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+