I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies: The Lost Files) (Lorien Legacies, #1)

by Pittacus Lore

Neil Kaplan (Narrator)

John Smith is not your average teenager.

He regularly moves from small town to small town. He changes his name and identity. He does not put down roots. He cannot tell anyone who or what he really is. If he stops moving those who hunt him will find and kill him.

But you can't run forever.

So when he stops in Paradise, Ohio, John decides to try and settle down. To fit in. And for the first time he makes some real friends. People he cares about - and who care about him. Never in John's short life has there been space for friendship, or even love.

But it's just a matter of time before John's secret is revealed.

He was once one of nine. Three of them have been killed.

John is Number Four. He knows that he is next . . .

• ISBN10: 148299318X
• ISBN13: 9781482993189
• Publish Date: 31 December 1969
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Edition: Library Edition
• Format: Audiobook (CD)
• Duration: 11 hours and 33 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jyc]

★★★ // weird, but not something i can really appreciate. will probably not continue reading the rest of the series.

[Rinn]

I picked this off my shelf because I wanted to read something that wouldn't take much thought, and I just wanted a short change of pace from the series I'm currently reading, as it's quite heavy. This was pretty much the right book for the job - a very easy read. I'm not a big fan of the way it was written, to be honest, but I've read worse.

The concept is interesting and I enjoyed that part of it - the survivors of Lorien having to be killed off in order - but the story itself seemed a bit empty, for want of a better word. The ending was a bit over the top in my opinion.

Maybe it's because I'm older than the target audience of this book, but John and Sarah's relationship got on my nerves a bit.

[Hixxup]

This was great, granted I saw the movie first and so I had the people pictured in my mind as they were in the movie, which was ok because the descriptions were close. There was A LOT that was in the book that wasn't in the movie and there was A LOT that should've been in the movie, and while I loved the movie I love the book more. Goes along those lines of "the book is always better than the movie" and it's true in this case for sure. I cant wait to read the next book, and I love it that you don't know if pittacus lore is the authors actual name or a psuedo for the series still it was great.

[lizarodz]

About two weeks ago my mom (visiting from Puerto Rico) and I rented 'I Am Number Four' and watched with my hubby. We really liked this movie, it is a fast-paced, action packed thriller, and of course it made me want to go out and get the book. So, last week when I was visiting my local library, there it was just calling my name. How was I supposed to resist the call?

I don't want to write this review to compare the movie and the book, instead I will concentrate on the novel. The book it's slow paced at the beginning, but we need to understand the background information about Lorien and what the 'children' can do and are expected to do. It is kind of strange how they are so similar to humans, right down to the nervousness, and insecurities. I was happy that not a lot of mysteries were left uncovered and we didn't have to eagerly wait for some answers (for example how to open the chest.)

The story is written on first person, from John's point of view. He is a likable character, just a tad too insecure for my taste. The rest of the characters are very distinct and well fleshed out. The romance story with Sarah is somewhat corny and they fall in love really fast, especially since this is a lifetime commitment for John. Also, how Mark goes from enemy to friend is a little hard to believe.

Overall, I enjoyed 'I Am Number Four' and will definitely read the sequel 'The Power of Six' that will be published in August of this year. 'I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Six's Legacy' it's a spin-off from the series and it comes out in July.

About the cover: I liked this cover, better than the movie tie-in edition. The red and orange are the colors fire, which is one of Four's Legacies. If you have seen the movie, you know what the symbol is. If you haven't seen the movie, what are you waiting for? Run the the nearest Red Box now!

[angelarenea9]

I really enjoyed this book, although I felt that some of the writing felt a little juvenile. I attribute that, partially, to it being from the point of view of a 15 year old boy, which I am not accustomed to. It had a wonderful plot that left me searching to find if there would be a second book, and there was plenty of back story which I love. There were a few grammatical errors that I saw, but that doesn't bother me too much so I was still able to enjoy the book despite that.

[jeannamichel]

A fifteen year old alien hides in a small Ohio town from the evil aliens, Mogadorians. The Mogadorians are on the hunt for Number Four ever since they destroyed Four's planet, Lorien, when he was young. Four has been on the run and has only just settled in Paradise, Ohio, where ironically enough (just like a paradise) he finds his first girlfriend, makes friends, and discovers his first Legacy. But all is not well, the Mogadorians catch Four's scent. If Four dies, the Mogadorians will be that much closer in killing off the rest of Lorien's residents and then they will destroy Earth.
I enjoyed this novel (looking at the rating down below, most won't agree with me), but I thought it could be much better. I wanted it to be better. My complaints may be solely aimed at the fact that I really do not like reading sci-fi that much, but I do not think it's the case.
It was very evident (though I have no proof, so this is just my opinion) that Pittacus Lore self-edited his own novel. Why am I under the impression that he did so? Not even one page into Chapter One, Lore writes:

"It was warm, a soft wind bxlew in from the water..."
I'm not really trying to pinpoint just one mistake, but throughout the entire novel, there were several mistakes. That- for me- took away something in the book, that left me shaking my head.

