I am Number Four Book Recommendation
By: Ameya Belamkar
Pittacus Lore’s enthralling bestseller I am Number Four has entertained millions of readers from all around the world. Four and his friends have captivated the minds of readers in their epic adventures. From killing Mogadores to dating a girl, Four does it all. It’s hard to find a book that can capture all these admirable qualities and be written in such a fascinating way. However, if there is one person that is as good of a lead character as Four, it would be Jacob Portman from Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Jacob is a strong and bright teen with the rare ability to actually see hollowgasts (invisible monsters that killed his grandfather). Like Four, he is a natural monster slayer. If you enjoyed the alluring plotline, audacious conflict, adept hero, and rural setting in I am Number Four, then Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will be a great read.
The monster-slaying adventure of both Four and Jacob is packed with action, adventure, drama, and romance. It is unbelievable that such an exciting and unpredictable plot could be so simple at its core. The simplicity adds to clarity, and therefore enjoyment. In I am Number Four, an extraterrestrial that looks like a human comes to Earth, and ends up residing in Paradise, Ohio. There, he makes human friends, and has a showdown with a rival race, the Mogadorians. This is remarkably similar to the plotline of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Although there are no aliens, there are people with superpowers (the peculiars). Jacob makes friends with other peculiars after relocating to Cairnholm Islands. He and his new friends are chased by a hollowgast, a grotesque creature with tentacles coming out of its mouth. Hollowgasts are invisible to all except a few peculiars (like Jacob), and are helped by wights. Wights evolve from hollowgasts, but look like humans and are not invisible. Like Four, Jacob is found and cornered by the monsters, and ends up slaying both creatures. Both plots have little distractions and convolutions, making it easier to understand and more enjoyable to read.
In both books, the eyes are a defining characteristic of a main antagonist. “...The Mogadorian’s deep, wide, emotionless black eyes” (Lore 4) symbolize the cruelty of the Mogadorian race. The “perfect milky white” (Riggs 32) eyes of wight help distinguish between it and a human. These monsters are the cause of the conflict in both books, which, on the surface seems very transparent; don’t get killed by the monsters. However, on a deeper level, the monsters cause an internal conflict within the main characters. Four has to ask himself if he should abandon his friends and his new life to escape the Mogadores or stay and fight. Similarly, Jacob debates whether to stay with his new peculiar friends or leave them and return to his family and his original unexciting life. Both choose to stay with their friends. To Four, this means that the Mogadores could finally find him and kill him. To Jacob, it means abandoning his family and all normality. He also knows that he will be actively pursued by wights and hollowgasts. The complexity of the conflict adds a hint of mystery and keeps the reader engaged throughout the book.
Jacob Portman shares many characteristics with Four. They both have a lacking social life, until they move to their respective new homes. There, they make odd new friends and both even get a girlfriend. Four meets an idiosyncratic boy named Sam Goode, who is overly obsessed with aliens. He also meets the charming and beautiful Sarah Hart, his girlfriend. He later befriends a popular football star, Mark James. Jacob also makes many new friends in Cairnholm. He befriends the peculiar children inhabiting the island. There is Olive, a girl who is less dense than air and therefore can float; Horace, who sometimes has strange dreams that come true; Hugh, who can control the bees living within him; Fiona, who coaxes plants and trees to grow into unique shapes; Millard, the invisible boy; Claire, a little girl with a second mouth on the back of her head; Enoch, a boy that can take the hearts of other animals and put them in inanimate objects or dead organisms, and temporarily revive them; Bronwyn, the peculiar childrens’ motherly figure, who can also lift boulders above her head; and Emma Bloom, who create fire and always remains warm. Emma is confident and affable, and her gentle yet fiery manner captures the heart of Jacob. In both books, the lead character’s friends are instrumental. Four’s friends aid Four during his confrontation with the Mogadores. Jacob’s friends assist him in killing the wight and hollowgast, saving Miss Peregrine, and escaping the island. The friends of Four and Jacob provide action, some complexity, and a touch of romance that altogether adds to the enjoyment of the book.
The rural land or Paradise, Ohio is the home of the famous Lorien, Four. The features of Paradise share many characteristics with Cairnholm Islands, the location of Miss Peregrine’s school. Both are small, rural, and very isolated. This is the perfect location to meet everyone in the area and develop important relationships. Four goes to a small school, where he meets Sarah, Sam, and Mark. Likewise, Jacob Portman meets an odd ornithologist on the island. He suspects that he is a wight, and is correct. Jacob is able to catch the wight before he escapes with Miss Peregrine. The small town of setting in both books is vital to the development of the plot, and adds an important element to the book.
The adventurous, action-packed plot, audacious conflict, adept heroes and their astute friends, and small-town setting of I am Number Four is engrossing. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the perfect book to read after finishing the I am Number Four series. Both series involve tons of monster slaying, plenty of world saving, and some drama and romance that will keep the reader at the edge of their seat.
