Summary
The first book of the #1 New York Times bestselling series and the inspiration for the hit movie from Dreamworks!
John Smith seems like an ordinary teenager, living a normal life with his guardian Henri in Paradise, Ohio. But for John, keeping a low profile is essential, because he is not an ordinary teenager. He's an alien from the planet Lorien, and he's on the run. A group of evil aliens from the planet Mogadore, who destroyed his world, are hunting anyone who escaped.
Nine Loric children were sent to Earth to live in hiding until they grew up and developed their Legacies, powers that would help them fight back--and help them save us. Three of them are now dead. John is Number Four, and he knows he's next....
Michael Bay, director of Transformers, raved: "Number Four is a hero for this generation." This epic story is perfect for fans of action-packed science fiction like The 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey, The Maze Runner series by James Dashner, and Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.
The battle for Earth's survival wages on. Read all of the books: #2: The Power of Six, #3: The Rise of Nine, #4: The Fall of Five, #5: The Revenge of Seven, #6: The Fate of Ten, and #7: United as One.
Don't miss the first book in the brand-new I Am Number Four spin-off series: Generation One.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Despite the amazing powers that many of the people of Lorien possess, the planet was defeated and its natural resources looted by Mogadorians in a matter of days. Only nine children escaped with their guardians to Earth, where they planned to hide until they developed their powers in order to defeat their enemies and revive Lorien. The Mogadorians hunt the Nine and have already killed three of them. And that's just the backstory. When Number Four, bearing the name "John Smith," moves to Paradise, OH, he runs afoul of the school bully, falls for the most beautiful girl in town, and befriends the local alien conspiracy nerd in short order. There is plenty of great action, but the dialogue is average, as is the character development. With its interesting premises and a fast-pace telling, the story will grab readers who are willing to suspend quite a bit of disbelief. Others, who like their science fiction with a bit more science and internal logic, will have to search elsewhere.-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this action-packed but formulaic novel, first in the Lorien Legacies series, John Smith appears to be a normal American teenager, living in Ohio with his father, attending high school, and falling for a local girl. But he's really something much cooler: an alien from the planet Lorien, and one of the last survivors of a race that was nearly wiped out by its enemies. And now the evil Mogadorians have traveled to Earth looking for survivors, with an eye toward wiping out this planet as well. John is destined to fight them, but will his superpowers manifest before it's too late? Lore (a Loric elder in the book, and a pseudonym for writer James Frey and a coauthor) provides a fast-moving plot and some genuinely creepy bad guys, though the basic premise is cliched and the science won't pass muster with diehard SF fans. However, a Michael Bay-produced movie is planned for 2011, and for those looking for an undemanding, popcorn-ready read, this "guy-okay, alien-gets the girl and saves the world" adventure should do the trick. Ages 14-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
This first book in a new series (putatively written by one of the Elders of the planet Lorien) revolves around human-looking aliens living on Earth. An intricately woven backstory is convincingly presented through the main character's visions. Ten years before the story begins, nine young Lorien children and their guardians escaped in an airship to Earth after their planet was invaded and decimated by Mogadorians. Thanks to a protective charm placed on the children before they left Lorien, they can only be killed in numerical order. As the book opens, the first three are dead, and Number Four and his guardian, Henri, flee to Paradise, Ohio, where Number Four assumes the identity of John Smith, a high school sophomore. Tired of hiding, he takes some chances and befriends two of the book's most memorable characters: a dog named Bernie Kosar and a boy named Sam. John also falls in love and starts to develop his Legacies, or special powers, that may one day help him and the other Loriens defeat the Mogadorians who have come to Earth to kill them and destroy Earth, too. This highly plot-driven science fiction novel moves at an intense pace while still focusing on character development. After a chaotic final battle that presents more questions than answers (a confusing sequence in an otherwise riveting first book), the open ending leaves ample room for future exploration of the series' intriguing larger concepts. cynthia k. ritter (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Guardian Review
I Am Number Four, which is already being made into a Steven Spielberg-produced film, looks expensive. The first in a six-book series pseudonymously written by the surprising pair of newcomer Jobie Hughes and memoir-fabulist James Frey, even its proof - a hardcover in a slipcase - is startlingly opulent. It's a bit of a shame, then, that all this money spent in search of the next big teenage crossover smash has gone to a perfectly decent action-adventure that firmly refuses to be anything more. Number Four is 15-year-old John Smith, his most recently chosen name in a life spent moving house every few months and constantly changing his identity. He is one of nine Garde who secretly came to Earth as children after the destruction of their home planet, Lorien, by the evil Mogadorians. The Garde develop superpowers in adolescence and are trained by their adult "Cepan" in an effort to one day retake Lorien from the Mogadorians, who are still avidly searching for them. Fortunately for everyone, Loriens look human, and after a move to