Belated Books-- Glowing Hands, Scary Knives, and a Delicate Girl: Review of I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I Am Number Four, #1

Lorien Legacies

Pittacus Lore (pseudonym for James Frey)

2010

In case you missed it, this book was made into a movie very soon after it was published.  Goodreads says it was published in August 2010, and the movie came out February 2011.  Wow- maybe I'm missing something, but that's really fast turn around time.  I saw the movie and liked it, but I wasn't fully convinced to love the story.  I did, however, really enjoy the book- I found the book to be a 4.5, and I would recommend it to readers who like YA adventure.  The writing is mature enough for adult readers, and the book is "safe" to recommend to friends and family who scoff at vampire books.  Aliens are cool, right?

Basically, "John Smith" is a humanoid alien from a beautiful planet that was invaded by the greedy Mogadorians.  His people sent nine children and their guardians to Earth in an attempt to keep them safe.  Before they left, a spell was put on them so that they could only be killed in a specific order.  The child was was Number One had to be killed before Number Two could be hurt, etc.  This book begins when Number Three is killed, meaning Number Four aka John is next in line.  He and his guardian move to Paradise, Ohio, where John makes a couple of new friends, including a nerdy boy who believes in aliens and a lovely ex-cheerleader who enjoys photography.  Despite John's enjoyment of his new town, the threat of being caught or having to move always looms over him, particularly as he starts to develop his super powers ("legacies").

The movie kept most of the premise the same, but I was pleased that the actual super power/action/thriller scenes are much better in the book.  For example, there's a weird thing about these magical geodes in the movie, but that's not part of the book.  The book is also over a longer period of time, which allows for more character growth, both of John and the supporting characters.  Basically, the book is richer with more detail and background about why things are the way they are.  Interestingly, I don't think a physical description of John is ever given- but I just pictured Alex Pettyfer in my head and hummed "Rolling in the Deep," which was quite enjoyable.

Sigh.  I love JCB, but AP would have made such a cute Jace!

Some other reviews I read found the book boring, but I enjoyed the relaxed style.  There were funny things and quirky moments- John's guardian can't get the hang of cursing in English, so he occasionally swears using the wrong words for the phrase.  While some of the characters are naturally "cooler" than others, they all have their moments of importance to the final outcome of the story- they can make good and bad choices, but none of them is helpless or without impact.

I can't get out of my head these awesome flashbacks that John has when he mentally travels back in time to his home planet and he views the destruction as well as his family.  His planet was suspiciously Earth-like, but a fantastical version with shape-shifting animals.  There's a subtle message about caring for our planet- contrasting his people, who made environmental concerns their priority after almost destroying their planet, versus the Mogadorians, who used up their resources, then John's planet's resources, and now want to use up Earth's resources.

The book was well-paced- I read it in a day or two without growing bored or grouchy.  Scenes of intense action and drama are interspersed with brief, more mundane, daily life scenes, which gave me time to relax and showed what life might be like for an alien living in Ohio.  This was a great book for vacation because it kept me engaged while reading but I didn't shout at people who interrupted.

The end of the story clearly opens up for the next book, The Power of Six, which comes out August 23.  I will be reviewing it soon, so be on the lookout!

There's also a short eBook on Amazon that tells the story of Number Six- apparently it's very short, just a bonus material book.

I checked out this book from my local library.

MEG CABOT WEEK! Belated Books: Review of When Lightning Strikes and Code Name Cassandra by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot is skilled at creating story premises.  It's like she goes, "What would happen if...?" and then develops it into a story world.  I mean, I would imagine that's what most authors do, but Meg Cabot's imagination captures what it's like to be a young woman- full of inspiration and tenacity.  I love the pure fun of her books, and her ability to recreate the embarrassing incidents all girls live through with humour and grace.

When Lightning Strikes, Book 1

Code Name Cassandra, Book 2

The 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series

Meg Cabot (2001)

Originally written under pseudonym Jenny Carroll

Can now be purchased together as Vanished (2010)

I just now read these books because I was afraid that they would be scary.  I know, I'm a wimp, but I seriously have to be careful about thrillers because they scare the dickens out of me.  Needless to say, I found these books to be adventurous and exciting, but not really scary, so that was good!

Basically, Jess is struck by lightning on her way home from school one day, and it gives her the ability to locate missing people.  If she sees a picture of a missing child, the next day she wakes up knowing where the child is.  Cool, right?  Unfortunately, this ability has some scary consequences... Jess finds a child who does not want to be found, and the media and government go crazy for her new ability.  The attention scares her older brother who is struggling with schizophrenia, and Jess has to figure out how to straighten things out before they go out of control!  Plus, there's a super attractive bad boy with a secret past... 

