Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Five's Legacy
I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Five's Legacy
I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Five's Legacy
Ebook127 pages2 hours

I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Five's Legacy

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

In this exciting seventy-five-page prequel companion novella to the New York Times bestselling I Am Number Four series, discover the true origins of the traitorous Number Five. Before allying himself with the Mogadorians, before infiltrating the Garde, before committing the ultimate betrayal, Five was in hiding just like the others. But when his Cêpan dies, Five is forced to survive on his own. Eager to finally experience the world he was always kept apart from, Five soon gets involved with the wrong kind of people—the Mogadorians. In Five's Legacy see how one of Lorien's last hopes for survival became one of its most dangerous adversaries.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateFeb 11, 2014
ISBN9780062287656
I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: Five's Legacy
Author

Pittacus Lore

Pittacus Lore is Lorien's ruling Elder. He has been on Earth preparing for the war that will decide Earth's fate. He finished recounting the story of the invasion of Earth in the I Am Number Four series and is now ready to tell another story. His whereabouts are unknown.

Read more from Pittacus Lore

Related to I Am Number Four

Titles in the series (15)

View More

Related ebooks

Young Adult For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for I Am Number Four

Rating: 3.7596154 out of 5 stars
4/5

156 ratings131 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Still don't feel sorry for him.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    2.5
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    We listened to this one on audio, and except that the female voices all sounded slightly annoying done by the male narrator, it was very well done. (Fortunately, there's more male than female characters, so it didn't really detract.) We really enjoyed this book. The characters are fun and well-developed, and the action at the end is non-stop! It was fun trying to guess what was going on before "John Smith", the 15-year-old alien main character, figured it out. We were rooting for him, his guardian "Henri", and his brand-new best friends Sarah, the former cheerleader-turned-school photographer and Sam, the resident geek/ alien conspiracy theorist, and John's "dog", Bernie Kosar, throughout the novel. We haven't seen the movie yet (which I'm sure will vaguely resemble it), but will be looking forward to reading the sequel, The Power of Six, when it comes out.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Picked up toward the end ... the last 50 pages renewed my hope for the next ones in the series and might have possibly changed my mind about reading the others.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This was a really irritating read. I hadn't realised it was a YA (Young Adult) novel until I started it, but that in itself wouldn't have been a problem - a lot of my favourite novels are pitched at readers young enough to be my children. The problem is that while there is the potential for a great story here and some of the writing is occasionally good, the book for the most part is badly written and VERY poorly edited. I would almost venture to say unedited, as there are so many flaws and downright errors that you would think someone would have caught them if they had bothered to read it critically before publication (I wasn't trying to read critically, and they leapt out at me). It reads like a first draft, when ideas and rough dialogue are simply being dumped onto the page, not a finished product.

    I'm not going to go into extensive detail - life's too short and I've already spent more time on this than it deserves. Examples include contradictory sentences within the same paragraph, incorrect words that seem to have slipped through simply because they wouldn't have triggered spellcheck ('quip' where the meaning of the sentence clearly requires 'clip' is particularly memorable), and plot developments that simply don't make sense in light of what has happened up to that point. The teenage love story is unbearably cheesy. Plot and character are underdeveloped and the tone is uneven; short, simplistic, frankly hackneyed sentences are overloaded with sophisticated adjectives. They'd be fine if the prose style itself was more sophisticated, but here they're just out of place. It's the sort of book where the author uses 'astute' instead of 'smart' even though the overall style of the writing, and the fact that the narrator is a 15-year-old boy, is such that 'smart' would be the better word.

    All of this could have been fixed with help from a good editor and a bit more time and attention dedicated to the actual craft of writing. I'm sure of this because Pittacus Lore, whoever he or she is, is clearly not a talentless writer who'd simply stumbled onto a good idea. There are moments - unfortunately very brief - when the writing is quite wonderful. The first two paragraphs at the beginning of chapter 22 are a delight. Pittacus Lore has the ability to do far better than this, but sadly probably won't, as this book has somehow managed to be successful as it is. My edition includes the opening chapters of the sequel, which looks to be just as poor. I won't be reading it.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I think this book was a little over hyped. Actually to be very honestly, I couldn't even finish it. The idea is sound, but the execution just didn't grab me.

