If you haven’t read the first book, I Am Number Four, be aware that this review may contains Spoilers.
Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.
Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.
But they know.They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four.
I am next.
John Smith is Number Four and the death of yet another of the Garde, Number Three, has caused him and his guardian, Henri, to flee their home and find another, this one in Paradise, Ohio. John’s special abilities, or Legacies, begin to develop, bringing with them chaos and exposure.
As the battle between John and the Mogadorian scouts sent to kill him approaches, Number Six arrives, a blonde girl with a feisty attitude. Both decide that the plan to keep all the children apart will only destroy them eventually and battle the Mogadorians so that they can escape to find the others. Six and John leave, taking Sam Goode, a human ally, with them.
Power of Six follows on the story, but instead of John, we are focussed on Number Seven, a girl named Marina. Living in a convent in Spain, her guardian has abandoned her for God and Marina is forced to cope alone as her Legacies arrive, and with them, the threat of the Mogadorians.
I skipped through this book in all of about four hours, enthralled by the action and intensity in the writing. The extraordinary is definitely the key with the pacing, as each storm cloud, or night time excursion, brings with it the possibility of more Legacies or Loriens being revealed.
It is intriguing to read through Marina’s (Seven) story, and her fascinations with John Smith, and know all we know about the other characters. It pulls the reader in, as every moment that we’re involved we’re waiting for them all to find each other. Marina is a brilliant character on her own, but, from witnessing more scenes between Six and John, it will be great to see the dynamic this group pulls in once they’re all together.
This novel definitely feels more cinematic than the last, and perhaps that’s because of the reception of the first. There is a plan for six books, but, after the failure that was the first film, I don’t think the film franchise will happen alongside. I didn’t mind the first film, but whereas the book can cater to adults and teens, the film industry tends to feel it has to pick one age range. It went for teen and, unfortunately, ended up losing a lot of the subtly and maturity of the novel. On a visual point, the cover pictured is not the cover I had on my proof. Mine was white with a blue, embossed symbol. Much simpler and I definitely preferred it.
Battling against my rational brain at this point is, however, my disdain for author James Frey. The pseudonym Pittacus Lore covers James Frey and Jobie Hughes, and, to be honest, I have issues with Frey as a genuine author. After the scandal with A Million Little Pieces, I can’t really have any respect for that author. On a personal note, I really wish bookshops and libraries would stop promoting it as a memoir, because it’s mostly rubbish.
Either way, Power of Six definitely makes a great sequel to I Am Number Four. I’m super excited to see where the series goes after this!
