Nine alien children from planet Lorien are sent to Earth in the hopes of saving them from an attacking group of Mogadorians who are hoping to annihilate their people. Unfortunately, the Mogadorians figured out where they have been sent and have decided to hunt down the kids one by one.

John Smith is Number Four, which is hi assigned number. Every time one of the earlier numbers is killed, a new tattoo burns itself into his leg, warning him that his time is coming. He and his mentor have been moving around the country in the hopes of staying hidden and allowing John to train and learn how to protect himself from the Mogadarians.

Staying hidden from the Mogadorians is important, but it is also key that John makes sure to fit in among the humans who are his age. There is no need to take on any undue notice or he could be found. As we all know, being different can make you the target so fitting in is crucial to protect him from his human peers and those hunting him down.

Now that he has arrived in Ohio, he is once again the new kid. That is all it takes to attract the attention of the popular kids. They start to pick on him. This becomes even more intense because his powers are starting to activate. That happens for all of his people as they reach the age of 15. The changes all begin when his hands start to glow. He tries to keep them hidden, but it just gives the bullies another thing to pick on him about.

It starts to become clear that the Mogadorians are starting to close in just as John is getting used to his powers. Is he going to be able to survive or will the be the next of the Loriens to fall?

I had a lot of trouble with this one. I really wanted to read it because I had heard so much about it, and it had gotten really popular with the release of the film. Unfortunately, I found the book to be pretty slow and plodding, advancing very slowly as the pages continued to turn and turn and turn.

I think part of the problem is that there is almost nothing in the story that is the least bit original. It starts out with Superman's origin and just keeps shifting from plot device to plot device taken from any number of movies and books from the science fiction genre.

The writing was actually pretty good. The author does do a great job of bringing you into John's mind, but the result is a lot of talking and thinking about what is happening, what might happen, what he should do as a result, etc. I will definitely be skipping the next book that is likely coming out for this series. To be hones, though, the teens seem to really be eating it up ... I am not sure I can explain the reasons why.