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David McK (3425 KP) rated I am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1) in Books

Jan 28, 2019

I am Number Four (Lorien Legacies #1)

Pittacus Lore | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

7.6

(31 Ratings)

Book Rating

In the early-00s (well, 2001 - 2011), there was a TV show called 'Smallville' aka - and unofficially - also known as 'Superman: The Teenage Years', in which a large part of the early runs were to do with Clark Kent discovering his powers.

Now, take the same basic idea - that of an alien developing powers on Earth, and change it slightly so that there's nine of them, all teenagers growing up seperately, all refugees from a planet that has itself been invaded/destroyed by *other* aliens and most with their own flesh-and-blood protector with them, and you more or less have the plot for this.

I'd seen the movie a while back and, while it wasn't great, I still thought I would give the source material a shot.

It's not great either.

I don't know whether it the insipid romance between the central characters of John and Sarah, the clunky dialogue or the fact that the writer seems to follow a 'tell, don't show' method of writing (instead of the opposite), but this just did not do it for me at all :-(

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ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Middle Years in Books

Apr 17, 2020

The Middle Years

Liz Fraser | 2020 | Biography, Humor & Comedy

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The Middle Years is a handbook to surviving life as the parent of teenagers. The first half of the book is funny and engaging, telling it how it really is (hormones etc) to be the parent to preteens and teens, and I really enjoyed it. It was lighthearted, and more serious where it needed to be.

However in the second half of the book, it takes a darker turn, and talks about the authors divorce, mental health issues, guilt of divorcing and the effects this hound have had on her children. To be honest, if I’d known it was going to take this turn, there’s a high possibility that I wouldn’t have read it at all. I’ve had enough personal experience of parents divorcing to last me a lifetime without reading about it. It just seemed very bitter.

I DID enjoy the first half though, which is why I’ve given it a 3/5 (or 6/10, however you want to look at it!).

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read this book.