By: Ameya Belamkar
Pittacus Lore’s enthralling bestseller I am Number Four has entertained millions of readers from all around the world. Four and his friends have captivated the minds of readers in their epic adventures. From killing Mogadores to dating a girl, Four does it all. It’s hard to find a book that can capture all these admirable qualities and be written in such a fascinating way. However, if there is one person that is as good of a lead character as Four, it would be Jacob Portman from Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Jacob is a strong and bright teen with the rare ability to actually see hollowgasts (invisible monsters that killed his grandfather). Like Four, he is a natural monster slayer. If you enjoyed the alluring plotline, audacious conflict, adept hero, and rural setting in I am Number Four, then Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will be a great read.
The monster-slaying adventure of both Four and Jacob is packed with action, adventure, drama, and romance. It is unbelievable that such an exciting and unpredictable plot could be so simple at its core. The simplicity adds to clarity, and therefore enjoyment. In I am Number Four, an extraterrestrial that looks like a human comes to Earth, and ends up residing in Paradise, Ohio. There, he makes human friends, and has a showdown with a rival race, the Mogadorians. This is remarkably similar to the plotline of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Although there are no aliens, there are people with superpowers (the peculiars). Jacob makes friends with other peculiars after relocating to Cairnholm Islands. He and his new friends are chased by a hollowgast, a grotesque creature with tentacles coming out of its mouth. Hollowgasts are invisible to all except a few peculiars (like Jacob), and are helped by wights. Wights evolve from hollowgasts, but look like humans and are not invisible. Like Four, Jacob is found and cornered by the monsters, and ends up slaying both creatures. Both plots have little distractions and convolutions, making it easier to understand and more enjoyable to read.
In both books, the eyes are a defining characteristic of a main antagonist. “...The Mogadorian’s deep, wide, emotionless black eyes” (Lore 4) symbolize the cruelty of the Mogadorian race. The “perfect milky white” (Riggs 32) eyes of wight help distinguish between it and a human. These monsters are the cause of the conflict in both books, which, on the surface seems very transparent; don’t get killed by the monsters. However, on a deeper level, the monsters cause an internal conflict within the main characters. Four has to ask himself if he should abandon his friends and his new life to escape the Mogadores or stay and fight. Similarly, Jacob debates whether to stay with his new peculiar friends or leave them and return to his family and his original unexciting life. Both choose to stay with their friends. To Four, this means that the Mogadores could finally find him and kill him. To Jacob, it means abandoning his family and all normality. He also knows that he will be actively pursued by wights and hollowgasts. The complexity of the conflict adds a hint of mystery and keeps the reader engaged throughout the book.
Jacob Portman shares many characteristics with Four. They both have a lacking social life, until they move to their respective new homes. There, they make odd new friends and both even get a girlfriend. Four meets an idiosyncratic boy named Sam Goode, who is overly obsessed with aliens. He also meets the charming and beautiful Sarah Hart, his girlfriend. He later befriends a popular football star, Mark James. Jacob also makes many new friends in Cairnholm. He befriends the peculiar children inhabiting the island. There is Olive, a girl who is less dense than air and therefore can float; Horace, who sometimes has strange dreams that come true; Hugh, who can control the bees living within him; Fiona, who coaxes plants and trees to grow into unique shapes; Millard, the invisible boy; Claire, a little girl with a second mouth on the back of her head; Enoch, a boy that can take the hearts of other animals and put them in inanimate objects or dead organisms, and temporarily revive them; Bronwyn, the peculiar childrens’ motherly figure, who can also lift boulders above her head; and Emma Bloom, who create fire and always remains warm. Emma is confident and affable, and her gentle yet fiery manner captures the heart of Jacob. In both books, the lead character’s friends are instrumental. Four’s friends aid Four during his confrontation with the Mogadores. Jacob’s friends assist him in killing the wight and hollowgast, saving Miss Peregrine, and escaping the island. The friends of Four and Jacob provide action, some complexity, and a touch of romance that altogether adds to the enjoyment of the book.
The rural land or Paradise, Ohio is the home of the famous Lorien, Four. The features of Paradise share many characteristics with Cairnholm Islands, the location of Miss Peregrine’s school. Both are small, rural, and very isolated. This is the perfect location to meet everyone in the area and develop important relationships. Four goes to a small school, where he meets Sarah, Sam, and Mark. Likewise, Jacob Portman meets an odd ornithologist on the island. He suspects that he is a wight, and is correct. Jacob is able to catch the wight before he escapes with Miss Peregrine. The small town of setting in both books is vital to the development of the plot, and adds an important element to the book.
The adventurous, action-packed plot, audacious conflict, adept heroes and their astute friends, and small-town setting of I am Number Four is engrossing. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is the perfect book to read after finishing the I am Number Four series. Both series involve tons of monster slaying, plenty of world saving, and some drama and romance that will keep the reader at the edge of their seat.