Book review: I am Number Four (Pittacus Lore)

Plot: 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. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books–but we are real.

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

Rating: 8/10

This book was part of my #BookShopDisaster last month, where I lost my head completely and just piled in the books. I didn’t really know what the book was about when I bought it, and the most I knew was that it was 1) Dystopian and that 2) a movie had been made and everyone hated it. Neither of those were good signs, but I lacked reason and bought the book anyway.

It paid off – my venture into Pittacus Lore’s world was successful and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It is really well written, the characters are likable, and if I have to hazard a guess I’d say that the book was published at the beginning of the Dystopian craze – the ideas are original, the mythology have actual names (not just a Capital Something) and we get to enjoy a well thought out plot line. The author obviously spent active time developing his characters and building their existence, something that really doesn’t happen all that often with Dystopian novels.

The characters are all likeable – Henry and John and Sam and even the love interest Sarah. I really, really appreciated that there wasn’t some really drawn out, grinding love triangle. I also liked Sarah, she’s shockingly stable and tolerable for a teenage female book-character. We can laugh a little at Sam and Sarah’s meek acceptance that aliens exist, but it was all good fun and would have sucked anyway if they had run away screaming in terror. I really loved little Bernie Kosar, he’s the sweetest and the author obviously had an appreciation for animals. I also liked everything about Lorien and the Legacies, and the war with the Mogodorians.

There is quite a bit that happens in one book – information is constantly supplied. It could have been draining and frustrating, but it was more enjoyable and seemed like a natural progression. I thought the final fight at the school was way too drawn out – it kept running and running and running. I must also say that that was about the only thing that didn’t work out 100% in the entire novel, which makes it as a crime not so severe.

I will definitely be looking at the rest of the series and might for interest sake watch the movie just to grasp everyone’s outrage. Recommended for people that still have time for Dystopia – it really was quite good.

November 23, 2016November 20, 2016 by Natasha Categories: 2016, Books, reading, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Books, I am Number Four, Lorien Legacies, Mogadorians, Number Four, Pittacus Lore, Reading, Reviews 6 Comments