Book Review: I am Number Four

This week I'm reviewing "I Am Number Four." This is coming out as a movie and looks kind of good:



At any rate, I felt pretty so-so about the book. It's still a fun read- just hoping the movie is better!

Summary from Goodreads: 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. 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 Review

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the story about an alien race who have come to try to survive on Earth because their own planet was destroyed. There are only nine of them left, and the first three have been killed. This story is about "Number Four".

I wanted to like this story more than I did. Well, I still enjoyed it and I still want to see the movie. But the characters fell a little flat for me. "Number four", or John, just wasn't a great hero. He was nice, but he was dull. There just wasn't enough angst. You just didn't feel all that much for him. And in the fight scenes, he seemed a bit wimpy to me.

I liked his father figure a lot more. He had a wider variety of motivations. You wanted to know more about his story. On the other hand, the love interest, Sarah, was another dull character. The relationship between Sarah and John was so ho-hum and passionless, which I think (I hope) is the opposite of what the author intended. Though there were some really cute scenes between the two of them, there was also a lack of much emotion- I mean, there should have least been a little drama when Sarah found out she was dating an alien. :) Instead, it was just like, "I love you so much, no matter who you are!". Right.

Let me end on a more positive note. This story was pretty creative, and it was fun to read. There was a good balance between action and other plot. I'm curious to see what happens next... though hoping the next book is better.


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