I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four
Author: Pittacus Lore
Pages: 440
Lorien Legacies #1
My Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: (From Goodreads)
 In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

I AM NUMBER FOUR is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth.

I AM NUMBER FOUR.
I AM NEXT.

My Review:
 I AM NUMBER FOUR is a fantastic book, and I can't wait for more.

First of all, I wanted to draw on the reason it wasn't 4.5 or 5 stars. It was probably the action. I mean, the great part about it that there was always constant suspense, and you were bracing yourself for it to suddenley explode into action. But that suspense came at a price. I felt that everything was too low-key and calm for the majority of the book, until the last 100 pages. There was a little bit of action, some highly entertaining scenes, but I felt like there needed to be some kind of twist to get things going alot faster. It was frustrating, because it makes you so jumpy, feeling like something's going to happen, but then it doesn't. At the same time, don't let me get anybody's spirits down, because once the action came, there was plenty. Great description and a heart-throbbing, pulse pounding feeling raced through you. I think, though, that while there was not a whole lot of action, the writer, (or writer(s), since Pittacus Lore is a pseudonym) skillfully built up character development. The action was really the small problem I had with this book.

The characters were amazing. I loved all of them, because they each represented something different. My favourite thing about the characters was the character development. I have never seen it done as entertaining as in I AM NUMBER FOUR, espically since it's sci-fi. There were a few great different relationships in this book, and they really built up and changed over the course of the book, and I think that my favourtie thing. John (or Number Four), Henry, Sarah, Sam and Six were all interesting characters that I obviously want to here more from.

The world of I AM NUMBER FOUR was quite interesting in my opinion. At first, I was just confused, and overtime I figured it out. This was the only other issue with I AM NUMBER FOUR. I felt as if it left you to figure out the world of Lorien, the legacies, etc, yourself, until about 200 pages in. After that, after me doing some thinking and reading, it made alot more sense. I thought the Mogadorians definetley were a threat, and not something in a book that is supposed to be scary and threatening, but doesn't seem so. Not so with I AM NUMBER FOUR. I thought it was unique, with the legacies and Lorien and the histroy/visions that John learns and sees about Lorien. Overall, I thought this part was interesting, fairly well done and something that I can imagine myself excited to read more about in the next book.

The plot wasn't something that was easy to figure out. Every single little thing that happens sends off chains of reaction and then- BAM! I was totally, like, where did that come from? Which is something that made me like this book. One event starts off a chain of events, then you are racing through the pages, trying to guess what would happen-and you can't. At least that's what it felt like for me. The few times I guessed, I got it wrong.

Before this wraps up, a quick note on the writing. I thought that the author's writing was intriguing, the way everything was described, in first person. It seemed like a different first person, but with hints of the similiar you see alot. It's not my favourite writing style ever, and though it's a 440 paged book, I felt like certain things could have used a little more description, and not described in a hurried 4 or 5 lines. But I loved the fact that John's voice in this book was so sincere.

I AM NUMBER FOUR is a great book to start up the series, and I, personally am excited to hear more.