Review: I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1) by Pittacus Lore

Title: I Am Number Four

Series: Lorien Legacies #1

Author: Pittacus Lore

Genre: YA, sci-fi, paranormal

Publication date: August 2010

Published by: HaprerCollins

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis:

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.

My rating: ★★★★☆
I actually saw the movie before I even read the book…but I really liked both!!

Nine aliens (plus their guardians) left their home planet, Lorien, after it was under attack. They found refuge on Earth where they could hide from the Mogadorians (the aliens who attacked Lorien). Because of a charm placed on them, the nine aliens can only be killed in order. Number One, Two, and Three are all dead. And Number Four (John) is next.

The book follows John as he hides from the Mogadorians, develops his Legacies (super powers, in other words), and finds love and friendship.

He and his guardian, Henri, never settle down in one place. It’s safest to move around so the Mogadorians don’t find them. But when they arrive in Paradise, Ohio, John doesn’t want to leave. He finds a girlfriend (Sarah) and a best friend (Sam), something he’s never had before.

But the Mogadorians eventually find him. He is next after all; it was only a matter of time before they found him. But will he be able to survive?

[And the answer to that, my friends, is yes! :D The Mogadorians caught up to him at school; they trapped him Henri, Sarah, and Mark in the school with no escape. Soon, Sam and Number Six (yep, another of the aliens from Lorien) came to the rescue. After a long fight, they made it out alive. Well, almost everyone...Henri kinda died…yeah sad. So sad it actually made me cry! :( Even though I had seen the movie and I knew it was going to happen eventually, it still got to me.

Afterwards, they split up. Number Six, John, and Sam (yay! I like him :)) left Ohio, while Sarah (and Mark) had to stay behind.]

Overall, I really liked this book. I’ll admit though, it was a bit slow. But I didn’t mind; I already knew what was going to happen. But even so, sometimes things caught me off guard. As we all know, movies can’t follow the book exactly.

I really liked all the characters (even Mark, but that was only towards the end :P). Sarah in the movie I hated! But I really liked her in the book. And Number Six, I thought she was a little more badass in the movie, but I really liked her in the book too. And Sam…loved him! He is sooo funny!! He and john make the perfect pair of best friends!

There was one quote in particular that I just absolutely loved:

John: “What happens if we try to have children with humans?”

Henri: “It’s happened many times before. Usually it results in an exceptional and gifted human. Some of the greatest figures in Earth’s history were actually the product of human and the Loric, including Buddha, Aristotle, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. Many of the ancient Greek gods, who most people believe were mythological, were actually the children of the humans and Loric, mainly because it was much more common then for us to be on this planet and we were helping them develop civilization. Aphrodite, Apollo, Hermes, and Zeus were all real, and had one Loric parent.”

I am a huge fan of Greek mythology, so when I read this I just couldn’t believe it!! Its just great!!
But grrrr!!! WTF!! Why must there be a stupid cliffhanger?! I hate those with a passion! But I cannot wait for the next book though! :D

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a comment! :)