I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1)

I came across this book after a trip to Waterstones and put it back on the shelf after reading the blurb because it reminded me of The Hunger Games (which I’d read just a few weeks before). Six months later when the Collin’s series had settled a bit I realised I’d probably been a little unfair and decided to give it a chance after re-reading the blurb. I was so wrong. This is nothing like The Hunger Games.

‘John Smith is not your average teenager.’ Cool, I carry on…

‘If he stops moving those who hunt him will find him and kill him. But you can’t run forever.’ The problem is irritatingly even when situations become dire, he hardly tries.

Everything about this book was too… convenient. John and Henri find Paradise in Ohio, literally. The estate agents daughter is beautiful, kind, and intelligent and is for some reason which is never explained, attracted to John who is as equally obsessed with her. Convenient. He’s followed by a dog oddly named Bernie Kosar who John doesn’t question when he can keep up with him travelling a 100 miles per hour. Really? Remember John is an alien and is being hunted by the trench coat wearing Mogadorians, you’d think he’d be a little more suspicious than that wouldn’t you?

‘Oh Bernie Kosar, you’re a strange little dog.’ John said with a smile. (Forgive me if this quote isn’t completely accurate.)

It took about two weeks for John and Sarah to get together after he beats up Mark James (pretty Sarah’s quarterback ex) and his cronies with his super strength and hand lights, so much for staying under the radar. He develops a ‘legacy’ which prevents him from being burned by heat or fire. Good thing too because the whole school gets invited to Mark James’s (it’s okay he’s nice now) house party which ends in a fire which everyone except Sarah and two dogs manage to escape. Our dashing hero saves his damsel in distress and realises while stood in front of her with all but his pants singed away (convenient) that he’s going to have to come clean.

‘I’m an alien. Do you still love me?’ he says. Did he even need to ask?

Yes. Because Sarah has no personality what so ever, even John doesn’t know how she would react. All he knows is she likes to take pretty pictures. If they weren’t kissing then he was too busy throwing someone’s night vision goggles into the next state.

But wait! I’ve forgotten someone. Sam Goode. By far the most interesting character in the book and also the least predictable (he pulls a gun on John) but still he falls flat. Why? Because Pittacus Lore decided Sam had to be a geek that wears NASA t-shirts but never moves beyond that apart from on the fortunate occasion wear we learn why he is so obsessed with aliens. He also spouts a never ending stream of vital information. Convenient.


My problem with this book is that John is an idiot. There is no way he would have even made that far with that stupidity. But don’t blame him, blame the author, or should I say authors, James Frey and Jobie Hughes. The book is written by two people and wow can you tell. Neither is terribly good but after you read about Lorien in great detail, you are later given patronising descriptions.

'The sky looked blue today…' '…It was a great house, classic family home…' Thank you?

The writing is so repetative that I’m sure it made me roll my eyes more times than any of the characters ‘writhed’ in pain, a word so over used that by about the tenth time I read it I writhed at how I was tricked and deceived by The Observer and The Times who told me that this would be ‘Tense and exciting’ and ‘Relentlessly readable.’

That being said I can understand why someone would enjoy this book, because underneath the questionable grammar and occassionally lacklustre descriptions there is a decent story that, while suspending disbelief, can be enjoyed. Just don’t think about how poor Number One never got the benefit of the charm, or how the story is written in the first person but the pseudonym used by the authors’ is the name of a dead character in the book…

The worst thing is that when I bought this book I also bought its sequel, The Power of Six. Next time I’m going to the library.

- See more at: http://im-booked.blogspot.co.uk/

Overall a great book, if not cheesy at times. Definitely recommend!

Wow. This word does no justice to this book (The English language is sometimes just not good enough.)

The first thing that drew me in was the title. Three are dead, I am Number Four. That sounds so cool. And this book didn't disappoint.

Fourteen/fifteen years ago, Lorien was ravaged by war, waged on them by the Mogadorians. Only a few escaped: Nine children, and nine guardians. Eighteen people, all that is left of a civilisation. They came to Earth. There was a charm placed on them, that they could only be killed in the order of their numbers 1-9 (I feel really sorry for number 1). They caught number one in Malaysia. Number two in England, and number three in Kenya. And they will stop at nothing to get to Number four as well.

The book starts at number three's death. Then it goes on to tell the story from Four's point of view. He moves around alot with Henri, his Cepan, his guardian. This time, he's going to Paradise, Ohio. There his world i turned upside down. He meets a best friend, has a girlfriend, and doesn't want to move again. But he'll have to, sooner or later. There's nothing to stop the Mogadorians from coming to kill him now.

But the Mogadorians will have to hurry. The six that are left are getting stronger, developing their Legacies (special powers).
And when they do, the Mogadorians will have to watch out. They are ready to avenge Lorien, and save Earth.

I liked both Sam and Sarah as well as Number Four (who is going by the name of John Smith. I liked how Sam was obsessed by aliens and the fact that they abducted his father. And Sarah was a good girlfriend character. She was smart and pretty and strong.

