I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Series:
Publisher: Razorbill Penguin Lorien Legacies, Book One

Format: Hardback

Published: 26th August 2010

Number of Pages: 368
Book: Bought
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fiction, Fantasy, YA
Recommended Age: 12+
Contains: Quite A Bit Of Violence, Mild Swearing, Kissing Scenes and Drinking At A Party

 

We

May Be Walking Past You.

We

Are Watching You As You Read This.

We

May Be In Your City, Your Town.

We

Are Living Anonymously.

We

Will Find Each Other.

We

Will Make Our Last Stand Together.

If

We Win.

We

Are Saved.

And

You Are Saved As Well.

If We Lose, All Is Lost.

In the beginning we were nine.

We left when we were very young, almost too young to remember.  Almost.  And now.

Three are gone. 

We are here to keep our race alive,which was almost entirely obliterated.  We’re just trying to survive.

Six are left.

But we are hunted, and the hunters won’t stop until they’ve killed us all.

They caught Number One in Malasia. 

Number Two in England.

And Number Three in Kenya.

I am Number Four.

I know that I am next.

Review:

I must admit, normally I don’t read alien-themed books, the only one really being Daniel X by James Patterson (which I loved, by the way).  But this book had me gripped from the blurb, which is pretty impressive, as I tend not to like judging books by their covers. 

I absolutely loved I Am Number Four, and it had me reading well into the night.  Everything about it was incredible, from the characters to the writing style, the battle scenes to the sweet romantic ones.  It literally has everything, first love, loss, dramatic fights, alien beings with the most mind-blowing powers – called ‘Legacies’ – and the most evil super-aliens I’ve ever read about.

The book revolves around Number Four, and how he begins to develop his Legacies so he can defeat the wicked Mogdorians and save his race, the Loriens.  The Mogdorians destroyed the planet Lorien, after they had ruined their own from their own not-caring and ignorance.  The Lorien people are beautiful, from the way they care for their planet and all on it, to the way they love: one partner forever, one true soulmate. 

Nine children and nine guardians escaped the planet during the destruction, Number Four being one of them, in the hope that they will eventually be able to return to their planet.  Number Four was an incredibly strong character, and I loved the way he saw things and the way he wrote.  He falls for the human Sarah, a sweet all-American girl, and the scenes between the two of them are really touching.  Four’s guardian is Henri, a compassionate man who never really got over the loss of his home, and who loves Four more than anything.

I must admit, I saw one of the twists coming before Four did, but there were loads I couldn’t predict.  If I’d had time, I thing I would have been more than a little happy to sit down and read the three-hundred-and-sixty-odd paged book in one go.  I really hope that there will be another book in the series out soon, as I would love to read more about the characters.  This is a must-read for anyone who loves to be completely hooked from the word go, and even if you don’t normally like sci-fi novels, I would tell you to read it anyway.  You will not be disappointed, and may even want to read more alien books.  I’d say I Am Number Four is number one in my top-ten book-list of 2010, and is in my top-ten of all time.

Quick afterword, the book is going to be released as a movie soon, and I think it will be one of the best films ever, if they stick to the book.

Star Rating:

5 Out of 5

Read This If You Liked:

Daniel X by James Patterson

Gone by Michael Grant

Maxiumum Ride by James Patterson