I Am Number Four

by Pittacus Lore

An alien race called the Mogadorians destroyed the planet Lorien. John Smith is one of nine alien children who escaped the destruction that occurred on Lorien. One of nine children with superpowers. Accompanied by their guardians, the nine arrived on Earth and have been living lives on the run, hiding from the Mogadorians who are out to finish them their race off.

The Nine are bound together by a charm that only allows the Mogadorians to kill them in order. John Smith is number four, and he is next.

Living a life constantly on the run has not been fun for young John Smith or his guardian, Henri. When fate finally lands them in Paradise, Ohio, John decides he’s ready to develop roots. He finds a friend and falls in love. As the story progresses and as John becomes more comfortable with his life in Paradise, the Mogadorians draw closer.

My review?

This story is one dimensional. There’s not a lot to drive the plot forward other than the Mogadorians, and the rising action doesn’t really create the suspense or tension readers enjoy with good action/adventure/mystery storylines. The character development is minimal; by the end of the book, I hadn’t really developed a connection with any of the characters. In fact, the character I liked the most was Bernie Kosar, John’s pet beagle.

The writing is one part sophisticated, one part middle school. The writing style is polished, but there is a lack of restraint that I also find in middle school writing. Overbearing, unnecessary descriptions of places. Details added in that seem to add little. Poorly explained background stories or descriptions. Beasts and turns of events added just to create more chaos. That's a typical middle-school writing trick: just adding extraordinary stuff on the fly just for shock effect. Ad-lib writing and "just because" justifications.

However, the book pulls together in the end because of the introduction of one compelling character: Number Six. It’s for this reason that I leave this book off with a B-/C+. Because it left me hope that the next book would be better.

Grade: C+

Birthmarked

By Caragh M. O’Brien

Birthmarked is a sci-fi (although a subtle sci-fi) story set in a dystopian future. Hundreds of years into the future, only small remnants of humanity remain – small pockets of communities. Water is scarce – so scarce that even the Great Lakes are now “unlakes.” An oppressive ruling class called the Enclave has devised a system: the privileged and chosen live inside a gated community where resources are plentiful, while those outside the wall must scrape by on what the Enclave will give them.

Genetically, the pool of genes within the Enclave was small – inbreeding occurred and recessive diseases like hemophilia became rampant. To strengthen their pedigrees, the Enclave takes what it must from those who live outside of the wall: their children. The Enclave requires the first three babies born in each month be taken-"advanced"- from their parents for a better life inside the Enclave. In return, those taken babies will help increase the Enclave’s genetic diversity.

Gaia is from the outside. She is a mid-wife. It was her mother’s vocation, and ever since the Enclave imprisoned her parents, it is now hers. For the first time, she truly begins to question the Enclave’s right to children outside the wall.

This was a very good book written by a local CT author. At times the plotline felt too convenient, but otherwise a really good read. If you liked Handmaid’s Tale or The Giver, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Grade: B+

Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

Ender’s Game is an interesting book, first published in the late 70s. I believe, but perhaps erroneously, that it is one of the “classic science fiction” novels specifically targeting children and young adults. But it’s hard for me to explain what this book is. If you like science fiction, will you read it? Yes. Will you like it? Maybe. Does it have a few interesting moral and ethical questions for you to ponder? Yes.

So, let’s cut to the chase. Ender Wiggins is a young boy in a society set far into the future. A society that is ruled by three separate entities, who are currently united in one fight: the fight against the buggers – an alien race that has attacked Earth twice before.

The international military is constantly preparing for their next encounter with the buggers. They prepare by picking the most intelligent children who have personalities that are highly suitable for military leadership. Such children leave their families and spend the rest of their childhoods learning, training, and fighting in Battle School.

Six-year old Ender Wiggins is chosen. But he turns out to not just be chosen; it’s like he is the chosen one. The adults quickly realize his potential far outweighes the potential of any other student, and so they begin to manipulate Ender’s life. They ensure that Ender is always on the outside to keep him from getting comfortable. They do little to prevent Ender from being bullied because they want him to learn how to deal with conflict on his own.

Ender quickly advances through the ranks, constantly outperforming everyone’s expectations. He is their genius military leader, but he begins to wonder if it’s all worth it.

Readability-wise this story reads kind of like a textbook with a B-line plot and shallow character development. It wouldn’t make a bad Made-For-TV movie. The shame of it is with more time and development of characters, I think I would have really enjoyed this book. When you enjoy this book, you’re enjoying it simply for the premise not necessarily for the writing.

Interesting Ethical Areas:

Childhood: Is it ethical to begin strict military training at the age of 6? Do we treat children like pawns? Are we unable to see children’s true potential because we see them as “children”?

Violence: When is violence justified? Exactly how violent can children be before it could be considered a “problem”? Can you justify exterminating an entire race – when those in question are attacking aliens?

Interesting point: One totally cool thing that this book focuses on is orientation, planes, and zero gravity. Ender spends a lot of time training his troops to give up their Earth orientation: where up is up and down is down. In zero gravity, you can be anyway. This is interesting because if you watch sci-fi (Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica), the ships all fly together on the same plane. Why?

Grade: B-