    UPDATE 11/13: Since reading the article on how this book came to be, i am now not surprised that I couldn't finish it. The idea that the actual writer had to sign away most of his rights and got pretty much nothing out of his work being published makes me quite sad.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This was a pretty good book. There was lots of action, aliens, 'super-powers' and a bit of romance to boot. I enjoyed the character development. I definately liked the character in the book better than the one in the movie. I thought that in the movie he just kind of came off as a rebellious brat that didn't want to listen. (That's not to say I didn't enjoy the movie. I really did) In the book he comes off as much more thoughtful, and as coming into his power and strength rather than rebellious.

    I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction about aliens.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Overall, I really did enjoy this one. It was definitely different than anything I've ever picked up before, as it was my first venture into the genre. The story kept me hooked from the beginning, and I only managed to put it down a couple of times. It wasn't perfect though- it was VERY predictable, especially the dog storyline, and what happened at Halloween. I kind of wished it had started with life on Lorien, because it seemed really interesting. I liked John, and Henri was very intriguing. I liked it for the most part, and really want to see what happens next.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of my favourite series. It is a bit super hero-ish but I couldn't stop reading until it was finished (I finished the last book in 1 day) Not trying to knit pick or anything, but I wish he was called Four just like Six is called Six.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this book because I watched and enjoyed the movie. Like I expected the movie didn't do the book justice. I generally don't like books that are written in the present tense, I find it distracting, but I really enjoyed this book. This was an original, interesting story line and the characters are well developed. I like books that make me feel emotionally invested in the characters and this book did a good job of making me care about what happened to the characters.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I know I wrote a review for this one when I read it but I'm damned if I can remember what I said. Ah well, read it after watching the film and they're quite similar.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Even though this is classified as young adult, I as a sdult, was pulled into Number Four's story. I loved the book so much that I took me about 3 hours to read it from front to back and towards the end, I found myself gripping the book in anticipation for the conclusion.

    I would recommend this to anyone who likes the sci/fi factor and conspiracy theories about aliens.

