I am Number Four

Overall, this was one of my favorite books of this summer. The story is about John Smith, number Four, and his Cepan, Henri while they escape Mogadorians. Both John and Henri are from a distant planet called Lorien, which is very similar to Earth. The people on Lorien are split into two groups: the Garde and the Cepan. The Garde are those who develop special “legacies” or powers. The Cepan are those who study and know the planet’s history and protect the Garde. Each Garde member is paired with a Cepan. One day, Mogadorians, aliens from the planet Mogadore, invaded Lorien since their planet was dying. The Elders (the government) of Lorien sent nine very gifted child and their Cepans on an aircraft to Earth so that one day they could return and recreate Lorien. The nine children were each given a number and a charm. The Elders knew the Mogadorians would attempt to kill the children, but the charm prevented them from killing the children out of order. Therefore, they had to kill number one first or whatever they did to try to harm one of the other children would backfire. Each time one of the children is killed a circular mark forms on the other children, so they know where they are in the order and if they’re next.

After receiving the third mark, John knows he is next. Henri relocates them to a small town in Ohio called Paradise, where John finds for the first time that he has a life. John makes new friends as well as enemies, but even after signs they must leave, John wants to stay with his new found friends and his girlfriend Sarah. After, they discover ugly truths about the Mogadorians and the others, John and Henri begin to worry that they are near. Will John stay running or will the Mogadorians kill another of the last remaining Garde?