Read this book or you’ll be sorely missing out!
By Stacy / Spinebreakers Crew
I am certain that I haven’t read a book this quickly in a long while. I am also certain that I haven’t read a book this refreshingly original and captivating in years. But what I was uncertain of when I picked up the novel I Am Number Four was where the story would go and knowing this made me feverishly excited. Everything about the novel is shrouded in mystery, from the simplistic cover to the ominous note at the beginning that states that the reader must take what is written in those few lines as their first warning. Who wouldn’t become roused at this ambiguity?
I admit the first chapter left me a bit bewildered about the genre of the novel and I questioned whether it would be too ‘sci-fi’ for a lover of girly fiction and stories of gritty real life. Oh how wrong was I as I Am Number Four manages to combine fundamentally a science fiction plot with all the qualities I love in other novels: romance, action and a storyline that keeps your eyes glued to the page. The plot follows a young boy and his quest to fight for his survival. In fact, that is all that can be said to keep an air of mystery about this book, as giving too much away will spoil the delights of becoming immersed in a world where real life meets events that can only be conceived in ones imagination.
I Am Number Four has the potential to become a modern classic, something to be devoured by all ages and genders as well as being something that has the basis to become a whole trilogy of books, causing frenzy amongst readers all over the world. You may ask how it’s possible to imagine a future for a novel that is practically unknown but I Am Number Four has a way with words that creates warm, lovable characters that feel real, characters that are touchable beyond the language written on the page. In fact, I’m seeing here what happened with Harry Potter in its early days, a novel that begins off unnoticeable, read by a few and then the word spreads, people catch on and it develops into a global phenomenon. Okay, I may be getting ahead of myself here but I Am Number Four is just as good, or in fact better, than JK Rowling’s magical tales.
Seemingly, its visual potential has been recognised and global success may well be on the cards. Upon hearing that I Am Number Four will be made into a film produced by Steven Spielberg my feverish excitement rose to high levels, almost unbearable to contain as I know that I will be able to have the joy of stating that I have read the novel before the film, being able to keep my interpretation of characters’ appearances, their personalities and the setting of the novel in my own mind before someone else unleashes their way of looking at it upon the world. Whoever decided to make I Am Number Four into a film is on to something good and, equally, picking it up and reading it means that you won’t be left out of one incredible journey. Of course it’s important to bear in mind that you’ll be the one left looking smug when all your friends start going on about this great novel, a novel that you had read before it became the book to read in 2010.
Forget the first warning at the beginning of the book, take heed and remember the second one: read this book or you’ll be sorely missing out!
Check out the website: http://iamnumberfour.co.uk/