It’s been a while since I’ve had to sit on a book. Not “sit” in the literal sense (Lord knows there’s not a book on the planet large enough to support this booty) but rather contemplate. I finished “I Am Number 4” 2 days ago, and have since been on a wild roller-coaster ride of inner dialogue. Did I really like this book or am I having to talk myself into it? The movie looks SO GOOD… was I expecting too much? Am I over-analyzing this? The end result (other than the resounding yes to over-analyzing) is it was entertaining. Mildly unorthodox and a bit lacking in places, but overall? Sure…why not.
John is not from around here. No… not as in I’m-a-cute-boy-who-just-moved-here-from-Bocca, more the my-planet-was-destroyed-by-evil-albino-aliens type of “not from around here.” With his home planet of Lorien at war; John was sent to earth to accomplish 2 very important things. #1. Protect the sanctity of the Loric legacy and #2. Stay alive. Unfortunately neither of these tasks are all that easy to accomplish by a teenage boy with no sense of home, and a desperate need for attachment. After a close call (aka exposure by tattoo) John and his rent-a-daddy Henri are forced to leave their current residence and seek a new place of solitude, but when a pretty girl with a open heart suddenly takes notice of the cute new boy, things start to get complicated. Will the Mogadorians (who have been hunting the Loric legacies 1 at a time) finally find who they have been looking for? What happens when an alien finally discovers he has hidden talents, and will John live long enough to see the sun again, or will he turn to ash like everything around him?
I’m sure you have all figured out by now that my initial reason for picking up “I Am Number 4” by Pittacus Lore is because I want to see the movie in 2 weeks, and while yes… the idea of an action packed alien read intrigued me… I didn’t plan on being quite so torn in my feelings towards the book. I love action and I love romance, but sometimes the fusion of the two can be off balance. Lore (who by the way turns out the be the “big mumbo jumbo” on Lorien) at times seemed to get lost inside his own novel. What does that mean exactly? Well in short form it means he drug his feet. We as readers were (at times) shoved into a loop of reiterated emotion, and offered up the same expressions (or experiences) over and over again with no other intention that to solidify their importance; only this “technique” had an adverse effect and made the story drag in areas that would have otherwise been perfect with a few small gestures or even 1 simple phrase. The thing I struggled with the most however was the action portrayed in the novel. It was there (no doubt about it) but until the last 10 chapters or so it was very sporadic -for a novel based on an alien invasion. Why did this bother me so much? To be honest… the more I think about it, the more confused I become. Maybe my expectations of the book were slightly skewed by my love for movie trailers. Maybe I’ve become an action whore… who knows. The only thing that IS clear (at this point) is that after all was said and done, after my over-analyzing and righteous indignation, after my negative Nancy attitude and 5 very large cups of coffee I realized something. I couldn’t stop thinking about this book. Now…I don’t know what that would mean to all of you, but to me it means something must have been right.
So here is my advice (finally) if you are like me and find happiness in the details then by all means… snatch it up and knock it out before the movie release on the 18th. If you don’t really care, save your book money for a rainy day and buy a movie ticket instead.
Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Even scared little blondes can wield butcher knives when absolutely necessary.
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[Rating:3.5/5]Movie Trailer