    5 Stars:)

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I Think The Story Is Good.. I Myself never found a BORING Part in the whole book...The Story is about the struggle of a Human-Like-Allien (John Smith or Number 4) and his Protector/Teacher.. Mogadorians have destroyed the planet of Lorien.. Somehow Nine Loriens Have managed to escape with their protectors... They Have been told by their elders to develop their legacies and return to Lorien And beat Mogadorians..The Loriens Are protected by a spell by A Lorien Elder, So They Can Only Be Killed in a specific order.. If Anyone tries to kill them out of order, He'll Get Himself Killed..Somehow The Evil Villains Have Killed 3 of the Nine Alliens (Loriens) Now They Are After Our HERO (No. 4).. John Smith Has Managed To Remain Hidden by Changing the Residing Places.. Now that he live in Paradise Ohio... He is in Love with A Local Girl Sarah Hart.. .. Thus begins A Romantic Story... This Makes Him Stay In The Town ... ... Now That he's in town and The Evil Villains attack them.. There's a fight... in which John's Protector dies...They Are Helped by Another Lorien Allien Number Six..
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Strong start with an intriguing premise that quickly deteriorated into a poorly written love story... I mean the angst wasn't even remotely believable. Stick to the sci fi & maybe this series will be able to redeem itself. Plus the author wrote himself into the story as some mythic legend: blek.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
     “I Am Number Four” by Pittacus Lore began very quickly, this well-written book marking its existence on the very first page. Unlike most books that need explanation of history, Lore started with a fast-paced scene in Asia as his prologue instead of beginning with a chapter of explaining the characters tragic history. After the prologue, Lore gives a few brief paragraphs on fifteen-year-old John Smith’s history as a Lorien alien in disguise with a new name, address, and school every few months, also explaining the charm that forced the Mogadorians (aliens from a dying planet) to kill the Loriens in order of their number, 1-9. Afterwards, Lore immediately gets on to the actual story, a detailed science fiction/romantic novel with a lot of action, suspense, and danger. As the novel progresses, John and Henri, his guardian Cepan (undercover as John’s father), moves to Paradise, Ohio after the death of another Lorien, Three. There, John falls deeply in love with a junior named Sarah Hart and also manages to make an enemy in the process: Mark, Sarah’s old boyfriend, a senior at John’s new school. Sarah and John don’t truly begin to date until during the annual Halloween Hayride when Mark pulls a prank nastier than all the others on John, Sarah, her friend Emily, and John’s new friend Sam. A few days before, John had developed his first Legacy (a power given by the planet Lorien), which, given time, enabled John to be immune to fire and his hands to shine like flashlights. John uses his ‘lights’ and superhuman strength/speed to intimidate Mark, while revealing his unknown identity as a Lorien to Sam, who strongly believes that aliens had kidnapped his father at a young age, therefore revealing their existence and establishing Sam’s interest in space life. I picked up “I Am Number Four” with high expectations. Many had recommended this book and series to me, and after reading it, I realized that this novel met my expectations and beyond. Lore expertly wove the unknown, mysterious alien world into a magnificent species that did, in fact, exist and was mingling among humanity without our suspicions. Lore described the Loriens as creatures that looked like regular humans and easily spoke English and other foreign languages, while the Mogadorians didn't resemble the human nature at all. Interesting no doubt, but the dangers of being discovered-by the Mogadorians or the humans-justed added to the suspense. John couldn’t become a target at school, couldn’t participate in sports that might betray his strength and speed, and couldn’t become popular among his classmates to attract Mogadorians. He couldn’t become close friends in case he had to leave at a moments notice and he always had to be on the lookout. Lore made this book intricate by making sure all of these important keys were added, little hints hidden throughout the story, and making room for the tiny details to make “I Am Number Four” a masterpiece to be read for decades. In a situation that involves trust, hope, loyalty, danger, and even sorrow, John faces struggles that bring the story to life in an odd, but intriguing way. “I Am Number Four” is just the beginning of his journey to save Lorien, and Lore captures his readers in this amazing novel and takes them for a trip that doesn’t guarantee their return.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I know there is a big controversy about the author of this book, but in spite of that I liked it. I thought it was an intriguing premise, I liked the characters, and it was a quick and easy read. I did NOT like all the bad language. Numerous uses of the "s" word, the "h" word and the "d" word. And I found the ending highly implausible. I probably won't take the time to read the next books, but I want someone to tell me what happens!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I am number four is science/romantic novel set in present time where the main character john smith is criss-crossing across the country running away from the Magdorians 14 years later after the Magdorians destroyed lorien.Now John and his cepan "henri" come apon paridise,ohio where John discovers a reason why to stop running and fight.where are the rest?One reason why I liked this book is because in the book John moves from one place to the other constantly and since I have been in the states i have moved 5 times and saying good-bye to freinds is the worst part of it all and to me that is just relateable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore is by far the best book I have ever read. I love the plot the Author made the book into and want to find out more on how he came up with these fantastic ideas for the story. This book has everything from action, romance and so much more. I suggest that everyone reads the book and I would give it 4.5 out of 5 stars. I can’t wait to start the next two books that go along with this epic adventure.In this story John Smith, a 15-year-old alien from the planet Lorien, and Henri Smith, his guardian Cepan, runs from the Mogadorians, another alien race that is hunting John and eight other teenage Lorics on the planet Earth. They killed the first 3 Lorics on the planet and now it is John’s turn to be killed by the Mogadorians. John and Henri keep the move on as they leave Florida. Henri tells him they are going to Paradise, Ohio. Henri produces a new identity for Four, giving him the name "John Smith." In Paradise, Ohio John faces many new experiences. John later falls in love with the beautiful Sarah Hart. John finds himself caught up in life and is now surrounded by the evil Mogadorians. Find out if John makes it out alive in I Am Number Four.