This book is amazing. It's got nothing on the movie (I didn't like how they made Henri such a warrior, it didn't seem like him). I DEFINITELY recommend it to everyone.

every page i read made me feel like i was reading the screenplay for the movie.if you haven't seen the movie read the book first, but since i saw it first it kinda ruined the book for me

I found this book to be a big block of high school drama, which was really rather disappointing, since there are ALIENS in this book! With cool powers! The authors (because, yes, it is written by two people who are using Pittacus Lore as their pen name) could go in so many great places with this idea! And they choose, for the majority of the book, to focus on a girl that John Smith (it’s not his real name, but you call him that or Number Four) likes, a bully who he is very capable of beating up himself, and a geeky new friend who just so happens to be fascinated by aliens. Of course, the fact that John is an alien does come into play in the story, since he has to hide all his secrets, but at the same time, he thinks the Mogadorians are getting closer to killing him, so he has to deal with that. But the alien stuff that should have driven the plot seemed more like a side plot than the actual plot. My point: you can have romance, bullies, and geeky friends, if you want, but why don’t you make that part of the story rather than the entire story?

I wasn’t much a fan of the characters either… I found John to be bland and boring. If you’ve watched the moving, he’s very sulky, but in the books, he was just there and the only character trait he seemed to have is that he likes Sarah and that he’s a nice guy. Bully was such a typical bully and his “character development” was forced to the point of ridiculousness. Sarah was simply there for most of the book, and I didn’t really care about her. I did like Sam (the geek), but my favorite character was probably the dog, and that is not me being cynical or mocking – it’s actually completely honest.

I Am Number Four is entertaining enough, and easy to read, but it left me no desire to read the rest of the series, which is probably going to be SIX books. I don’t have the dedication to read all of that with a mediocre book to start. With the ending of this book, though, it promises to jump into a lot more action and alien-based plot, rather than high-school-based plot, in the next book.

Other people seem to like this book, even if I didn’t, so you could give it a shot, if you want an easy, relaxing read or if it just seems like your kind of book.

I Am Number Four is about aliens from a planet savaged by war, who come to Earth while they wait till it is time to return home. They are the last of their race, hunted by the Mogadorian who destroyed their home planet. When they came to Earth, there were nine of them. They now have to survive till their Legacies develop, the only hope to save Lorien. Before they arrived on Earth, a charm was put on them so that they had to be killed in order of their numbers, 1-9. The Mogadorian caught number one in Malaysia, number two in England, and number three in Kenya. Now it is number four, which this story is based on, who is next.

I Am Number Four is written in the context of Four himself. It starts from the point of number three's death. From then on it tells the story of Number Four. I liked Four quite a lot, he seemed strong but he didn't like letting things go even though he had being doing it his whole life. Before he went to Paradise, Ohio, Four had a wall built up around himself but we he meets Sarah that wall is broken. It proves that even the strongest minds have a weak point.

I thought Sam was a great character. I liked how he was obsessed by aliens, that made him an interesting character. I loved how Four became friends with him, not many people would do that. Sarah was a great addition as well. She was the one to enter Four's heart, and gave him something to love other than Henri. She has a tough personality proving it with how she dumped Mark, the football captain. Henri was great, how he became Four's Cepan without compliant, and loved him so much. Mark was a brilliant character especially with the bullying, and then becoming close together at the end, perfect.

This book was truly mind-blowing, I so want to read the next one. The movie is good as well but nothing compared to this amazing book. I soooo recommend it to everyone.

The book is better than the movie. So even if you were on the fence about the movie, you should give the book a try.

Hi guys,
This is the start of a new year and I'm going to dedicate my first post in the new year with a book review of I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. I LOVED this book, it's one of my new favorites. Here is the summary from the front flap:

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 first impression of the book was good. I loved the cover and thought it was really cool how they made every aspect of the cover relate to the book. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but I always do... if it looks good I read the summary and if the summary sounds good, I pick it up and read it. That's what happened with this book, and I loved it. I loved how it was in first person, and the person telling the story (Number Four) knows what he is, and the book doesn't have a secret that takes half the book to reveal. The book was great, and I can't tell you anymore about it without spoiling so I'm just going to leave the rest alone. I five this book 5/5 stars. You guys should check it out definately.

Overall pretty good book. I like that it was written in the first person... you don't see that too often anymore.

Reader reviewed by darklightkid

Ten years ago, nine children from the far-off planet Lorien and their guardians, or Cepans, escaped their homeworld and came to Earth after the marauding Mogadorians devastated Lorien. All nine of the kids are Garde - they will develop a series of supernatural powers known as Legacies, which will help them in their fight against the Mogadorians. A special Loric charm was placed on these kids as a safeguard, making it so they can only be killed in the order of their numbering, as they are known as Number One, Number Two, etc.

Today, Number Four, a 15-year-old boy, lives in fear knowing that Number Three has just been found and killed, meaning he is next. Together with his Cepan, known as Henri, Four travels to rural Paradise, Ohio, and takes on a new name - John Smith. He befriends Sam Goode, an alien-loving geek who subscribes to way too many tabloid-fueled conspiracy theories. He makes an enemy of football jock Mark James. He develops an embarrassingly huge crush on Sarah Hart, ex-cheerleader and daughter of his and Henri's realtor. And, as if trying to be a normal teenager weren't bad enough, he has to deal with his developing Legacies - Lumen (light and flame in his hands, and fire resistance), and telekinesis, and the ability to talk to animals.

And then of course, the Mogadorians show up, and Four has to enlist the help of Henri, Sarah, Sam, and even Mark, plus Number Six (who is blessed with the rare Legacy of invisibility) to take on the alien menace.

Up until now, James Patterson's Maximum Ride series was my all time favorite. But Pittacus Lore's novel, which is solidly action packed and unfailingly entertaining, has now soared to the top of my list. I look forward to August, and the release of the sequel, The Power of Six, which according to a sneak peek included with the movie tie-in edition of this novel, will focus on Number Seven who is hiding in a Spanish convent.

Enjoy.