I Am Number Four Book Review (4.5/5)

I Am Number Four has virtually no pressure riding on its shoulders to impress: its author, Pittacus Lore, is unknown in the world of fiction to most, the plot revolving around aliens dispatched to Earth to hide from their archenemies seems like nothing out of the ordinary, and that the novel is aimed at teenagers will probably deter adults from reading it for now. But do you know what? Those were the exact same conditions that spawned the Harry Potter and Twilight franchises, yet look at the standard both of those have reached today, and I truly believe that with a little work on the quality of writing and more action sequences injected into further instalments (just as J.K Rowling and Stephenie Meyer had to do to keep their audiences interested) this series of books could easily reach that height of success. As I mentioned, Lore (the pen name of two authors, James Frey and Jobie Hughes) writes of a character called Number Four's plight to stay undetected by antagonists the Mogodorians as he moves to Ohio and meets the attractive Sarah Hart, struggling to cope with keeping his Legacy powers secret and maintaining a low profile at his school. It could be said that nothing much happens in I Am Number Four bar a few major setpieces, however it is the impressive characterisation that manages to sustain likability of the text: having a first person perspective in 'John Smith' (Four's adopted title) really emphasises the danger he places himself and everyone at his school in just by remaining close to Sarah, and by the end of the book you will truly feel like you have a connection with Smith and feel heartbreak at the tragic decision he has to make to keep the ones he loves safe. I Am Number Four stumbles only in its setting somewhat in that using a school as the main narrative location detracts from the feeling of tension and the scale of the adventure, but overall there's enough major foundations laid down here for a phenomenal series that, provided it doesn't go down the easy route of team-based war implied by the sequel's title The Power of Six and hopefully that the film goes down well (my review of that later) could easily reach the heights of Rowling and Meyer, possibly even topping those greats!