Although I haven't been reading this book for very long I Am Number Four is very good. As i explained in previous blog posts, it is about a boy who traveled to Earth as his planet, Lorian, was being attacked. When he arrives he must learn to use his powers to hopefully someday fight and defeat the Mogadorians. Along with the pressures of being an alien that has to stay out of sight and flee from the Mogadorians, John must also tackle the hardships of being a teenage boy in high school.
When he meets Sarah, a sweet girl that loves photography, John's life gets turned upside down. He soon realizes that she is the girl of his dreams, but winning her over will not be that easy. John soon finds out the she is the ex-girlfriend of star football quarterback, Mark.
You would like this book if you enjoy reading adventure novels with just a twist of romance to keep it interesting. I gave this book four and a half stars out of five because I really like how the author was able to make this book relatable to most high school age kids even though it was about a boy sent to Earth to save his alien race. I took away a half star because i wished that he would have gone more into detail about how the Mogadorians were able to take over the Lorian planet so easily. Read this book find out if John really gets the girl and saves the world.
I just started reading the book I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. This book is about nine people who were sent to Earth as children to escape the Mogadorians, and hopefully save their race. As they arrive they scatter to all parts of the world to enact a charm that was place upon them before they left, because of this charm they can only be killed in number order. They were soon found after they arrived and the first three have already been killed. He is number four. Although i haven't been reading this book for very long i can make a couple of predictions about my future reading.
First, early in the book the newly named 'John' meets Sarah Hart. I an prediction that John and Sarah will fall in love later on in the book. This could be a text to text connection because I have read many other books, such as The Last Song, The Lucky One, and Divergent, where one of the main characters falls in love with the new kid. Although the author never comes outright and says they like each other the reader can infer this from the following evidence. "She mixes the batter and strands of hair fall in her face while she works. I desperately want to reach over and tuck the loose strands behind her ear, but I don't" page 71. This evidence shows that even through he is not really allowed to, John wants to become closer to Sarah, and evidence later on in the book shows that Sarah was to get to know John better too. "She looks behind her again and quickly reaches into the front pocket of her bag. She pulls out my phone and hands it to me. 'How did you get this?' She shrugs. 'Does Mark know?' 'Nope. So are you still going to be a tough guy?' she asks. 'I guess not'" page 73.
Second, I think that later in the book the Mogadorains are going to find John. Earlier in the book it says that they have ways to find them but some are easier to track then others, this is why Henri and John are constantly moving and living in very small, low key towns. As John learns to use his new found Legacies I believe that eventually in the book he is going to have to put them to the test, and defend himself and others with these special powers. An example that led me to this prediction was when the text said "I like the alien war and space games the best. I pretend I am back on Lorien, fighting Mogadorians, cutting them down, turning them to ash." Again I consider this a text to text connection because usually when a character is given some sort of special power in the book they end up using to defend the ones they love, examples of this are The Incredibles, Spiderman, and Batman. These are my predictions for the book I Am Number Four.
Characterization of "Four" I just started reading the book I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. This is about a kid who traveled with nine other kids to Earth to save the Lorien race. They scattered to all parts of the world in hope of staying hidden, and to keep a spell that means they can only be killed in the order of their number. Soon after they arrive they have been tracked again by the Mogadorians who's entire goal is to kill those nine children. As each child has been found and killed Four is the next one in line.
Although i haven't gotten very far into this book there are a couple traits that stand out about him. First, he is very sarcastic and likes to joke around, you see this many times when he is talking to Henri. An example of this is when the author writes "Three wooden stairs lead to a small porch covered with rickety chairs. The yard itself is long and shaggy. It has been a very long time since the grass was last mowed. 'It looks like paradise,' I say." page 20.
