I Am Number Four [Lorien Legacies]

This first book in a new series (putatively written by one of the Elders of the planet Lorien) revolves around human-looking aliens living on Earth. An intricately woven backstory is convincingly presented through the main character's visions. Ten years before the story begins, nine young Lorien children and their guardians escaped in an airship to Earth after their planet was invaded and decimated by Mogadorians. Thanks to a protective charm placed on the children before they left Lorien, they can only be killed in numerical order. As the book opens, the first three are dead, and Number Four and his guardian, Henri, flee to Paradise, Ohio, where Number Four assumes the identity of John Smith, a high school sophomore. Tired of hiding, he takes some chances and befriends two of the book's most memorable characters: a dog named Bernie Kosar and a boy named Sam. John also falls in love and starts to develop his Legacies, or special powers, that may one day help him and the other Loriens defeat the Mogadorians who have come to Earth to kill them and destroy Earth, too. This highly plot-driven science fiction novel moves at an intense pace while still focusing on character development. After a chaotic final battle that presents more questions than answers (a confusing sequence in an otherwise riveting first book), the open ending leaves ample room for future exploration of the series' intriguing larger concepts. CYNTHIA K. RITTER