The characters were okay. I liked Sam Goode (though his name doesn't sound very original). However, Lore could have definitely discussed a bit more when trying to develop his character. John/Four was pretty well-developed. I enjoyed his alien-ness. I am definitely awaiting the upcoming release of I Am Number Four in theaters, because Alex Pettyfer will just play John/Four wonderfully. Henri was my favorite character. Mostly because he was so sweet and down-to-Earth (even though he was an alien... ha- my bad attempts at making jokes). It's hard not to love him. One thing I hated was Sarah and John's relationship. To start off, Sarah's whole character was a bit flat- she was boring and predictable. Sarah and John fall for each other and not even the third day of school, they are already making corny jokes and longing looks from across the room. By the end of the novel, they are convinced they love each other. That whole sort of relationship annoyed me, it was done to quickly and it didn't even seem real.
The plot was great, it surely keeps you on your toes.
Sci-fi lovers and independent readers (well, a much younger age group- like 10-14 year olds) will most likely enjoy this book.

Cover: 4

Characters: 2

Plot: 4

Writing Style: 3

Ending: 3

Overall: 3

[ladygrey]

If there were half stars - this would totally get 2.5

Truth be told, it should have just skipped being a book and been a screenplay right off. The story is decent, the characters are fun. But the writing is so blunt and so simplistic it took me a while to get into the book.

Once I eased into all the, "He's there. It's snowing. The air is cold." writing John/4 and Henri were pretty cool and I was interested to learn more about Lorien as the story unfolded. A little bit it felt like the world building wasn't quite complete because the explanations of charms and beasts and things was just a little too simplistic. But I liked the sense of mystery in the things we didn't understand. Except for the end where a handful of mysteries were created and then not explained. I am not in the mood to wait for the next one.

I liked watching John/4 grow into his powers and wrestle with who he was becoming. Sam and Sarah were both really good characters. And the action was fun until the last 4th of the book when it was all action.

Overall, it kind of felt like a [a:James Patterson|3780|James Patterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1284492096p2/3780.jpg] novel in his Maximum Ride series.

[rakesandrogues]

I am not a die-hard science fiction fan, but I really wanted to explore the genre. I loved the summary of this book so I was very excited to read it.

Lore's writing is fast-paced, keeping you on the edge of your seat. At first the story seems to drag a little, while John (Number Four) learned more about the history and background of his planet. In terms of the story, it seems to lag at first because of all this development, but I find that this information is crucial for the reader. Learning more about Lorien helps the reader to understand John and Henri's motives throughout the whole book. Lorien is essential to the whole plot so readers must connect with the beautiful planet that these two aliens originate.

One thing that struck me as funny while reading was during the time that John was learning about Lorien's history. He was learning about one of Lorien's Elders, Pittacus Lore, when it struck me: Hey, that's the author of this book! Since I was reading an ebook, I couldn't exactly flip to the back cover of the jacket to learn more about the author. So it wasn't only until the end when I read:

Pittacus Lore is Lorien’s ruling Elder. He has been on Earth for the last twelve years, preparing for the war that will decide Earth’s fate. His whereabouts are unknown.

Interesting.... So who is Pittacus Lore? Hmmm...

On another random note, I was searching for pictures of Alex Pettyfer, when I stumbled upon an article about an I AM NUMBER FOUR movie! I can easily see this book being turned into a movie. There's lots of action and I can see just how easily special effects can be put into play. I don't know just how much the story could be changed because of this... I usually hate when movies are drastically different from the book. However, I am willing to give this movie a chance if it does come out in 2011!

Back to the story, there is a good deal of romance in I AM NUMBER FOUR. However, I did not feel the chemistry as much as I would like. I would definitely say that this book is more science fiction than romance. Romance takes a back seat in this book. I don't know if the fact that the story is narrated from a male perspective makes me feel this way, but I can't feel the attraction as much between the two characters. Still, I have to say that John and Sarah do make a cute couple.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed reading the book. I wouldn't jump to say that it was addicting and that you have to rush out to the nearest bookstore to get your copy, but I have to admit that it was pretty good. I think this will appeal to a lot of science fiction and fantasy book lovers. I wouldn't be sure if paranormal readers would be really into this, but I would give it a shot anyway.