Another trait that could be used to describe Four is adaptive. You can tell this because to hid from the Mogadoraians they have had to move many times. Throughout his time on Earth he has lived in many small towns and attended many small schools, where he has had to start from scratch every time. In the following quote this is described "Another new identity, another new school. I've lost track of how many there have been over the years. Fifteen? Twenty? Always a small town, always a small school, always the same routine." page 23. This is the characterization of Four from the book I Am Number Four
Recomendation
I just finished reading the book Divergent by Veronica Roth. Throughout this book it tells a story of a young girl named Tris. Where she lives there are five factions, Dauntless, Erudite, Abnegation, Amity, and Candor. Every year the incoming group of sixteen year olds take a test to see which faction would be best for him/her to live, to help them decide at the Chooseing Ceremony, but something goes wrong with Tris' test, she is eligable for three. Tris is Divergent. She knows that she is dangerous,but she doesnt know why. "' Wait," I interupt her. "So you have no idea what my aptitude is?" "Yes and no. My conclusion," she explains, "is that you desplay equal aptitude for Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. People who get this kind of result are..." She looks over her shoulder like she expects someone to appear behind her. "...are called... Divergent." She says the last word so quietly that I asmost dont hear it, and her tense, worried look returns." (page 22)
She ends up choosing Dauntless, the faction that values bravery. As she enters initiation she realizes the life she left behind at Abnegation but begins to realize the new one she has started. With the help of her new friends they make it through the hardest part of the initiation, the second round, where mental toughness is key. Along the way Tris meets an interesting boy named Four, where a connection begins to grow. But as tensions rise between factions Tris learns of a war that Erudite is planning. "And then something occurs to me, something that hits me in the gut and gnaws at my insides. Erudite doesn't have weapons, and they don't know how to fight- but the Dauntless do." (page376) She isnt quite sure how they will plan it out but she ends up having to make the ultimate decision, faction or family. Read this book to find out what decision Tris makes and what it truely means to be Divergent.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys science fiction novels and likes the post apocolypse world. You would also like this book if you liked the Hunger Games series. I gave this book four out of five stars because I really enjoyed how the author left each chapter at a cliffhanger, leaving the reader wanting more. I also like how she gave insight into how emotional and meatally tough Dauntless initiation was. I took away a star though because I felt that sometime with the quick changing events, the story sometimes became a little hard to follow. All in all I thought this book was very well written and a great read.
Below is the trailer of the upcoming movie that is due to be released in 2014.
There are many themes
in the book Divergent by Veronica
Roth, but one of the most prevalent is, bravery can come to the most unlikely
people, and throughout the text Tris proves this theme in multiple situations.
To start off the book Tris decides to change factions after she had learned
that she had the ability to be placed in to a number of different factions, or
that she was divergent. Switching from Abnegation, the faction that values
selflessness, to Dauntless, the faction that values bravery, was the first
adventurous thing she did.
As
initiation continues Tris begins to prove herself to the doubting instructors
of her new faction by being the first initiate to jump into the pit, beating
Molly in the combat portion of training, and being the leader of the winning
capture the flag team, each day showing more and more that she has what it take
to be dauntless. An example of this is when Tris has the creative idea to climb
the Ferris wheel, andleads her team to
victory in capture the flag. “See that?” I say, pointing… “it’s coming from the
park at the end by the pier,” he says. “Figures. It’s surrounded by open space,
but the trees provide camouflage. Obviously not enough.” This quote
demonstrates the theme because coming from the Choosing Ceremony to now Tris
would have never thought that she could have found the bravery that it takes to
be a Dauntless member, but not only did she join but she was succeeding as an
initiate.
This
theme is shaped by specific details because throughout the book each little
thing that Tris accomplishes adds up to what her new character is becoming.
Each time she finds the bravery to conquer a task she turns more and more into
the Dauntless member that she wants to become an even though she had more to
overcome leading into the initiation process she still found the bravery to
become a candidate. These are the ways that theme shows in the book Divergent.
The characters in the book Divergent by Veronica Roth, develop over the course of the text due to their previous actions. The protagonist in this book is Tris, she developed the most because she came from the faction that values selflessness and the people there tend to be quiet and reserved. Then, she moves to the Dauntless faction that is filled with loud and rowdy people. As she become one of the Dauntless members, to can see Tris' personality change as she beings to learn to speak her mind and be brave. With her friends, the adventure of becoming a Dauntless was just beginning.
But Tris was always destined to be different, she is divergent. Not quite knowing what that means she takes on the journey of being different. Her true talents are put to the talent when she finds out that the Erudite are planning a war on her old faction, Abnegation. Not only is this happening, but the Erudite can not find a war on their own and are planning to brainwash the Dauntless to fight for them. Torn between the choice to save her friends or family Tris ventures into the Erudite headquarters and tries to destroy the program that is conducting this horrible attack.
As you see at then end of the book, Tris' character takes a 180, she goes from being the shy, timid girl at the end of the street to showing ultimate bravery to protect the ones that she loves, sacrificing the things she loves to do that. Below is a link that takes you to Goodreads where you can look at reviews of this book and see what other people thought of it.