In Book 2, Jess is a counselor at a summer camp, and she is faced with a difficult choice when she is asked to find a missing child...  I can't say more than that without spoiling Book 1!

I've only read the first two books in this series (in the Vanished combo-form), but I'd love to read the others.  Jess is a typical Meg Cabot heroine- she doesn't quite fit in, but she is courageous and willing to do whatever it takes to do what she thinks is right.  There is also an X-Files reference that made me laugh out loud (super awkward when reading in public).  The supporting characters are well developed- I love the presence of the older brother with schizophrenia.  It's important for authors to incorporate characters who incidentally have mental problems.  Real families deal with mental illness, and I love it when books realistically acknowledge this.  

Four stars for fun stories- these would make great beach reads!  I look forward to reading the rest of the series.  PS.  This would make a great Disney channel show (haha)!

Belated Books: MEG CABOT WEEK!

In preparation for the release of Meg Cabot's new book, Overbite, on July 5th, here's a glimpse into my minor obsession with Meg Cabot!  This week, I will feature some of her books- she has written A LOT...


The Princess Diaries series (and associated bonus books!)
The Insatiable series (my review)
How to Be Popular
Teen Idol
Nicola and the Viscount (my review)
The Airhead series (my review)
All-American Girl series
Queen of Babble series
Heather Wells series
The Abandon Series (my review)
The 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series (have only read the first two)
Pants on Fire (haven't read this yet)
Jinx (haven't read this yet)
The Boy series (have only read the first one)
She Went All the Way (haven't read this yet)
The Mediator series (haven't read these yet)
Victoria and the Rogue (haven't read this yet)
Avalon High series (have only read the first one)
Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series (haven't read these yet)

The Princess Diaries Series- SPOILERS. but this is romance/drama, not a mystery, so you probs don't care.

I don't exactly remember how I got into The Princess Diaries, but I'm pretty sure that my mom took me to see the movie when it came out in 2001.  I would have been in... 7th grade?  Soon after seeing the movie, I picked up the first book at the library and loved it, although I was surprised at how different it was from the film.  I remember reading Volume III: Princess in Love while on a camping trip- this is still my favorite from the whole series, because the ending is so magical and Michael is so hot.

Yes, I have had a major crush on Michael, both in the movie and the books- I love dark haired guys, and my boyfriend of almost 8 years is Jewish, just like Michael.  Michael is a musician, a genius, and three years older- how dreamy!

I guess the reason I love The Princess Diaries so much is the characterization... Here's a rundown of my ten favorite characters:

• Mia aka Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo (I definitely just wikied that- I forgot Grimaldi!)-  Princess Mia herself rocks for the self-discovery she goes through in the later books- she writes her own novel, Ransom My Heart, which is available for you to read!  Mia also has a lot of guts- she pulls a fire alarm, stomps on a cell phone, and eventually brings constitutional monarchy to her country.  In the books, Mia is actually blonde and looks nothing like Anne Hathaway. 2.  

• Helen Thermopolis- Mia's mom is a crazy artist who is somewhat irresponsible (particularly when it comes to family planning) but cares about Mia more than anything else in the world.

• Mr. G. aka Frank Gianini-  Mia's algebra teacher turned step-father is a stand-up guy.  He helps Mia with math, takes care of Mia's mom when he gets her pregnant, and is generally a fine male specimen. 

• Lilly Moscovitz-  I spend a lot of time wanting to punch Lilly in the face- she's pushy, selfish, and too smart for her own good- but underneath it all, Lilly is a sensitive girl who needs Mia just as much as Mia thinks she needs her. 

• Michael Moscovitz-  *dreamy*  I really would like to smell his neck, just once.  Michael is romantic, bossy, and nerdy enough to make me crazy.  I'm not sure why Michael works at a garage in the movie, because he is really just a member of the Computer Club until his band Skinner Box gets off the ground. 

• Tina Hakim-Baba- I wish that I had a friend like Tina- her father is very rich, so Tina has a body guard just like Mia.  However, Tina is shy and super super nice- she loves all things romance- and Tina is so unselfish and pure-hearted.   

• Grandmere-  HAHAHA Grandmere is a nightmare.  I can picture her with her tattooed eyeliner and cigarette, eye-balling the run in my stockings and cursing me in French.  Grandmere is the dowager princess, and she takes it upon herself to prepare Mia to be proper royalty. 

