Review: I Am Number Four

By: Pittacus Lore
Published: August 2011 by HarperTeen
Format: Hardback, 440 pages
First Reviewed: August 2011
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Three are dead.

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: 3/5

Okay, so I wanted to hate this book. I wanted to hate it because of the hype. I don't like to like what's "in" at the time, you know? And then if I didn't like it, then I wouldn't care about the movie that they're already making...well...I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I did like it enough for me to want to see how badly they screwed up the movie...(And they did screw up the movie...)

First, I didn't love the characters. I never grew too attached. Number Four/John did not seem like a fifteen-year-old. And I get that he's an alien, but the boy's been on earth for pretty much his whole life; he would be acting like a fifteen-year-old, in my opinion. I did like a couple of the major-minor characters; Sarah and Sam, for example. And Henri, another main character, was probably my favorite, but I still didn't grow attached to him like I had wanted to, or that I like to do with characters. They were just okay for me.

Eh, to be honest, I'm half a fan, half not. Here's why I'm a fan: Pittacus Lore definitely knows how to tell a story. He knows how to pace the plot and get the reader into the surroundings. But here's why I didn't care for the style: So much telling, and the punctuation was not consistent at all. Sometimes he had "Me too." Sometimes it was "Me, too." Sometimes it was "home ec." Sometimes it was "home-ec." It just drove me a bit nuts, because I like consistency. Also, he would repeat himself too much for my liking. At times I wanted to yell at him.

In all honesty, I was hoping for something more epic. After reading the description, I thought there would be this whole action-packed, sci-fi adventure. And while there was action, it just fell flat for me. Also, I thought the "romance" part was too overdone and unrealistic. So was the dialogue, which made it harder for me to follow along with what was happening. It wasn't really believable, what the characters would say. And okay, I get that this is fiction and all, but some of the things weren't realistic in a "modern" setting at all. I won't say what to avoid spoilers, but I just think some of the things could have been a bit more believable and more epic.

Anyway, dang. Yes, I'll have to see the movie. Yes, I'm pissed off at most of the cast. But, no, I won't be a crazy fan girl. I'm just interested is all. :)