I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Oh, man....are you in for a treat! I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore is the quintacenstial teen sci-fi hit of 2010. I know I'm not known for my analysis of literary classics, but my mantra is that "reading should be fun." Yes, a very complicated and deep mantra, but I'm not a big believer in only reading crap that is written for book snobs. I like to be entertained when I read, and this book definitely fits the bill for entertainment value! From what I've read about the book, it was totally written just so they could make an interesting movie about it, but whoever they hired to write the book was a great writer. No lie. Usually ghost writers for big-budget books or celebrity-written novels seem to blow (Hello, L.A. Candy?), but the fictional Pittacus Lore is worth the money Disney paid him or her to write the novel. I totally bought in the the marketing scheme...count me in for the next in the series, please!

So how did I get hooked on this pop-culture series? Every month, I copy the book review section from Justine Magazine (our school library has a subscription to this publication). If you aren't familiar with their SPARK book club, then you need to be. This magazine reviews teen fiction on a monthly basis and it usually has reviews written by teen readers. We like to read these book reviews because they really do "SPARK" interest in books. I have my students circle and discuss the top two books off of the reviews that they would like to read most. If I have enough money left in my class budget, I buy the books they voted as the most interesting. I usually can't keep these books on my shelves for the duration of the year. However, after my classes read the review page that contained I am Number Four and voted that book (as well as The Body Finder) as a book they would like to read, I discovered I didn't have enough school funds to buy the book. Books are to me what shoes are to other women: I can't say no to a good pair. I bought both books the other day and devoured I am Number Four in two days.

Nine Lorien children were sent to planet Earth in the midst of a full-scale attack by the evil and Mogadarian race. They plan to strip Lorien of it's natural resources and wipe out the Lorien population in the process. The plan is for the Lorien children to hide out on Earth, and wait for their Legacies (or superhuman talents) to grow and develop so they can come together to fight the Mogadarians for control of their homeland. A special Lorien charm protects the children when they arrive on Earth. Each is numbered, and each must live seperately from the other nine with their protector, or Cepan, or the charm will not work. The only way the Mogadarian can kill the Lorien teens is in the order that they were numbered. The nine children live in hiding on Earth, but the Mogadarians have discovered that they are on our planet and begin hunting them one by one. The first three are dead. Our narrator is number four. He knows that he is next and he also is aware that the Mogadarians have other reasons for being on Earth besides just hunting down the Lorien teens. Can the remaining six Loriens develop their Legacies and fight the Mogadarians before Earth as we know it is lost? You try starting this book tonight and see if YOU can put it down...not so easy, people!

What is also cool about this book is that it already has a movie coming out in February. Alex Pettyfer plays John, or Number Four. He is also the actor that many are lobbying for him to nab the role of Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games movie. He's quite literally the hottie in the trailer. The chick from Glee plays Number Four's love interest, Sarah, in the movie. Check out the trailer below and then go buy the book. It's awesome!