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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Fraser Valley Regional Library.
Jul 19, 2016TEENREVIEWCREW rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In the book ‘I am Number Four’, super powered aliens escape to earth in a desperate attempt to save their species from other powerful and dominating aliens that blew up their home planet and the ultra-powerful dictator and… Yeah. There’s a lot going on in this book. For me, the book really began as soon as I read the title. As it suggests, the main character is ‘number four’. He and nine other of his alien race escaped to earth after their home planet was attacked and destroyed. And, the aliens want to kill the last nine as well, but there’s a problem. They have to be killed in order. When the book starts, numbers one, two, and three have all already been killed. The entire premise of ‘aliens’ is somewhat overused in my humble opinion, as is the premise of ‘superpowers’. But this is the first book that I read that took both of them. It took two overused ideas, and blended them into a new, refreshing premise. The book is mostly action, with detailed fighting scenes and interesting off parts. The characters themselves are interesting, differing ideals and personalities, and, as the series goes on, we are introduced to more of the numbers and more of their backstories. Overall, the entire idea of the book is interesting, and the execution is even more so. The characters are interesting and each and every one of them is unique. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action books. 4/5. @Xeno of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library The concept of this book might seem cheesy at first; aliens with superpowers hiding on earth from other aliens trying to kill off their race. But I liked how the author didn't go over the top with it and presented the main character more as a teenager trying to fit so the reader could relate to him. He did a good job of weaving the supernatural elements into the story and putting a twist on the typical aliens on earth narrative. The backstory of the Loric people's planet and how they managed to create identities on earth is put together well. The characters are all complex and interesting. The book overall got me hooked. - @bookanarchy of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library This book was mildly interesting from the start, but it’s just so cliché that it’s hard to really get into. Page after page is full or stereotypes and clichés. For example, John Smith (who is one of the secret aliens in disguise) moves to a new city and starts at a new school where, on his first day, he falls in love with the first girl he sees, who is your stereotypical pretty high school girl who all the boys love, former cheerleader, and loves photography and pets. Oh, and I forgot to mention, her ex-boyfriend was of course, the best football player in the entire school, and all the girls love him. John’s best friend just happens to be the school geek, and together, they go on to develop what little action there is in this book. All the characters are plain, boring, and have no personality. The only character who is slightly interesting is Henri, and he is the reason I continued to read this book. I have to say, I would have enjoyed this book much more without Sarah and the story would have honestly developed much better without her magical solutions to everything. Although many things did bother me about this book, I would still recommend it for a quick read because some parts of it are suspenseful and interesting. The book starts to develop an interesting plot when number six joins the pages, and the action she brings makes up for the beginning of the book. - @Alicat15 of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library