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    So in my original review on my blog I did a comparison of the movie, book, and audio book. I've cut the movie part out here, since it's not fair to add that in on the book review.The audio book: Avoid this at all costs! It was absolutely dreadful. I've only listened to one other audio book, but if they are all like this one I don't think I'll ever like them. The narrator sounded like a middle-aged man and when it came time for the female characters to speak, it was the same middle-aged man suddenly trying to sound like a fifteen-year-old girl. The voices continued to go down hill from there and it didn't help matters that the narrator sounded like he was reading the book for the first time, pausing in the wrong spots, weird intonation. I made it to chapter seven before I couldn't handle any more, and I almost didn't go for the print version. The book: This was much better than I thought it would be after suffering through part of the audio book. There were certain elements in the book that I liked much better than the movie, such as Henri having an accent. In the movie there wouldn't have been a natural way of explaining why he portrayed himself as French, but in the book we get the background. That is really what made me like the book and movie equally. The book's pace was a bit too slow for me, while the movie missed some of the depth in the world building.My recommendation would be to read the book, then see the movie, and don't even bother with the audio book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    3.5/5 stars, rounded down to 3. Review of an ARCI am Number Four is a mix of science fiction and magic. I don't like reading science fiction, but this book wasn't so bad. The mixing of the two genres was not the best, because some things were just simply explained away with magic. I am Number Four is a suspenseful sci-fi with a touch of magic thrown in.Overall: The first 50 or so pages were exciting and fun to read. I loved the description of Lorien and other life-sustaining planets. But as it went on the pace slowed down a bit. And then near the end I started getting a little bored. Some stuff was pretty obvious though John didn't have a clue. The ending was a little messy because there was just so much going on.***!!!SPOLIER!!!***One thing I absolutley hated was Henri's death. It felt unnecessary to kill him off. Like Pittacus Lore did it just to make his reader's feel something. Maybe I'm wrong and his death will serve a purpose in the next book, but I really wished he hadn't died.***!!!END SPOILER!!!***Plot: I am not a fan of sci-fi. It's weird to me, but this book was popular enough to become a movie so I had to check it out. The summary sounded interesting enough. What really got me though was what it said on the inside. It was something along the lines of "The events that take place in this book were real. Names and places have been changed to protect identities." I have never seen that in a book before. That really got me interested. Though mine is an ARC so maybe the finished copy doesn't have that. Usually it's "The events in this book are fictional and made up by the author. Similar names and places are a coincidence." I liked the concept of the universe having several life-sustaining planets somewhat close to Earth. That seems realistic to me because the universe is huge and anything is possible. Lorien is a place where I would want to live. Mogadore, not so much. I would really like to learn more about the different planets. The plot moved at a good pace. Super fast and exciting in the beginning and starts to slow down later on, but not enough to make the story boring. Plus there is plenty of suspense and plot twists to keep things exciting.Characters: The actions of some characters really annoyed me. John for example seemed to make some pretty stupid decisions. Henri was probably my favorite character out of the whole book. And Bernie Kosar. (view spoiler) I'm a little skeptical of how 6 kids and their guardians are going to repopulate an entire planet. Maybe there are other survivors, but that still isn't enough. Maybe they will use humans to repopulate, even if their children will only be half Lorien(and probably won't have any Legacies).I would read the next book to see what happens with John. Where will he go next and what other Legacies will he discover?
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Maybe my mistake was to see the movie first. But in general, books are better than the movies...There are exceptions to the rule apparently. The story itself was interesting. The premise was good and I wanted to learn more about the characters. The main problem was the writing. It felt emotionally flat and too descriptive. I skipped a good portion of the second half...
