I Am Number Four

Review Time! I Am Number four by Pittacus Lore is title that most of you know right? It was made into a movie starring Alex Pettyfer earlier this year? Anyway, a review copy from Penguin was sent to me around this time last year but I haven’t been able to review it til now :P Thanks so Penguin and sorry for the late review…

(Goodreads) Nine teenagers and their guardians are hiding on Earth. Protected by a charm that means they can only be killed in numerical order, three are already dead. John Smith is Number Four. And his mortal enemies are hunting him down. The only way to keep off-radar is to keep moving, never staying in one place for long.


Finally in the firing line, all he can do is adopt the guise of a student and pray his unusual gifts - his legacies - stay hidden long enough for him to settle into this new community. But others seem to sense his otherness and when small-town life sucks him into its intrigues, it's only a matter of time before his true nature is revealed. And that means there's no space for love, friendship or a future if it means protecting not only himself, but the other five. 

The Short Story? – A phenomenal piece of fiction that gives science fiction an entirely new meaning. Beautifully written, heart-pounding action and characters that were hard not to love. Great plot that left me wanting more, I can’t wait for The Power of Six! Exciting, gripping and fast-paced I Am Number Four is a novel not be missed!

The Long Story? – Quite truthfully, I wasn’t planning on reading this one. I’m not a big fan of aliens or science fiction in general unless of course it crosses with Dystopian. I’ve watched the movie and it was fantastic so I didn’t really see the point in reading the book but then it was just sitting there on my bookshelf, begging to be read so what was I supposed to do? I read it. And it was AWESOME.

The plot was really well planned out. After reading the novel, I realize that the movie cut out a lot of the detail and things were slotted in at different times, it almost felt like completely different storylines. An advantage of watching the movie before reading the book is that I could compare and add visual effects while I was reading. I liked the book better but the movie really emphasized on the action and that was pretty spectacular. It was exciting to read, wonderfully written, Lore (James Frey and Jobie Hughes, authors) had me eating up every word that was written. Fast-paced, edgy and it was easy to follow, the sequence of events flowed nicely. Lots of action, had me sitting at the edge of my seat, wiling myself to flick faster. It’s definitely a novel that can be enjoyed by both female and male readers.

The characterization was great. I really liked John, I could connect to him, it was easy to understand the frustration he has with always being on the run. All he wants is just a normal life which is not possible as the Mogadorian are chasing him it’s not possible. Some of his actions really made me want to jump between the pages and shake some sense into him. He was selfish at times and while I could understand why he did things, it still annoyed me when he put everyone in danger for his own selfish needs and wants. Luckily things worked out for themselves. Overall he was a great protagonists, I really liked him. Sarah our love interest was very kind hearted and she was easy to love and I developed a little bit of a soft spot for Henri and Sam was a great supporting character. Number Six is definitely still a mystery I hope to see more of her in the next novel! A great cast overall.

The romance for me was a little dry and too fake but it wasn’t very significant in terms of the novel so I’ll let that go. I Am Number Four isn’t a romance and I accept that it’s not every book that has a great romance :P Although I do wish it did. Great writing, easy flow, understandable, teens of all ages would be able to read it. A clearly male narrative voice, it’s so “guy” to read it. Different and original.

Bottom line is that if you aren’t picking up the book because you’ve seen the movie than you really should be, I liked the book better although the movie adaption was great too. There are lots of significant things that happened in the novel that wasn’t in the movie and you would probably get lost if you don’t read it. Brilliant, action-packed, heart pounding and it was awesome. I never thought I would like it so much but I did. Can’t wait for The Power of Six, I Am Number Four is a novel not to be missed. Refreshingly original, brilliant author and adventurous plot, I’m keen to see where the sequel takes us!

Rating - 4/5
 
Badass Bookie xx