I Am Number Four
By Pittacus Lore
Summary: Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books - but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four.
I am next.
Review:
I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t seen the movie, just the previews, and haven’t really heard anything about this story other than knowing it was a movie. I don’t even know if the movie was good, but I plan to watch it in the near future.
The concept of this book is pretty intriguing: A group of aliens sent to Earth after their planet was destroyed by a race of other aliens that consume planet resources. When I was reading, I couldn’t help but think of the movie Race to Witch Mountain where the aliens have pretty cool powers and look just like humans. I don’t read a lot of books with aliens in them as they always seem to be portrayed as horrifying creatures. I kind of like that there are these good aliens that just want to blend in long enough and go back to their own planet and fix it once they are strong enough to fight off their hunters.
I loved the backstory and I also liked the fact that John is just a normal person who wants to settle down, although he knows he can’t and shouldn’t. I think his character was well developed and much like any other teenager. It wasn’t until he got his first Legacy (gift) that he was able to truly comprehend the damage done on his home planet. “Before tonight the events were just part of another story, not all that different from the many I have read in books. But now I have seen the blood, the tears, the dead. I have seen the destruction. It’s part of who I am.” I suppose I understood John a little more when this happened because it’s such a normal part of life to not truly understand something, despite hearing and reading stories about it.
I thought the whole plot was pretty good. I figured as soon as John met Sarah, there was going to be conflict with that. I don’t really read any comic books and while I’m familiar with the stories of superheroes to some degree, I guess I didn’t really notice any cheesy parallels and when they were pointed out to me via skimming goodreads reviews, I guess I don’t think it bothers me. Even thought I knew John was going to make some bad decisions because of Sarah in regards to standing out instead of trying to blend in as much as possible, it didn’t make the book terribly predictable or unenjoyable. I kept turning the pages and enjoying every minute. I really didn’t know where this story would go or how it would end, even if some degree of the story was predictable.
The characters were all believable and likeable and well developed. The book was well written and the plot was interesting and unique to some degree. I loved it. I love science fiction and YA and I thought this book blended the two quite nicely. There was humor in it, too, which I enjoyed.
I did notice the author was mentioned in the book as being one of the Elders from the planet Lorien. Obviously, Pittacus Lore doesn’t exist in real life. After skimming through Goodreads reviews, there seems to be a little bit of controversy going on with the actual author/s but I don’t know anything about it. I am glad I don’t, because I truly enjoyed this book and I think reading a book and being oblivious to any kind of hype or controversy is the best way to read it and judge it. It’s the only way to go into a story without bias. So, if you are like me and ignorant about whatever Pittacus Lore’s real identity is and his backstory or what not, I’d just shrug it off and read this book anyway.
I’d definitely recommend this book and I cannot wait to get started on the next book in the series.
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