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I was scanning through the movies on Vudu the other night and I ran across a preview for I Am Number Four. There wasn’t a trailer available on Vudu (which is a horrid fail, btw) so I googled it, watched it and yeah, it looked pretty good. I was going to rent the movie but it turns out you can’t. You can only buy it and even if it was good, it wouldn’t be the kind of movie I’d spend twenty bucks on. You can already sense the negativity, can’t you?So I bought the book.In hindsight it wasn’t worth those ten bucks either.Daniel John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith, is hot footing it out of town. About ever six months or so, he and his pseudo-father “Henri” load up the truck and move to a new town and change identities. It’s necessary, seriously necessary in fact because there’s an entire race of killer aliens after them. John is one of nine Super High-speed 4G Bluetooth hero children that escaped from the planet of Lorien in the midst of an attack by said killer aliens. As the last of his race, it’s crucial to his people’s survival that he and his kind stay hidden on earth until it’s safe to return to their home planet. The Mogadorians (killer aliens), having raped Loric for all its resources, have set their sights on the planet Earth and must destroy the nine super kids in order to carry out their evil, villainous plans. *Cue music*The nine can only be killed in sequential order. Meaning, you can’t kill three before killing one or it JUST WILL NOT WORK. I refer you to Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the scene in which they receive instructions on the use of the holy hand grenade. Three are dead. John is number four. Get it?OK, now to get to the root of my pissiness. I liked this story. It was incredibly entertaining in a Saturday morning cartoon sort of way. The plot was great. The action was intense. All the super hero badassedness was badass. All that. I read it in two sittings because I really did care about what happened and I was into it. I was into it despite the fact that the writing was unforgivably atrocious and seemed, for lack of a better way to put it, to be written by a child…in crayon.It read about like this:"I woke up. I walked to the refrigerator. I opened the refrigerator door. I took a moment to brood about how much it sucked that I might get killed by aliens. I really want to just be human and eat fruit loops. I can’t be human because I’m so badass. MAN AM I BADASS! I’m still going to eat fruit loops."That was the reenactment. Here’s an actual quote: “I go to the bathroom, enter an empty stall, and latch the door behind me. I open my hands. A slight glow in the right one. I close my eyes and sigh, focus on breathing slowly. A minute later the glow is still there. I shake my head. I didn’t think the Legacy would be that sensitive. I stay in the stall.”It brought to mind a traffic jam, with cars lined up for miles and miles behind each other, moving at the speed of one bumper length every fifteen minutes. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. Short, clipped little sentences written for the ADD afflicted in mind.Still, all in all, it’s a great story, and I hope it made a better movie. If “Pittacus Lore” would like to send my back my ten bucks, I’ll throw in the other ten and watch it.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I wanted to like this book. I tried to like this book. I tried really, really, really hard. But I just couldn't get into it. It's rather disappointing because I feel like it just had so much potential. I really do believe it could have been something wonderful. The basic plot and story line are interesting, but the writing is where this book falls short. I found myself skimming through the later half of the book, waiting for it to be over rather than losing myself in the world Frey and Hughes have created. There were moments where my interest was caught, but these moments were few and far between. Character development was a big problem: there just wasn't a lot of it. I never felt very emotionally connected to the protagonist, John Smith, or his love interest Sarah. Their love connection didn't have enough depth to make it truly believable or realistic. It just came off as superficial. John lacked depth as a character, as well. I found him slightly boring and flat, even despite all of the fun, alien stuff going on around him. I preferred Kevin, John's rival for the earlier parts of the novel, over John. He had some growth, some texture. I generally think it is a bad sign when you enjoy reading about the school bully more than the protagonist, don't you agree? Sarah, too, was underdeveloped. It seemed like all we really got to know about her was that she is stunningly pretty and that she likes photography. I would really love to see the characters a bit more fleshed out. Characters are the medium through which your story is delivered. No matter how plot-driven your story is, characters need to be sufficiently developed. I do think that the book opens with a great hook. I really enjoyed reading the first couple of pages, where Number Three is tracked and killed. This scene had a sense of urgency and suspense that I felt missing from the later parts of the book. However, the true saving grace of I Am Number Four (and the reason it is getting two stars instead of one) is found in Bernie Kosar, John's guardian/pet. Oh, what can I say? I get all weepy and emotional over animals, especially ones so brave and loyal as Bernie! Overall, I feel like this was an interesting idea that went very uncultivated. It reads more like something someone threw together just to be done with it, or perhaps like the book was written from a screenplay. I find myself looking forward to the movie (which is being release on February 18!) a lot more than the sequel, although I do plan on continuing to read the series. Hopefully, we will see greater attention paid to character development throughout the rest of the series.CONCLUSION: Although Frey and Hughes have created an interesting premise, I found many parts of this book to be unsatisfying and underdeveloped. It does have its moments of brilliance, but I would recommend borrowing a copy from the library or a friend before you buy it!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I don't know why I didn't read this the first time it was recommended to me. After I watched the movie on tv, that was only when I decided to read this amazing book. The story is so great that I can't stop reading. There was a time when I woke up at 3 in the morning and I read until I fell asleep. Anyway, I'm still glad I read it just now because I won't have to wait anymore for the second book to be released.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fabulous book. I love the little touches Author Lore puts in (like the grand leader's name) and the introduction page. This is a book that I couldn't put down. Fun characters that are well developed, just enough detail to help me form a mental picture, but not so much that I got bored. I was so excited I went out and rented the movie right away and that's when things went bust. The movie did not follow the book, in fact they took the relationship between "John" and "Henry" and made it antagonistic and not loving as it is in the book. That alone made me want to turn the movie off. Read the book and don't watch the movie - you'll be glad.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book came highly recommended by one of my high school students. I had the feeling that the author had enough material for one good book and the publisher convinced her (or him - pseudonyms are nothing but trouble) to extend it to a money-making trilogy, which he (she) did by adding a lot of Twilight-esque romantic elements. Still, it was entertaining and fun - a good weekend read for fans of the YA genre.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A wonderfully written book that will keep you up late into the night reading. Don't be put off by the fact that it is about aliens, it is written in a new way that is very good.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not great character development, and felt dialog forced between romantic leads, or at the least cliched, couldn't take many more, "hey, you"s. Beyond that I liked the premise and was able to get on for the ride!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Mini Book Review: Really enjoyed this one. The writing isn't the best, but the fast paced interesting plot really makes up for it. The characters are interesting and likeable and the story is non stop action with some humour and romance tossed in. My only real complaint, and not really much a complaint more of a a personal preference, is the love scenes are nauseatingly mushy. But you have to remember I am a 41 yr old women and these books are written for young teens. I was hooked in from the opening chapter and did not want to put the book down I was so engrossed in the excitement of the story. In fact I figured I was going to finish the book on the bus ride home so I purchased (For my Kobo) The Power of Six just in case my commute went a little longer. Highly recommend for teens and even adults who just enjoy a good story. Perfect book for a day at the beach. Now must go and read some more of The Power of Six on my lunch break.4.5 Dewey'sI purchased this for my Kobo (on suggestion from Liam)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
     Your whole family is gone, and you are on the run...constantly. The group started with nine, on, two, and three are gone. You are next. They want you dead. The future of your home planet is in your hands.Four had lived this way since he was young. He and the other eight kids left Lorien when they was little and when he got to Earth they had to split up. Each of them was assigned a guardian, this guardian will stay with them for the rest of their lives.Four has had to move from place to place. At the first sign of something suspicious his and his guardian would leave. Each time they left a place they came up with a new identity; name, age, birth certificate, story. By now Four was used to the constant change. He had just gotten used to Florida. But Four's guardian was in charge and he said they had to leave. Four was number four, the Mogadorians are hunting all nine of them down. Four is next so they have to be extra careful.Four and his guardian are going to Paradise, Ohio. Four's new name is John and his guardian's new name is Henry. Paradise, Ohio was a small farm town, it was small and secluded like Henry wanted.John makes friend with a girl named Sarah and a boy named Sam. Sarah is the school jocks ex-girlfriend and Sam is obsessed with aliens. Sam and Sarah help John through all of his adventures.The Mogadorians find out where John and Henry are, and are on their way. Henry wants to leave, but John wants to stay with Sarah and Sam. Staying could mean more time with Sam and Sarah but less time before the Mogadorians show up.John will have to choose whether to stay and fight or leave and never see his friends again.I loved this book. I give it five stars. “I AM NUMBER FOUR” was full of action, romance, drama. It packed everything that a good book needs into one tight little package of joy.The author, Pittacus Lore, wrote very well. His writing was descriptive and awesome. I felt like I was in the book. You know that it is a good book, if you feel what is going on in the book. Through the heart pounding moments and the soft quiet moments in John's head, I was there feeling and experiencing everything. I loved reading this book just because it was good writing. The plots to books can be good, but the only way a book itself can be good is if the writing that fills the pages is great. From cover to cover, the writing in this book was great.Good books can't be full of all action and adventure, there has to be something else there. In I AM NUMBER FOUR that something else was romance. I can't read books that are all romance, but I also can't read books that are all action. There has to be a happy medium. I AM NUMBER FOUR had this happy medium. The romance in this book was so sweet, I wanted to tear up at some points in the book. The romance isn't blatantly out there but it isn't hidden either. I wouldn't let the romance stop boys from reading it, it was full of action and adventure too.The action and adventure was heart pounding at some moments, but quiet and creepy at others. I loved the mix of everything. I dreaded the moment my I had to put the book down, especially in the middle of an action packed part. Normally I like Realistic Fiction, but this is like Realistic Fiction with some twists. I give the author two thumbs up.I AM NUMBER FOUR by Pittacus Lore was a great book. It was filled with everything a good book should have. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that it will hurt when you have to put it down. I AM NUMBER FOUR was like an adventure donut. It was oozing action out from the inside, it was glazed with a thin coat of romance, and had sprinkles on the top to add a little crunch.

Book preview

I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore

CHAPTER ONE

THE MOGS ARE HERE!

My eyes shoot open as I jerk upright, hoping that sentence was just something from a bad dream.

But it’s not.

They’re here, Rey whispers again as he crosses over the floor of our little shack to where I’m sleeping on top of a pallet of blankets.

I’m off the floor in seconds. Rey’s solar-powered lantern swings in front of my face, and it blinds me. I flinch away and then he turns it off, leaving me in complete darkness. As he pushes me towards the back of our home, all I can make out is a sliver of silver light peeking through the window.

Out the back. His voice is full of urgency and fear. I’ll hold them off. Go, go, go.

I start grabbing at the air where he’d stood moments before but find nothing. I can’t see anything: My eyes still burn from the lantern.

Rey—

No. He cuts me off from somewhere in the dark. "If you don’t go now, we’re both dead."

There’s a clattering near the front of the shack, followed by the sound of something—or someone—slamming against the front door. Rey lets out a pained cry but the inside of the shack is still nothing but an abyss of black in my eyes. I know there’s a metal bar over the door that’s not going to hold up against much more than a little force. It’s for show more than anything else. If someone really wanted into our shack, they could just blow through the flimsy wooden walls. And if it’s the Mogs . . .

There’s no time to think, only to react. It’s me they’re after. I’ve got to get to safety.

I rip away the piece of cloth that serves as a makeshift curtain and throw myself through the little window. I land with a plop in a three-inch puddle of mud, slop, and things I don’t even want to imagine—I’m in the hog pen.

A single thought runs through my mind. I’m going to die a thirteen-year-old boy covered in pig shit on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Life is so unfair.

The hogs squeal—I’ve disturbed their sleep—and it snaps me back into the moment. Old training regimens and lectures from years before take over my brain and I’m moving again, checking my flanks to make sure there are no Mogs that have already made their way to the back of the hut. I start to think about what their plan of action might be. If the Mogs actually knew I was on the island, I’d be surrounded already. No, it must be a single scout that stumbled upon us by accident. Maybe he had time to report us to the others, maybe not. Whatever the case, I have to get out of the line of fire. Rey will take out the scout. He’ll be fine. At least that’s what I tell myself, choosing to ignore how frail Rey’s looked lately.

He has to be okay. He always is.

I head for the jungle behind our shack. My bare feet sink into the sand, as if the island itself is trying to slow me down. I’m dressed only in dark athletic shorts, and branches and shrubs around me scratch at my bare chest and stomach as I enter the cover of the trees. I’ve done this sort of thing before, once, in Canada. Then, coats and a few bags weighed me down. But we’d had a little more warning. Now, in the sticky-hot night of the Caribbean, I’m weighed down only by my lack of stamina.

