I Am Number Four book to movie

I stumbled upon I Am Number Four during an amazon search for young adult fiction that has a paranormal, supernatural, or sci-fi vibe to it.  I had never heard of this series, but saw that a movie was coming out.  My curiosity was in even more overdrive when I saw the book was released August 2010 and the movie is set to premiere February 2011.  I thought to myself, "They must really think this series is the next big thing.  I have to read it to see if they are all crackpots or if it is worth it."

Then, to make the book even more of a hook for me, I read about the author, Pittacus Lore.  How cool is it that the series author is set up to be a an elder alien from the world of Lorien, where the people portrayed in the book are from.  I thought that was pretty fucking cool.  There are even interviews out there from this elder alien.


So curiosity got the best of me and I decided to purchase it to read.  It was a pretty quick read and it was refreshing to read a first person narrative set from a male perspective.  You can only read so many high school chicks fretting and talking to themselves about how awesome the otherworldly guy is they are swooning over.

There are nine children from the planet Lorien that were brought to Earth with their keepers ten years ago.  These nine children were fleeing from the Mogadarians who conquered Lorien at the time of their departure.  The Mogadarians have hunted the children across the universe and found them here on Earth. The children of the Loric race are not named, but numbered.  They are Number 1 through 9.  The Mogadarians can only kill the children in numerical order.  Once one of them is killed, the others get a mark on their ankle representing that one.  So, they know when it is getting close to being their turn to be hunted.  The first three have been hunted and murdered, and now the Mogadarians are after Number Four.  Hence where the story name comes from.  Number Four has had several aliases over the years and now that he and Henry, his keeper, have moved to Paradise, Ohio, Number Four has chosen the name, John Smith.

Number Four, though an alien, is going through all the same annoying things every teenager does.  He has his run-in with a bully, who happens to be the girl he has his eye on's ex.  Some parts of the book are cliche in that sense.  But, it is interesting nonetheless.  It is is good to hear a guy go through the same things girls do in feeling unsure about a first kiss.  But, to top it off for Number Four, he is also going through the transition in his life where he starts getting his powers.

So as Number Four gets his powers and falls in love, he is also being hunted by the Mogadarians.  There are intense emotions throughout the book as Number Four is learning more about himself through all of the above listed circumstances.  Through it all, his keeper, Henry, is one of the best parts of the story.  Henry's character and love for Number Four even though he is not his biological son is inspiring.  The emotion of the story grows until the huge battle that ensues at the end of the book.  The fighting was well crafted and the description really drew me.


So, now I read the book and the movie comes out in a couple months.  What do I have to say about it?  I hope the movie does it justice.  I am pretty excited about Alex Pettyfer playing Number Four in the movie.  Also exciting about Diana Agron playing Number Four's love interest, Sarah.  The cast they have chosen seems like it will be a good one, but that doesn't always make a movie.  We will see how it goes.  What I have to sugest to you is that you read the book before you see the movie.  Especially since there is going to be a series of books.  This is just the beginning and it looks like The Lorien Legacy is set to be awesome.



You can purchase I Am Number Four Here.