Book Review - I Am Number Four

By: Pittacus Lore
Published by: Harper Teen
Release Date: August 3, 2010
Source: Bought
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars -- It was a good read.

Synopsis (from Harper Teen):
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.

One day, you’re a child on the planet Lorien and the next you are one of nine children placed on a spaceship destined for Earth. Why? Well, to escape an invasion of the Mogadorians, of course. That’s where the story of I Am Number Four begins. I have to admit I was hooked by the premise alone – “They killed them all. I am number Four. I am next.” Hello, I am there -- hooked.

And the story lives up to the premise. It’s exciting to follow Four through his Earthly adventures as a teenager who is forced to move from one remote U.S. city to another in fear that he will be caught and killed by the Mogadorians.

I will admit that my experience as a reader was completely swayed by the fact I read that I Am Number Four was being developed into a movie and that Alex Pettyfer was playing Four. I loved Four's character. He was sweet, brave and romantic. That made up for the fact that a lot of the plot was a basic Alien Lands On Earth And Is Chased By Other Alien Bad Guys trope. In a movie, I expect shortcuts to be taken and not everything explained but in books, I want to know more. And as I read I Am Number Four, I expected more mythology. Not a quick explanation of why the Mogadorians were after the Loriens on Earth. I wanted to know the history and the hatred behind the motives. What was it that forced them to pursue Four and his counterparts with such desperation? I didn't want it to be so neat and simple.

I also wanted some of the side characters to be developed a little bit more. Four’s teacher/mentor, Henri, was a wonderful nod to such characters as Obi-wan Kenobi. Four’s love interest, Sarah, and the guy that bullies Four at school, Mark, are great characters but I wanted them to be a little more dynamic and not so flat.

Having said all that, you’ll ask but did you like it? And I’ll admit that I did. I liked it. It’s going to make a kick you-know-what movie. I’m glad I read it and if there are aliens here on Earth, I hope that they’re like Four.

Here's the video of the cast from this year's Comic-Con. This will convice you to pick up the story and read it before you see the movie: