Review #1, 2011 Reading Challenge #10
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (Lorien Legacies Book 1)
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
ISBN: 9780061969553
Published: August 23rd, 2010
Date Finished: March 21st, 2011
Where did this come from? Bought this at Powerbooks-Trinoma for P679 (roughly $15.79). HarperCollins First Edition Hardcover; 448 pages. It had been sitting on my TBR pile for over a week thanks to the torrent of schoolwork I am experiencing.
Are there any sequels? Yes. This is part of a five-book series. Book 2 will be entitled The Power of Six and will be published August 2011.
First Ever Book Review!
I have been into Science Fiction(SF) books lately. Not the geeky Star Wars or series that goes on and on but more on the YA side. I have never been a fan of SF novels partly due to the novel Alastor by Jack Vance. The book is actually an omnibus of three earlier novels: Trullion, Wyst, and Marune. What irritated me is the plethora of characters and the twisting plot. Maybe I didn't appreciate that during that time (I was still a high school freshman--maybe around twelve years old--then). This will be my first SF book review and I hope you find this interesting.
BLURB: 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
In a nutshell (so cliché, I know), the book is about an alien named Number Four who moves into a new town together with his Cêpan or guardian Henri. They came from Lorien together with eight other children to escape the attack of the Mogadorians on their planet. They must constantly hide and blend in with the humans as they grow and develop their powers which in time, will be sufficient to launch an offensive against the Mogadorians and they will finally be able to return to Lorien. For ten years, Number Four, who is called John Smith, had no permanent friends. He kind of finally discovers a life in this new town of Paradise, Ohio and he gets close to a girl named Sarah Hart. He also meets a friend, Sam Goode who will later become one of his best buddies. As the book progressed, secrets were revealed and this causes mortal danger to John and the people around him.
I really liked this book (except the characters, which will be touched later). From the first time that I saw this at the bookshop, I really had the urge to pick it up, like I must read it immediately (Oh my, the aliens are controlling me! Kidding!). I liked this because I really like to introduce myself into SF novels. This fascination of mine was sort of rekindled late last year when I watched episodes of Kyle XY. Believe me, it was a great show and it's a shame that they ended it only after the third Season. The plot of the two are really the same. An alien/some weird experiment that came to life, their powers developing, and their love story.
I Am Number Four is written full of energy. Told from the view of Number Four, I liked the pace of it. From the first paragraph stating the supposedly true events until the last good-bye, it was electric! every turn of page is like being pulled into a new event. Expect to find a lot of can't-put-this-down action scenes. There were also some emotional events in the book which I think is really heartbreaking and this also comes very unexpectedly though some take on twists and turns.
One thing that let me down though is the character development. Bam! Not one of the characters has any substance and depth to them! Once a character describes himself or gives a description of another character, that's it. What you see is what you get. The characters have done their role in the book but none of them created a subplot. Well, you can consider Number Six's backstory to be a subplot but none of the characters have this mysterious and dark vibe (read: Severus Snape) that makes the plot thicker. As much as I want to like the book, the characters warrant the deduction of half a star (or whatever I will call my rating system in the future).
Overall, I liked the book and I'll surely be reading The Power of Six when it comes out in August 2011. Can't wait!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 - Must read!
P.S. I love Bernie Kosar! And by the way, Pittacus Lore is a pseudonym for two persons who wrote this book. As this is my first review, I think that I may have overlooked and missed some things. Rest assured that my reviews will improve.
Next review will be on The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. Hope I'll finish it by next week.
AV
