I Am Number Four

Pittacus Lore

When they lived in Florida, his name was David Jones. When they move to Paradise, Ohio, his name is John Smith. Paradise has no clue who has just moved into their small community. Nor will it ever be the same.

John is 15 when he and his guardian Henri move to Paradise. John knows who and what he is. He also knows he has to hide it. He is one of 19 refugees from the planet Lorien. Nine of those people are Garde who will receive Legacy powers as they grow into their teen years and early 20's. Henri is his guide and mentor as he matures as well as his protector. The Garde are connected through special Lorienian powers. They are refugees because their planet was destroyed by the people from the planet Mogadore. Now the Mogadorians have followed them to Earth to kill the Garde.

On his first day in the Paradise high school, John meets three people who become important in his life. Sam, the nerd who believes in aliens and that his father was kidnapped by one. Sarah, the pretty school photographer and ex-cheerleader. And Mark, the popular football quarterback, Sarah's ex-boyfriend, and a bully who picks on John from the first morning when John arrives at school. Now John has to prepare to fight a destructive race of people and navigate high school society as well.

Pittacus Lore, the author of I Am Number Four, claims to be an Elder from Lorien hiding out on Earth. This book starts "The events in this book are real. Names and places have been changed to protect the Lorien Six, who remain in hiding. Take this as your first warning. Other civilizations do exist. Some of them seek to destroy you." The author's bio on the back flap of the cover says, "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."

I Am Number Four is early Smallville meets Twilight with a bit of The Traveler thrown in. It's a young adult novel that is a compelling beginning of a series. If the rest of the publicity for this series is handled correctly, it could explode in popularity as well. So far that hasn't been the case - the movie was released before the reading public found the book.

This is a heroic kid who has to save the world. He is supposed to stay distant but in Paradise he finds friends who like him despite himself. He and Henri have to be ready to move on at a moment's notice of possible trouble or signs that the Mogadorians are on their trail. But he becomes attached to the people in Paradise.

I Am Number Four is an uplifting, captivating read for its genre. Lore (or whoever) has populated this book with interesting characters - both good and bad.

Plus I had to chuckle when I finally pinged onto the name of the attackers. Paradise is in northeast Ohio near Youngstown. I lived in NE Ohio for many years before I moved to Southern California. They are from the planet Mogadore - which also happens to be a suburb southeast of Akron in NE Ohio. I knew some people who lived there. They certainly didn't look like the characters described in this book!

Notice:  Graphic violence