The Power of Six, by Pittacus Lore

The Power of Six, by  Pittacus Lore, is the sequel to I Am Number Four, the first book in the Lorien Legacies series. The first book was only from the perspective of John Smith a.k.a Number Four. He is one of the nine (now six, as the Mogadorians already killed numbers one, two, and three) surviving Garde from Lorien. When the planet got destroyed by the Mogadorians (evil aliens), they were sent to Earth as a last hope to one day restart Lorien. Each Garde was assigned a guardian, called a Cepan, to help them master their legacies or powers that they develop over time. This book goes back and forth from the perspectives of John and Number Seven, who lives in Spain. Number Seven's Cepan, Adelina, has neglected her and the fact that the Mogadorians are still hunting them. Number Seven, known as Marina, still believes she can and must do something to help John and Six in America. Suddenly, the Mogadorians find her. In America, Six had found John and his friend Sam at the end of I Am Number Four. The three of them are now going to West Virginia, where Six knows the Mogadorians have a secret mountain base. On the way, Six gets a telepathic signal from another Garde in Spain asking for help. She leaves for Spain, while John and Sam decide to go into the mountain base. What will happen to Six and Seven? What will John and Sam do at the secret Mogadorian mountain base in West Virginia? Read The Power of Six to find out.

I think this book is better than I Am Number Four. More characters are introduced and there is more than just one perspective. The reader learns the thoughts of Marina, or Number Seven and how she feels about her Cepan ignoring her when she asks about how to train her legacies. John, Sam, and Six work together to try to get to a Mogadorian base and see what is happening there. I think people who read and enjoyed the first book in the series will become very fond of this book. If you have not read the first book, I highly encourage that you do so before reading this one. A lot will not make sense to you if you start from this book. Like the first book, this one made me feel many different emotions. I felt a little bit sad for Seven. She was passionate about trying to help the other Garde, but her Cepan told her to forget them and pretend hat she was a normal person. I also felt excited for Six. She had finally found another Garde and I wondered what they would do together to fight off the Mogadorians. I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to any avid reader.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 9

Montrose Library

Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds

Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds, is a story about a teenager named Will and he lives in a place with ruff conditions. He lives in a town with street violence, gangs and drugs. Will lives with his mom and his older brother Sean. His father was killed due to gang violence. Will looks up to his older brother who teaches him these rules to follow when someone close to you is killed. One day Sean is shot and Will makes it his mission to avenge his brother and kill the murderer. Will takes Sean's gun and goes to the building where he thinks the murderer lives. While going up the elevator he is encountered by seven loved ones spirits who have been hurt by violence.. All of them tell Will how they died and they ask him why he is doing what he is doing.As will gets closer to his destination he starts to question his choice.

I thought that Long way down was a good poem that really made me connect to the characters. I am aware of how things are in the ruff parts of town and what happens and I think that this story did a good job spreading the word. I think that it was a good way of explaining how actions had leading consequences. Whether there with other people some things can have a chain of consequences. i found it clever that every floor in the elevator had a person that Will new personally that died. My only problem with it was that I questioned if things were real or not. Over all I enjoyed the book and recommend it to young teens.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 10

Montrose Library