Chased from their planet to Earth, 9 kids and their mentors are the only hope of saving their civilization from destruction by the Mogadorians. Hidden as normal children, each of the Nine of Lorien will display amazing powers and special gifts as they mature, as long as their mentors can prevent the enemy from finding them and killing them for those gifts, starting with number One... Moving often, changing names and identities as they do, the Nine stay well away from each other, since the Mogadorians will gain power as they eliminate each child, but can only kill them in numerical order.
When Number Four feels the third Lorien symbol burn into his leg, he knows that Number Three has been killed, and that he is next. Time to move on, from the small Florida high school where he’s felt safe for two years, from this identity to a new name and a new personal history, fleeing again with his mentor Henri. Paradise, Ohio, lives up to its name until the first minutes in John’s new high school where the football star decides to bully him.
Holding back his true strength and superhuman reflexes is always a challenge, but becomes harder and harder for John as Mark finds new ways to torment him, especially when Mark’s ex-girlfriend Sarah starts paying attention to John. Only running the country roads with the dog who adopted him gives John any relief, especially when his Loric gifts start to appear and Henri begins his training.
When the Halloween hayride turns vicious, endangering Sarah and their friend Sam, John’s instincts and actions save them, alerting the Mogadorians who are hunting him and drawing them to Paradise while Henri is out of town.
Can John’s unpolished gifts protect him against the hunters from Mogadore? Can he save the Earth from these ravagers intent on conquest and destruction?
Recommended by: Katy Manck, Librarian-at-Large (retired academic/corporate/school librarian), Gilmer, Texas, USA
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A group of nine aliens have been living among us. They look and act exactly like us, but they will develop powers, and they are the last of their people. They were sent to Earth with protectors when their planet was being destroyed by the Mogadorians’ attack. They were numbered and separated from each other to help keep them safe, and can only be killed in the order of their numbers.
We join the story of Number Four; his latest alias is John Smith, and he and his protector have run to Paradise Falls after the murder of Number Three. He knows that he is the next one they will come after. Will the Mogadorians find him, and will his Legacies develop in time for him to protect himself? This is an incredible book that will keep your attention, and the final battle scene will leave you dying for the next in the series. A movie version is due out on Feb. 18, 2011.
Recommended by Brandy S. Huffman, Librarian