• Lars-  Lars is the most hilarious body guard- he hides Mia's diary for her, exchanges knowing glances with Michael, and generally is a quiet sidekick to Mia's shenanigans, serving as a lookout on a couple occasions and pointing out obvious flaws in Mia's plans. 

• Boris Pelkowski-  Boris is a violin virtuoso who drops a giant globe on his head because of his love for Lilly.  The globe scene alone makes him one of my favorite book characters of all times. 

• Lana Weinberger-  Lana is a nasty nasty girl- at least in the first half of the series.  I would love to know who Meg Cabot based her off of and whether or not they know about it.  I hope no one ever makes me a mean character in a book!

There are other excellent characters that I omitted, but these are my favs!

However, there was a rough patch in my relationship with The Princess Diaries... In Volume VIII: Princess on the Brink, Michael and Mia have a huge fight and he leaves for Japan for an extended stay, essentially ending the relationship.  When I got my copy of the book, I was looking forward to a fun read, but I found this book super upsetting, and I cried hysterically for a long time.  When I finally stopped crying, I changed my Facebook profile pic:

I took it with my laptop, so I had to write the note backwards, which is why it looks all facacta.

I was so mad!  I wanted to write her a letter.  I was so upset that I didn't get the next book as soon as it came out, but when I did, I was relieved to find out that Mia sort of becomes less insane and makes good decisions with the help of her therapist.  Volumes IX and X were excellent, and by the end of the series, I felt that the story had come full circle with lots of character growth.

If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it.  Mia's voice is authentic, the NYC setting is fun, and the situations Mia finds herself in are comedic and challenging.  Fans can continue to enjoy Mia's thoughts by following her blog- on which there may or may not be hints about a wedding to come!

As mentioned above, Meg Cabot also wrote a book as Mia Thermopolis: Ransom My Heart.  For Mia's senior project, she writes a historical romance novel- that we can actually read!

During BEA week, I went to the Scholastic Store in NYC to the This is Teen event, and I actually got to meet Meg, which was an amazing experience.  There were school kids in front of me (boys and girls who looked to be in middle school), and they were SO EXCITED to meet Meg- apparently they are reading her books for school.  It was great to see middle schoolers so excited about reading- especially boys.

Highlight of my year- maybe my decade, unless I get married before 30.

Belated Books- Tithe by Holly Black

I often find myself reading books that were published a while ago, but I never got to read them.  It always feels strange reviewing these books, because often the hype surrounding them came and went.  However, I think it is useful to still review these books, because maybe other people will find them who haven't read them yet.  And so, I am starting a weekly feature on my blog entitled "Belated Books" where I will do just this- review the books that I somehow missed.

The first book I have chosen is Tithe by Holly Black.  This is the first book in the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy (book 2 is Valiant and book 3 is Ironside).  Tithe was first published in 2002.  I chose to read this book because Cassandra Clare fans are always talking about Holly Black, and I hadn't read anything by her.  My BFF MRT recommended that I start with The Modern Faerie Tales, so I requested a copy from the library.

Tithe is a very dark urban fantasy tale about a young teenage girl who has spent her childhood traveling with a dysfunctional mother pursuing a singing career.  Kaye is very mature and somewhat jaded as she has had to care for her mother, helping her when drunk, etc.  When Kaye's mother is almost killed by strange attack, they move to her grandmother's house where Kaye lived as a child.  Kaye is clearly, from the beginning, not an ordinary teenage girl, and we hear about strange imaginary friends that she had as a child.  When Kaye rescues a handsome, otherworldly knight in the woods while walking home, a series of events follows that quickly spiral out of her control.

As I said before, this is a super-dark story.  I had trouble with the first few chapters because I wanted to clean the whole time.  I wanted to pick up the trash on the ground. I wanted to clean Kaye's room.  I wanted to scrub her hair, and most of all, I wanted to wash her clothes.  Once I got past the grime, I really enjoyed the story.  Although I could never live such an edgy, grungy life, it was fun to experience.  The scary and sometimes grotesque imagery made the story reminiscent of a freak show at times.

I have to say that I really do not like Corny.  He is just a little bit to grody for me.  Again, please take a shower.  He did add a great element to the story, and I like that he is an unlikely male supporting character because of his... pathetic-ness, but ew.  I would like to make him wash his hands.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for something to try in between CC books- it's very different from anything that I have read before.  I give it 4 stars and look forward to reading book 2.

Visit Holly Black's website to read an excerpt!