extremely rural Ohio, John starts the process of fitting into a new school yet again. This time, though, he's starting to feel like a real teenager, which means catching the eye of pretty Sarah and also the unwanted attentions of Mark, high-school quarterback and Sarah's former boyfriend, who wastes no time in jealously tormenting him. But John is threatened by greater dangers than just bullying. Each of the nine Garde were numbered and bound together by a charm. They can only die in the order of their numbers, and as I Am Number Four opens, Number Three has just been killed. The Mogadorians will be coming for John now, just as his superpowers - called Legacies and, frankly, pretty arbitrary in nature - start to make themselves known. Will he be strong enough to fight them? Is it time to go to war? I Am Number Four is written with energy and fluidity. It moves at an impressive clip, and though it's essentially just a collection of action set-pieces, it's none the worse for that, even if logic and clarity tend to slip in the later sequences. That slippage points to a larger problem. Rarely have I read a book that felt so made up on the fly. The forward momentum isn't enough to disguise the fact that very little time seems to have been spent on the backstory. The science is laughable (everything from planetary sizes to evolution seems to have been written down as a best guess), until finally the writers just give up and call Lorien "magical". Why are these aliens with superpowers bound by amulets and charms? Because they are, that's why. I would certainly hope that this is a case of the authors being rushed rather than skimping because the book is "only" for teens. This has far-reaching effects. I Am Number Four is a competent and entertaining thriller, but it has no deeper resonance, a resonance which was key to the runaway success of both the Harry Potter and the Twilight series. Even John's teenager-as-alien allegory doesn't work, because he's handsome and confident, with superpowers and a beautiful girlfriend. Which is what teenage years were like for everyone, weren't they? I Am Number Four will probably be a hit. The movie will certainly help. But will it sell the millions the publishers are hoping for? I'm not sure, because it makes the possibly fatal mistake - both in the story it tells and the effort it expends in telling it - of not taking being a teenager very seriously. And teenagers, you may be surprised to learn, are likely to notice. Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy is published by Walker. To order I Am Number Four for pounds 9.99 with free UK p&p call Guardian book service on 0330 333 6846 or go to guardian.co.uk/bookshop - Patrick Ness That slippage points to a larger problem. Rarely have I read a book that felt so made up on the fly. The forward momentum isn't enough to disguise the fact that very little time seems to have been spent on the backstory. The science is laughable (everything from planetary sizes to evolution seems to have been written down as a best guess), until finally the writers just give up and call Lorien "magical". Why are these aliens with superpowers bound by amulets and charms? Because they are, that's why. I would certainly hope that this is a case of the authors being rushed rather than skimping because the book is "only" for teens. This has far-reaching effects. I Am Number Four is a competent and entertaining thriller, but it has no deeper resonance, a resonance which was key to the runaway success of both the Harry Potter and the Twilight series. Even [John Smith]'s teenager-as-alien allegory doesn't work, because he's handsome and confident, with superpowers and a beautiful girlfriend. Which is what teenage years were like for everyone, weren't they? - Patrick Ness.
Kirkus Review
If it were a Golden Age comic, this tale of ridiculous science, space dogs and humanoid aliens with flashlights in their hands might not be bad. Alas... Number Four is a fugitive from the planet Lorien, which is sloppily described as both "hundreds of lightyears away" and "billions of miles away." Along with eight other children and their caretakers, Number Four escaped from the Mogadorian invasion of Lorien ten years ago. Now the nine children are scattered on Earth, hiding. Luckily and fairly nonsensically, the planet's Elders cast a charm on them so they could only be killed in numerical order, but children one through three are dead, and Number Four is next. Too bad he's finally gained a friend and a girlfriend and doesn't want to run. At least his newly developing alien powers means there will be screen-ready combat and explosions. Perhaps most idiotic, "author" Pittacus Lore is a character in this fiction--but the first-person narrator is someone else entirely. Maybe this is a natural extension of lightly hidden actual author James Frey's drive to fictionalize his life, but literature it ain't. (Science fiction. 11-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Is Pittacus Lore a pseudonym? An introduction suggests that Lore is 10,000 years old and hails from the planet Lorien, so I'm going with yes. This fun bit of business is indicative of the book's commitment to its premise: 10 years ago, nine children fled war-ravaged Lorien and landed on Earth along with their adult teachers. As they mature, each child develops powers called Legacies, which help them fight the evil Mogadarians. The Nine can only be killed in order and Number Three just bit it. That leaves Number Four: John Smith. At least, that's his latest alias, as he and his guardian, Henri, flee to a new town for the umpteenth time. There John encounters bullies, falls in love, and begins to, you know, move things with his mind. Though the finale bogs down in a cluttered monster battle, everything else is terrifically propulsive. Meanwhile, the backstory (Loriens are given credit for everything from Greek gods to the Loch Ness Monster) deserves the next story that Lore is surely concocting in his/her/its spacecraft right now.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
