I Am Number Four

    Pittacus Lore was very creative in writing I Am Number Four. It is a book unlike any other I have read. It's science fiction with quite a bit of adventure and just a dash of romance. It's about aliens. So, if you like that kind of stuff, I would recommend this book. It focuses on love and hope, without being mushy. John is one of nine Garde children sent to Earth with their guardians, Cepan. Garde are basically the soldiers on John's home planet, Lorien, and have "Legacies," which are kinds of superpowers. Lorien was attacked by the Mogadorians and the Garde kids and Cepan were sent to Earth as Lorien's only hope of keeping their race alive. The nine kids can only be killed in order because of a charm. The Mogadorian have killed three and John is Number Four.

    John Smith is a new student in Paradise, Ohio. Henri, John's Cepan, decided to move there after Three died because it's a small town and the Mogadorians can't go unnoticed by John and Henri that way. John goes to school and quickly becomes friends with Sam, a kid obsessed with aliens and conspiracy theories, and Sarah, a beautiful and kind girl. Sarah's ex-boyfriend, Mark, didn't become friends with John immediately however. He enjoys picking on John and Sam, and doesn't know about John's superhuman strength, speed, or legacies. One night however, Mark goes too far and John uses his legacies to beat him and his friends up. Sam saw John use superpowers and starts to avoid him at school. John confronts him about it and Sam says he thought John was an alien. They laugh it off and continue being friends.

    John, Sam and Sarah all go to a Halloween festival where Sam tells John and Henri about an article in Sam's alien conspiracy magazine, They Walk among Us, that said the Mogadorians were on a quest of universal domination and had wiped out one planet. Earth was next and they were looking for human weakness. John and Henri are interested in it because of the accuracy of the story. Henri decides to research the publishers more and go to visit them in Athens, Ohio. Sarah and John's relationship progresses and soon John goes to her house for Thanksgiving dinner. When Henri doesn't show up, John starts to panic and goes to find Sam for help. They need to find Henri and keep the Mogadorians away from John.

    This book made me think about our planet and how amazing it really is. The book isn't really a "Save the trees!" kind of book, but if we destroy our planet, we have no other options. It's the one and only Earth we've been able to find. If we, like the Mogadorians, use all our natural resources too fast and fill our planet with waste, we will end up like the Mogadorians, planet-less and searching for a new way to survive. It might not necessarily include universe domination, but you catch my drift.

    Another thing I thought was well put by this book is that there are many kinds of love. John experiences love for Sarah, Henri, Sam, Lorien and Earth. They aren't the same kind of love at all though. His love for Henri is like the love I have for my father. He is devoted to his planet, even though it isn't really there anymore. I'm just glad there is a young adult book that expresses many loves and not just a boyfriend, girlfriend kind of love. After awhile of those books, I feel like I need to wash my brain. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them every now and then, I Am Number Four just had a nice combination and I enjoyed reading it. 

    Overall, this book was pretty good. I enjoy reading, and I have read many books that I can't function or think about other things without finishing it. Kind of sadly, this was not one of those books. I mean, it was a good book, for sure. Maybe I had just heard so many great things about it that I had higher expectations for it. I thought it was just kind of "Meh." I would recommend this book to people, it's just not a top book in my list of favorites. I think I would give this book a B. But again, if you enjoy science fiction and adventure, I would read this book.