Whats Hot? Books.

I Am Number Four. 

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book or not because I'm not usually into sci-fi books, personally I think they look a lot better on screen, but this book is different. Perhaps what makes this book easy to read and understand and less sci-fi-y is that although the protagonist, John, is an alien, he still looks and acts like a human, the only difference is that he was born on 'Lorien', not Earth. I'm not entirely sure whether this book belongs under the genre 'sci-fi' as to be honest there is not that much alien/out of this world content. The majority of the book takes place on Earth with brief glances at other planets, and there are only two alien races, both of which look pretty much like humans. This book is aimed at young adults and I think that both boys and girls can enjoy it. There are both battle scenes and love scenes which brings a balance that is just right. The book does not contain lots of made up words that are difficult to understand, pretty much everything can be found in your standard (human) dictionary. The love aspect of this novel is predictable, but to be honest, that can be said for just about every story with romance, the rest of the story; however, is not. There are some unexpected suprises to keep you on your toes and I think the minor characters add a lot to this book.

It is quite an emotional story about a boy, who is next on his biggest enemies hit list, trying desperately to stay alive so that he can save his planet. The relationships between the characters are true and this offers much to the plotline. The book does differ slightly from the film, but the main plot remains the same.

I highly recommend this book to young adults, and if you've never tried reading sci-fi before, this is as good a place as any to start and ease yourself in!