I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I have to state, for the record, that in general- I hate aliens.  I click dislike on the episodes of "Fact or Faked Paranormal Files" where ALL THEY DO is look into alien videos.  It's probably not aliens.  I didn't need them to take an hour to tell me that.  I also HATE all the millions of movies where for some reason, hostile aliens come to Earth and we pitiful humans have to try to rise up against them.  All those movies look the same. Boring!  I did have to watch an obscene amount of Star Trek growing up (thanks, Daddy!) and that wasn't awful but generally speaking aliens are not my thing.  BUT- I LOVED I Am Number Four.  The book, I haven't seen the movie yet.  I Am Number Four resonated with me in a number of ways.  It is set in Ohio, where I have lived my entire life.  John/Number Four's best friend in Ohio- Sam Goode- NO JOKE, Goode was my maiden name.  And I hated it.  But now, it's actually kind of cool.  The name of his home planet, Lorien, is the name of one of my best high school friends.  Bernie Kosar the dog- my neighbor and best friend growing up was OBSESSED with Bernie Kosar.  Do any non-Ohioans actually know who/what Bernie Kosar is?

It is always cool when a book is set in Ohio but this one really reached out and grabbed me.  I know you people who live in cool states don't see the reason for excitement but Ohio is the Heart of It All, or we were until they changed the slogan to "So Much to Discover" which basically translates to "no one goes to Ohio voluntarily."  We're in the Midwest, we have sort of good sports teams who can never do really well for long and we don't even have something for which we're super famous.  We have the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but they don't even do the inductions at the hall itself because it would probably offend the people being inducted to come to Cleveland.  Sad but true.  I only know of two really awesome books/series set here or with a main character from Ohio.  1- Cat from the Night Huntress Series is from Ohio.  2- I Am Number Four is mostly set in Ohio.  But enough about Ohio.  How about some I Am Number Four?!

I Am Number Four is the first book in the Lorien Legacies books and it follows John/Number Four who is an alien living on this planet after his own was taken over/destroyed by another race of aliens.  John is from Lorien a planet with an advanced culture made up of two kinds of inhabitants, those with Legacies or powers and those without.  John will have Legacies, powers which will help him find the Mogadorian.  The Mogadorian took over and destroyed Lorien.  Now, they scour the Earth seeking to destroy the nine Garde who left Lorien with their Cepan to hide on Earth until their Legacies manifest so that they can theoretically take back their planet and repopulate it.  John/Four has lived through the deaths of One, Two and Three, getting a scar every time one is killed.  There is a spell upon the nine that until they join together they have to be killed in number order.  The Mogadorians caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England and Number Three in Kenya.  John is Number Four.  They will be coming after him next.  Henri, Four's cepan or guardian, moves him to Paradise, Ohio near the start of the book.  Four decides that he wants to have a real life this time around not to barely exist as he always has.  While in Paradise, they find that the Mogadorians are nearby and eventually they come for John/Four.  But John also falls in love, makes friends and comes into his first Legacies while they are in Paradise.

This book was great!  It was fast paced and realistic.  I could not put it down.  John is a great character who is genuine and sweet.  He has a sense of honor that is really fitting for someone who is kinda like Superman.  His friend, Sam, is kinda fun too.  Sam is kinda nerdy and an outcast but he bonds with John and they become friends, the kind of friends who would do anything for each other.  I don't know that I can properly describe the how and why of this awesome book.  I think you just have to read it.  The second book in the series, The Power of Six comes out on August 23rd.  You can find out more about the books on Goodreads.

I Am Number Four earns 4 Fairies for cool aliens fighting to save the world.