I Am Number Four ~ Pittacus Lore

It has been way too long since I’ve read a true page turner! This is the kind of book kids will read with a flashlight under their covers at night because it is just SO captivating, exciting, and even a little bit scary at times. This is a must-have for your classroom library. In this sci-fi novel, protagonist John Smith (AKA Four, an alien from the planet Lorien) moves with his “dad” Henri (AKA John’s alien caretaker) to Paradise, Ohio, a town small enough for them to hide from the Mogadorians. Since arriving on Earth as a baby, John has been on the run with Henri to avoid being captured and killed by the Mogadorians--another alien race threatening to kill the last of the Loric people and destroy planet Earth. 

For a book about aliens, though, this book is shockingly “normal.” As John tries to assimilate into yet another town and school, he is met with the common woes of any teen--bullies, getting in trouble with the principal, and falling in love. John has always survived because he’s kept people at a distance, but in Paradise, it’s getting harder and harder to do that...

Buy the title here!

Maturity: 1/4

I would recommend this novel to students 12+. While there is nothing that would be considered inappropriate in the novel, the characters are in high school, and there are some violent fighting scenes.

Pages: 440

Lexile: 700L

Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.

If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!

Happy Reading!

♥ Kara & Riley