I Am Number Four Book Review

Although this book came out few years ago and has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time, i have only just started reading it. Written by pittacus Lore, who also, coincidentally it seems, to be the highest ranking officer of Elders that governs this race of aliens' planet. the summary goes like this-

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.


What i loved from this book was the opening. it gave us a fairly interesting and believable tale about the life of a teen alien fugitive, constantly on the run and lookout, but mostly wishing for a normal life. the opening offered great potential to be a sci-fi thriller, or so i thought. when he entered the first day of school in Ohio it was only too apparent what was going to happen when he locked eyes with Sarah. she was of course going to be his Juliet, whilst he runs around trying to avoid being killed and beat those nasty monsters all the time proving himself as her hero. sounds a little similiar as the Twillight story dont you think? the nasty jealous ex-boyfriend was present as well, which made it predictably boring.

There wasnt even a single mention of Mogadorians in the first fifty pages, which kinda annoyed me because i was waiting on hook for the first action packed scene to emerge. but NO, we had to be dragged through Four's daily school life which i feel is hardly worth describing in those fifty pages, because we can read it elsewhere in cheesy love novels and it is definitely not what i expected in a book with aliens. also, everything seemed to be a little too convenient.
How is it that they are aliens, yet have looks similiarly eerie to humans? there is no explanation of that, whether they might be related or ancient descendants. i cant help but think that pittacus lore borrowed some ideas from other books to write his own, as i can see the resemblance.

The idea of Four constantly moving towns in order to prevent monsters knocking reminds me of percy jackson, where he and his mother have to always move because of percy's uncanny ability to cause trouble in every school he attends. speaking of trouble, Four just got into a slight scuffle with big bully by the name of Mark James as well.
The concept of which Lorien and human mate and give birth to an exceptionally gifted human would be interesting if it wasnt already used in percy jackson as well. only in that series, gods and human offspring are known as demigods. the same names were given in I am number four as with percy jackson, which was Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci, Issac Newton, Aristotle, blah blah blah. it seemed less believable reading it the second time, especially if it had been used before.

The idea of a Garde having a guardian, a Cerpe, only seems all too familiar with Buffy the vampire slayer, because when a slayer is chosen she is immedietly assigned a guardian as well, which they call Watchers. another thing is Four's compulsive obsession with Sarah. i understand puberty, but isnt it a little too far-fetched the idea of him fully admitting he isnt human, yet she accepts it without a second thought?
she doesnt question him at all but just gasps out that she loves him which just plain annoys me. i mean, sarah's a nice girl and all, i was really taken to her character when she was first introduced. but as the story progresses shes becomes a waste of space that cant function without her man, that needs him at all times. The flirting was cheesy and unbearable to read.

'' She playfully grabs my biceps. ''Right, these huge muscles. your superpowers. boy, are they lucky.''

Sure. like you arent signifying how good it is to feel them yourselves either. Ugh i just can't stand this kind of I'D LIVE AND DIE FOR YOU romance. never again.

To top it off, I Am Number Four isn't that bad at all. Just that maybe they could make up for the horrible romance by injecting a little bit more action and so on. Maybe include more details about their mysterious race and history of their planet. stuff that the audiences would want to know. Give the story a fresh twist.

Speaking of twists, i was SO not anticipating henri to die. He was, after all, a major character, and those characters dont usually die off at the first book. hands off to pittacus lore for that surprising event. For the end, the story was easy to follow, a simple, uncomplicated plot for those that love action and thriller but dont want their heads spun too much by fantasical elements.