What happened in I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore - Recaptains

The basics

Title: I Am Number Four

Author: Pittacus Lore

Series: Lorien Legacies #1

- I Am Number Four (2010)
- The Power of Six (2011)
- The Rise of Nine (2012)
- The Fall of Five (2013)
- The Revenge of Seven (2014)
- The Fate of Ten (2015)
- Untitled (2016)

Add it: Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books - but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.
They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.
I am Number Four.
I am next.

Read a full summary of I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore below. If you can’t remember what happened in I Am Number Four and you need a refresher, then you’re in the right place.

In short

John Smith is the fourth of nine alien children who came to Earth when their planet Lorien was destroyed. They’re hunted down by the Mogadorians, evil aliens, in order of the numbers they were given. The first three are dead, and John is Number Four. When he and his guardian, Henri, move to Paradise, Ohio, John falls in love with Sarah, a human girl. John also meets Sam, who thinks the Mogadorians have abducted his father. When the Mogs finally find John and Henri, Henri is killed and John defeats them together with Number Six.

What happened in I Am Number Four

• In the prologue, we see how Number Three gets killed by Mogadorians. Oh boy.
• Number Four and his cépan, Henri, are living in Florida when Four gets his third mark on his leg, which means that there are now three other aliens dead. Too bad it happens when Four is swimming with friends and everyone sees his shiny leg. Great way to not draw attention to yourself.
• Four and Henri move, like they always do, and Four takes on the identity of John Smith. Henri wants to go to Paradise, Ohio, so that’s where they move. In their new house, they find a dog that John adopts and names Bernie Kosar.
• John befrieds Sam Goode, who thinks his dad has been kidnapped by aliens, and photographer Sarah Hart, who he has a crush on. Too bad Sarah’s ex is a big bad bully who doesn’t like Sam – or John.
• Sam goes to John’s house and tells them that he knows about the Mogadorians from a magazine, They Walk Among Us. How does he know that?!
• When it’s Halloween, John, Sarah and Sam go on a haunted hayride that ends in disaster when Mark pulls a prank on them and they strand in the woods. Mark wants to beat up John, but John uses (and discovers?) his legacies to kick his ass. Sarah didn’t see this, but did Sam?
• Sarah and John are now officially dating, and this is why John doesn’t want to move when Henri says it’s safer to.
• Henri and John start training and to develop his legacies. Sam tells John he thinks his father has been abducted by aliens (according to the magazine).
• Henri investigates the magazine, which is apparently from Athens, Ohio. John is having Thanksgiving dinner with Sarah’s family, but is worried and goes off to search for Henri. He brings Sam and they rescue Henri from Athens, where he was being kept by humans working for the Mogadorians. Sam now knows that John is an alien, obviously.
• Everything goes back to normal, until a party at Mark’s house. There is a fire, Sarah gets trapped and John uses his powers to save her. So now Sarah knows about his alienness too, but they lie to the police because, well… duh.
• HOWEVER there’s a video of John using his powers, which is basically a Mog alert. Henri wants to leave asap, but John is determined to save Sarah first. He races to the school, but the Mogs have already found Sarah. OH NO!

How did it end?

But then, thank goodness, they are joined by Number Six, who has been looking for John for a while. Later Henri, Mark and Bernie Kosar (the dog) join them too. They make Mark and Sarah run off. And then it’s EPIC BATTLE TIME. John and Six fight the Mogs with their powers. Oh, and Bernie Kosar turns out to be a chimaera, so that’s helpful.

Six and John manage to beat the Mogs, but Henri is killed and this is very sad. John and Six decide to stick together, and leave Paradise together with Sam and Bernie Kosar. John does promise to return to Sarah.

anything else

Lorien: The planet John and his fellow aliens (the Loric) are from. Lorien has been destroyed by the Mogadorians, and all the Loric’s family members are dead. These nine are the elite, and they’re meant to get back to their planet once it’s safe.

Mogadore: The planet all the evil aliens are from (the Mogadorians/Mogs). We don’t like them.

Legacies: Powers the aliens have.

Chimaera: A shapeshifting animal, like Bernie Kosar.

Other recaps for this series:

• The Rise of Nine (Lorien Legacies #3)
• The Power of Six (Lorien Legacies #2)