Friday, January 21, 2011

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

This novel appealed to me originally, and I just don't know why.  I hate books about aliens and everything remotely sci-fi.  In my entire university career, the only course I ever failed was Introduction to Science Fiction (appealed, won!), a measly little half year course with the obvious reading list:  Time Machine, This is the Way the World Ends, The Lathe of Heaven (read: yuck).  I hated the books, and I LOVE books.  I don't identify with them at all (although somehow I do with zombies...) and I feel like I used to feel shopping with my mother as a child--dragged around.  Yes, science fiction (you don't even deserve CAPS!) makes me want to have an honest to goodness temper tantrum!  I mean an awesome, 5 year old starfish position arms flailing legs kicking temper tantrum!

I don't  love I am Number Four.  But now you understand it's because of my bias towards science fiction.  This 'kid' is one of nine kids from the destroyed planet Lorien who escaped with their guardians.  They now live on Earth and are being hunted down one by one in order by the Mogadorians.  Three are dead, our main character is number four.  He's moved around a lot and finally made friends, likes a girl and stands up to the school bully.  But the Mogadorians are moving in right when he is realizing his powers to defeat them (but they aren't well developed yet) and you are left to wonder if he will finesse his powers in time. 

Read it if you like the kind of science fiction where nothing is logical and you are okay with that, otherwise, pass! 

2 comments:

  1. Okay... a bit unfair there, Ms. Bookstress, in your "read it if you like the kind of science fiction where NOTHING is logical" comment.
    There's LOTS of logic to I Am Number Four.
    a) the main character wants to stop running because he finally meets someone and feels like he belongs. (Who wouldn't want to stay.)
    b) the "aliens" want to kill the nine threats BEFORE their powers develop; look at the soldiers who kill infants just so they can't grow up to become soldiers (horrible, but still logical)
    c) one of the other nine eventually finds Number Four (if there were only nine of us on a planet, I'd be trying to find my comrades too!)
    d) a race from a dying planet sought another planet to live on (uh...that's why we're spending so much money checking out Mars)

    I could continue, but I think you get the point. There's lots of logic to the book. You're just tough to please.

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  2. HA! I totally wrote that just to drive you nuts! It worked! And I agree with everything you said up top here and I STILL don't love the book!

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