As I hurl myself through the dense vegetation, I think of all the mornings I was supposed to spend jogging along the beach or hiking through the forest that I actually spent playing solitaire or simply lazing around. Doing what I really wanted to do, like drawing little cartoons in the sand. Coming up with short stories told by stick figures. Rey always said I shouldn’t actually write anything down—that any journal or notes I wrote could be found and used as proof of who I am. But writing and drawing in the sand was temporary. When the tide came in, my stories were gone. Even just doing that caused me to work up a sweat in this damned climate, and I’d return to Rey, pretending to be exhausted. He’d comment on the timing of my imaginary run and then treat me to a rich lunch as a reward. Rey is a taskmaster when it comes to doling out things to do, but his lungs are bad and he always trusted that I was doing the training he told me to do. He had no reason not to—no reason to think I wouldn’t take our situation seriously.

It wasn’t just the avoidance of having to work my ass off in the heat that kept me from training. It was the monotony of it all that I hated. Run, lift, stretch, aim, repeat—day in and day out. Plus, we’re living out in the middle of nowhere. Our island isn’t even on any maps. I never thought the Mogs would ever find us.

Now, I’m afraid that’s coming back to haunt me. I wheeze as I run. I’m totally unprepared for this attack. Those mornings lazing around the beach are going to get me killed.

It doesn’t take long before there’s a stitch in my side so sore that I think it’s possible I’ve burst some kind of internal organ. I’m out of breath, and the humid air feels like it’s trying to smother me. My hands grasp onto low-hanging branches as I half-pull my way through thick green foliage, the bottoms of my feet scraping against fallen limbs and razor-sharp shells. Within a few minutes the canopy above me is so dense that only pinpricks of the moonlight shine through. The jungle has given way to a full-blown rain forest.

I’m alone in the dark in a rain forest with alien monsters chasing after me.

I pause, panting and holding my side. Our island is small, but I’m only maybe a fifth of the way across it. On the other side of the island a small, hidden kayak is waiting for me, along with a pack of rations and first aid gear. The last-chance escape vessel, something that’ll let me slip into the dark of the night and disappear on the ocean. But that seems so far away now, with my lungs screaming at me and my bare feet bleeding. I lean against a tree, trying to catch my breath. Something skitters across the forest floor a few feet away from me and I jump, but it’s only one of the little green lizards that overrun the island. Still, my heart pounds. My head is dizzy.

The Mogadorians are here. I’m going to die.

I can’t imagine what Rey is doing back at the shack. How many Mogs are here? How many can he take on? I hope I’m right, and it’s just a single scout. I realize I haven’t heard any gunshots. Is that a good sign, or does it mean the bastards got to him before he was able to fire off a single round?

Keep going, I tell myself, and then start out again. My calves are burning and my lungs feel like they’re about to split open every time I inhale. I stumble, hitting the ground hard and knocking what little breath I had out of me.

Somewhere behind me, I can hear movement in the trees.

I glance around. Without a clear view of the sky, I can’t even tell which direction I’m going anymore. I’m totally screwed. I have to do something.

I abandon the plan to cross the island. I’m in no shape to do so. For a moment I think of burrowing down into the brush—maybe finding something to hide in until I can slip through the forest—but then I think of all the fist-sized spiders and ants and snakes that could be waiting there for me, and imagine a Mogadorian scout stepping on me by accident.

So I head up instead. Gathering every ounce of strength I have, I use a few sturdy vines to pull myself hand over hand up to a low branch on a nearby tree. All I can think of are the many different types of beasts Rey’s told me the Mogs can command, any one of which would like nothing more than to tear me apart.

Why don’t we have giant hell-beasts to fight for us?

My arms are shaking by the time I squat on the limb, the wood creaking under my weight as I stare into the blackness, hoping over and over again that nothing will emerge from it. That I can just wait this out.

That it will all just go away.

There’s no telling how much time passes. If I’d been more put together or hadn’t been so taken by surprise, I might have remembered to grab my watch on the way out the window. It’s weird—time always seemed like it didn’t mean anything on the island, and now it means everything. How many minutes before more of them arrive? How many seconds before they find me? I try to keep from trembling, and my stomach from turning over—between the running, my fear, and the damp smell of pig that clings to me in a thick coat of sludge, I’m teetering on the edge of vomiting. Maybe the stinking layer of crap will help keep me camouflaged, at least.

It’s not a very reassuring silver lining.

Finally, a silhouette starts to take shape in the

Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1