I Am Number Four is a young adult science fiction novel by Pittacus Lore (a pseudonym for James Frey and Jobie Hughes who collaborated on this book). The book was published by HarperCollins on August 3, 2010, and has spent 6 weeks on the children's chapter of The New York Times Best Seller list.
DreamWorks Pictures bought the rights to the film in June 2009; it was released on February 18, 2011. The novel is the first of a proposed six-book series.
CHARACTERS
John Smith/Number Four
John Smith is the main protagonist of the novel, and Number Four in the sequence protecting the Nine Lorien children living and hiding on Earth. He is 15 years old. He is described as being a fit, young man with blond hair. He has three circular scars on his right ankle, signifying the three dead Lorien children, and a scar similar to the pendent all the Lorien children wear, signifying the charm that protects them. He is in love with Sarah Hart.
John is a Garde, a Lorien who possesses certain gifts and abilities that help him protect others and himself. These gifts, or Legacies, begin to appear throughout the novel. At the end of the novel, his Legacies are:
Telekinesis — All Lorien Garde have this power, developing it when they get their first Legacy, or soon after.
Lumen — The ability to produce heat and light from his hands and a resistance to heat and fire which is spread over the exterior of his body.
Animal Telepathy — The ability to communicate with animals. This was his first Legacy to develop.
Hadley/Bernie Kosar
Bernie Kosar is a Chimǣra from Lorien. He has been following and protecting John and Henri ever since they came to Earth. John remembers that in Florida, there was always a gecko staring at him while he ate breakfast. While they are in Paradise, Bernie takes the form of a beagle. Bernie's name on Lorien was Hadley. John has a few visions of Hadley back when they were on Lorien. At the end of the book, John realizes that Bernie Kosar is Hadley.
Sarah Hart
John's girlfriend. Sarah is portrayed as an intelligent and beautiful teenage girl with blond hair. Originally a cheerleader, she dated Mark, John's rival at school. After her parents realizing what a bad influence Mark was, they sent her away for the summer. Upon her return, she quit the cheerleading squad and broke up with Mark. She is passionate about photography and animals. After John walks through Mark's burning house and jumps out with her and the two dogs, saving their lives, she realizes he is not human. He feels compelled to admit the truth about himself to her, and she accepts his explanation.
Sam Goode
John's best friend. Sam is a devoted believer in aliens and alien conspiracies, believing that aliens abducted his father. He first suspects what John is after they are attacked on the Haunted Hayride by Mark and his friends, but isn't told what John is until after he sees John fight the three men in Athens who write the alien conspiracy magazine, They Walk Among Us. He is seen as a gangly kid with glasses, though they are not his—he explains to John that they belonged to his father, and he is trying to see through his father's eyes. During the battle against the Morgadorians, Sam saves John's life by killing one of the soldiers, and he also saves Six by carrying her back to his truck after she was injured. He decides to accompany John and Number Six away from Paradise.
Mark James
Mark is the quarterback for the school football team and a bully. He is famous in Paradise, Ohio. He is at first bitter at John when he sees how much Sarah likes him. After trying to hurt John and Sarah whilst John is on a Halloween ride, John uses his super strength to warn Mark to stop messing around with him and Sarah. By pushing him in the creek, Mark is sufficiently intimidated, and a truce is made. John helps Mark when his house burns down after a party by saving his dogs. Mark finds out what John is after seeing a video of John jumping out of the burning house with Sarah and Mark's two dogs in his arms. He fights along side John at the end, putting all past grievances aside, and John leaves promising to pay Mark back for saving his life. Mark's father is the sheriff of Paradise.
Number Six
The only other Lorien child in the novel apart from the one in the first chapter, who is Number Three. Six has no alias that is mentioned, simply going by the name of Six. Six is described as having long dark hair, olive-toned skin, hazel eyes, high cheekbones, a wide mouth, and two inches shorter than Four/John. Her Cêpan Katarina died three years before the novel begins. She is a Garde, as are all the other Lorien children. Six's Legacies are:
Telekinesis — Like John, she can move objects with her mind. It is not told how developed her strength is.
Invisibility — Six can make herself invisible. She manages to sneak around outside the school despite the numerous Mogadorians outside. Six can turn people invisible just by touching them; however, this is limited to only a couple of people. John's Grandfather had this power.
Elemental Manipulation — Six can control the four basic elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. She can apparently mix these powers together, shown when she makes a storm appear in the final fight.
Number Three
The 13 year old third and last Lorien child in the book, who appears at the start of the book being chased by the Mogadorians in Kenya and is soon killed by a Mogadorian.
Henri
The Cêpan of John, or Number Four. He had a wife and child on his home planet of Lorien, but he left her to protect and train John when Lorien was destroyed. He is John's caretaker and also trains and teaches John as John's legacies form. He is like a father to John since he was forced to leave his grandparents behind on Lorien. He dies at the very end of their fight against the Mogadorians at the high school. He tells John that he is proud of him, and that he would not have missed out on anything that they did for the world. Once John, Sarah, Sam, Mark, and Number Six escape to a nearby hotel, they cremate Henri, and John takes his ashes with him in a coffee can, swearing to return them to Lorien someday.
The film adaptation was released on February 18, 2011. It stars Alex Pettyfer as John Smith/Number Four and Dianna Agron as Sarah Hart and Callan McAuliffe as Sam Goode.
