Thursday, July 14, 2011

review: I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

pub date: August 3, 2010
publisher: HarperCollins
pages: 440
appeals: aliens, adventure, romance, male protagonist,
content: some swearing

thoughts:
Will you hate me if I admit I liked the movie better? Because I did.

I saw the movie first and really enjoyed it. I thought it was fun and exciting and romantic. I'd been meaning to read the book since it came out, but watching the movie made me finally pick it up.

Truth be told, I was rather bored by the book. It was different from the movie, but similar enough that I already knew the main story arch and plot points and the writing was not compelling. It was very bland writing and I got bored with it.

I did enjoy the depth the book brought to the story. There was a lot more about Four's legacies and his home planet. Who Henri is to him and what they're doing on earth. There were so many cool things in the book, it was just written so bland!

I thought the ending dragged on and on. I wish I had read the book first. I know I would've liked it better. Even if the writing was bland, the plot would've kept me interested.

The romance in the book made me laugh. Only because it is such a boy romance. If a girl had written this book or if it was from a girl pov, there would've been a lot more senses involved. And his descriptions of what people were wearing cracked me up. If I hadn't already returned the book to the library I would give you an example, but it was mostly because there was no detail, just a, "she was wearing a nice dress," sort of description. It sounds like I'm bashing it, but I'm not. I enjoyed it and just thought the contrast between the boy/girl pov was interesting.

summary:
In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

2 comments:

Andie Z said...

I haven't actually seen the movie yet but I totally agree with your thoughts about the book. It had the potential to be a really interesting story, but the writing just wasn't up to scratch. I was definitely bored with it. I still haven't decided whether I'm going to bother to read the rest of the series. Maybe I'll just watch the movies. :P

resugo said...

I suggest just watching the movie. If I felt like the book got better at the end, I'd encourage you to continue. But it didn't. It got more boring.