Review: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Title: I Am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1)
Author: Pittacus Lore
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Heat Index: 1 out of 5
Release Date: August 3rd, 2010
Word/Page Count: 440
Format: Purchased

Now a major motion picture starring Alex Pettyfer

In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

I Am Number Four is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth.

I AM NUMBER FOUR.
I AM NEXT.

Go back and look at the summary quick. See that part there, right at the top, about this book now being a major motion picture? I thought about cutting that sentence out when I put the summary in this review but I thought, nope, that pretty much emphasizes my thoughts about this book; it was written solely to be a movie. Not for entertainment reading a book, but just to be made into a movie for the money and pretty explosions.

If that doesn’t make you wrinkle your nose already, then try this on: see that name “Pitticus Lore?” The author? Yeah. He doesn’t exist. He’s a character in the book and a penname for Jobie Hughs who sold the rights to James Frey. Now Mr. Frey was quite infamous, but this was a few years ago so we’ll recap. James Frey is the author of A Million Little Pieces, a novel that was published as a nonfiction memoir detailing Frey’s battle with addiction and life as a criminal. It turned out that Frey had sensationalized the details of his novel, thus making it more fiction than not. Apparently this tactic worked for him because the book sold 1.77 million copies in 2005. You might remember that he was also the one who lied to Oprah about his book.

Sadly, I didn’t find out he was the name behind the series until after I read the book. I was already disillusioned but, by that point, I also felt cheated.

I picked this book up when I was still on my Hunger Games adrenaline rush, hoping this could at least satisfy some of the craving. Silly me. The writing was clunky, the story was slow, and the descriptions and explanations were very vague, leaving you with little confidence in the world-building.

We’re introduced to John Smith, aka Number Four from the planet Lorian, who quickly has to leave his most recent town with his guardian (called a “Cepan”) after his hands start shooting off lights in front of a girl. We find out he’s a Garde and this is the development of one of his powers (called “Legacies” here) that he’ll slowly gain now that’s he’s at the age of maturity/development/alien puberty. As if voice cracks weren’t bad enough.

John is one of 19 aliens who were sent to Earth when their home planet was destroyed. Because of some mumbo jumbo, the aliens can only be killed in a specific order. The three before John are dead. Now, you’d think this would add some urgency/sense of drama, but not really. If anything, you’re feeling slightly disconnected from the story because the explanations were very vague on how things were happening and how people knew the events they really shouldn’t know anything about. Plus, there isn’t really anything that I would classify as “action” (because the flashbacks/history lessons in this book really don’t count) until about the last twenty pages.

We now go through the routine of John being the new kid in a different town and getting the details of his high school life as he’s ordered to ‘blend in.’ Which, of course, as soon as you read those words, you know he’s probably going to do the exact opposite. Fortunately, he apparently doesn’t have much trouble doing so, at least physically, as not only his race but the race chasing him are both pretty human in appearance. To me, this felt a little bit lazy (read: unoriginal) on the part of the author, but just my opinion.

John quickly meets Sarah (apparently Jane would have been too simplistic) who is supposed to be both very popular and a social outcast. I’m not quite sure how this works and neither is the author. John quickly meets Mark, the captain of the football team and Sarah’s ex-boyfriend. Sorry, I should have let you sit down first before shocking you with a plot line like that. Of course, John will get into a fight with Mark, accidentally show off his powers, and drama ensues.

We end the novel with the introduction of Number Six who, by coming in contact with John, breaks the mumbo jumbo and now the evil aliens can go after any of the remaining 16 Lorians now on Earth. Basically, she comes in to set up the next book of a six book series. Read at your own risk.