Same Book, Second Look - I Am Number Four by Pitticus Lore

Published: August 2010

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages:440

Copy: Library

Summary: Goodreads

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.

I was absolutely determined to read this book before I saw the movie, and I'm so glad I did. It was so much fun and I really loved it and managed to read it in about 1/2 a day. It may be 440 pages, but it is definitely not a long read. There is a strange thing about movie hype. It is actually quite insidious. The whole time I was reading, I was picturing Alex Pettifer in my head as #4 and Timothy Oliphant as Henri, which was a bit disconcerting because, much as I love Alex, I don't think he would have been my first choice for John - in my mind he is a little shorter and has dark hair. Not sure why.

What I loved about this was the whole Sci fi aspect of aliens from other planets. There is still the whole paranormal aspect with 'powers' but I liked the otherwordly aspect of this one. I have always been a firm believer that we are 'not alone' in the universe. It has always seemed the height of arrogance to believe that humans are the only sentient beings, so this book appealed to me for that reason - probably too much time spent watching Star Trek during my formative years!

I find myself agreeing with Christinabean about John's misuse of powers - check out her review HERE - but I was able to forgive him for going to Mark's party, everyone deserves a second chance after all, and he did beat him in a 'fair' fight, didn't he, and besides if he hadn't gone he wouldn't have .... oops sorry, that would be a spoiler! Nice little love story going on with John and Sarah, although I'm not sure I would have been so sanguine when I found out my boyfriend was an alien, and Sam was perfect as the alien conspiracy freak. So I say, bring on number four, part deux and let's go cheer for Alex at the movies.

Note: if you enjoyed the whole 'aliens living among us' aspect and you haven't already checked it out, find a copy of the TV series 'Roswell' - you'll love it. And, you get a chance to see Katherine Heigl before she hit the big time on 'Grey's Anatomy'.