delivers the message it is up to us to interpret and decipher it for ourselves.

Right away the main character Ed is dealt an interesting hand - he's in the middle of a robbery in progress in which he somehow finds the card up his sleeve and apprehends the culprit before he can escape. He's a hero, although he never thinks much of himself in general, in this moment. He is given many more moments to be the savior because of a card that is sent to him. He is the messenger, he is somebody who can help.

Ed is such a real and vibrant character. The reader gets sucked in to his life and how he views himself. He feels like he isn't going anywhere with his life, that he has let everybody down. This sentiment mirrors what many young adults go through at some point. Here is a character after their own heart who is also a diamond in the rough.

Originally I had not noticed that every section starts with an ace and then goes through the whole suite. I actually kind of like this because I can gauge what might happen. The whole plot is like a gamble, because we don't know what the other players hold in their hand. But that's how life is, a bit of a gamble each day with our own choices.

It is well written and engages the reader quickly in an increasingly fast paced dealing of the cards. Events unfold and make us play our own hands. What we are thinking, feeling, and reading all make us play the game as well. Even though Ed even points out that it is just a text on a page for the reader, but very real for him. There are delightful moments of hidden puns and extensive vocabulary. For example: "his real name's Henry Dickens. No relation to Charles". This was definitely an enjoyable read overall with an even better 'message'.