I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore has superhero-type characters and powers, alien races, and fun sci-fi stuff. It is generally considered a young adult (YA) novel for a teenage audience, typically ages 14 and up. The book contains science fiction, action, romance, and adventure, which appeal to young adult readers who enjoy stories with supernatural or otherworldly elements and themes of identity, friendship, and self-discovery.
The book’s content includes some action and violence, as well as themes of alien invasion and the struggle for survival, which are common in YA science fiction and fantasy novels. The premise of this book revolves around nine superhero-type characters who have come to Earth to integrate and blend into society. They’re running from another alien race, trying to hunt and kill them. They have succeeded by killing three of them off.
The story revolves around the fourth one, and his name is John. This book is about finding normalcy and integrating into a new high school while dealing with superpowers. He’s going through the changes while trying to run and hide from these. Reading books similar to “I Am Number Four” can be a rewarding experience. These books feature fast-paced and action-packed plots that keep you hooked from start to finish. If you enjoy thrilling stories with a blend of science fiction and adventure, you’ll likely find them captivating.
5 Books Like I Am Number Four (Science Fiction & Fantasy)
If you enjoy stories filled with action sequences, suspense, and battles against formidable foes, books like “I Am Number Four” deliver plenty of excitement and tension. In the book I Am Number Four, John is our protagonist. He has to go to a new high school and go through the changes and his powers, but he’s dealing with life-and-death situations here. After him, alien races try to kill him with heavy, life-altering things. His priorities are messed up and out of whack.
Now, I will discuss five books similar to I Am Number Four. Many books explore identity, belonging, and searching for one’s place. This can resonate with readers struggling with these aspects of life. Let’s go!
1. The Angel Experiment
The Angel experiment focused on the introduction of the mutated children’s birds. When babies were born, they were taken away from their parents or given to the school, a laboratory in California. Their genes were mixed with bird genes, so they came out like this. These mutated bird humans have wings, and their senses are better. The oldest is Max, and she’s 14, and then Fang is 14.
So they have been living independently, and Max is the flock leader in all shapes and forms. They’re not humans that morph; they’re mutated creations by the same school and are called erasers. They’re Wolfman, that is evil, and see they are mutated as well.
So the Wolfman or erasers get a hold of the littlest one angel. They take her back to the school and perform mean tests to see her endurance. The book’s first half is about getting her back and trying to find the school. This is where the book gets a little cheesy. If you like I Am Number Four, you must try it.
Author: James Patterson
Average Rating: 4.6/5
Category: Science Fiction & Dystopian Romance, Friendship Survival Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Mass Market Paperback
2. The Lost Hero: The Heroes of Olympus
Like I Am Number Four, this book opens up with a new cast of characters. We are focused on three new half-bloods. We have Jason Piper and Leo. Jason has no memory of anything. He wakes up on the school bus. His kid’s friends get attacked by the storm spirits, and a girl, Anna Beth, shows up. We are going into the great prophecy and uniting the two sides.
Some exchange was going on with the gods. Hara has gone missing, the gods have gone silent, and it’s up to our new heroes to figure out what’s happening and kick off a new journey. Piper is a child of Aphrodite, and it’s interesting to see the different take on a child of Aphrodite and the journey that Piper is going on.
Author: Rick Riordan
Average Rating: 4.8/5
Category: Action & Adventure Fantasy, Greek & Roman Myths & Legends
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Audio CD
3. The Name of the Wind: Kingkiller Chronicles
This is the first book in an epic adult fantasy series, following the main character, Kvothe. He tells his story to a scribe who chronicles stories of the great people within a world. The story covers from childhood up to late teens, and the whole series revolves around his story. It does leave many things unanswered, but not in the wrong way. That’s true with world-building as well.
Sometimes, the magic can even drive people crazy, which has driven people crazy numerous times. It allows you to separate parts of your mind. Kvothe does have a mind that will enable him to fall into magic easier than some. It’s still challenging for him. Also, there are a lot of different magical creatures and magical beasts, which is fantastic. Kvothe, as the main character, is very polarizing. He tells his story and twists things similar to I Am Number Four.
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Paranormal Fantasy, Literary Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Mass Market Paperback
4. The Eye of the World
It is the beginning of Lord of the Rings, but this allows the author to fill it with information and build his world. We meet many characters who are the spotlight holders until the end. Many people reading The Wheel of Time complain there are too many characters to keep track of, but there are two ways to read the Wheel of Time. You can stick with this core group and pay as much attention as possible to everyone else.
Like I Am Number Four, this book focuses on developing the initial party from the two rivers as much as possible. It’s a tapestry woven in front of you that any reader can fall in love with as long as you can keep up reasonably with it. It is smaller and more contained than the rest of the series, allowing you to bond with certain characters before they enter the grand epic adventure. It’s homey with how much they listen back to their village, and you are following these fumbling, bumbling farm boys who are learning about the world around them.
Author: Robert Jordan
Average Rating: 4.7/5
Category: Epic Fantasy
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Kindle | Mass Market Paperback
5. Snow Crash
Snow Crash is set in a slightly futuristic alternative history world in which all governments and countries have collapsed to be replaced by franchises and corporations acting like countries. The main character of this book is Hiro’s protagonist. He is a down-on-his-luck freelance computer hacker and a swordsman. He carries samurai swords everywhere in the real world and the metaverse.
The other primary character who gets the same POV time as Hiro is a 15-year-old girl named Whitey. She is a courier, a souped-up skateboarder who delivers packages and messages. Dwight meets each other at the beginning of the story, and they agree to trade information about what is going on as the story unfolds.
One day in the Metaverse, Hiro runs into a guy trying to sell a virtual drug called Snow Crash. Hiro isn’t dumb enough to take a virus from somebody, so he says no and laughs it off. But then his friend David tries snow crash in the metaverse. He’s crashed in this online world, and his physical body in the real world has also crashed. Then Hiro is dumped straight into a huge problem.
There is another man in the story named Elba Rife. He has many programmers, and he runs a religious cult. He discovers that an ancient human language, Sumerian, can be used to hack people’s brains. A particular hack in that language, the Ashura virus, also has a physical component still latent in many people’s brains and elbows. The book was heading in a direction and towards a pretty natural ending similar to I Am Number Four.
Author: Neal Stephenson
Average Rating: 4.3/5
Category: Adventure Science Fiction
Available: Audiobook | Paperback | Library Binding | Kindle | Mass Market Paperback
Reading these books allows you to escape to new and imaginative worlds, offering a break from the ordinary and providing a sense of wonder and adventure. Whether you’re looking for escapism, thought-provoking themes, or an entertaining read, these books offer various reasons to try them.
More Fantasy Books:
Fantasy Adventure Books Like Gregor The Overlander
Magical Fantasy Books Like A Deadly Education
Sci-Fi Fantasy Books Like Cradle
Fantasy Books Like The Land Of Stories Series
High Fantasy Books Like Caraval
Classic Fantasy Books Like Alice In Wonderland
Epic Fantasy Books Like The Name Of The Wind
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