"The Power of Six" by Pittacus Lore

406 pages

This sequel to "I Am Number Four" picks up right where the first book left off. John, Sam, and Number Six are on the run, wanted for murder in the wake of the destruction they left behind in Ohio when they fought the Mogadorians. John feels lost without Henri, but Number Six has been on her own for a while and she begins to show the boys the ropes, which includes intense combat training to prepare them for future battles. Meanwhile, in Spain, Number Seven--Marina--hides with her Cepan, Adelita, in a Catholic orphanage. She follows the events in Ohio through the Internet and realizes that John must be Number Four. She wants to join him to help, but she has a big problem. Not only does she not know how to find him, but Adelita seems to have given up. She wants nothing to do with the Loriens' war with the Mogadorians and would rather stay hidden with the nuns. When John, Six, and Marina open their Chests, it appears that the time has come for all the scattered members of the Garde to come together and unite.

I liked this book more than "I Am Number Four," which I didn't expect because I usually enjoy sequels less than their predecessors. I like that this story is told from two perspectives and that we are introduced to new characters but still keep up with the old ones. There's plenty of action but it's not confusing--I think the pace is just right. There are some big surprises that helped parts of the first book make sense and kept things interesting. One thing that I didn't like was the love triangle--two love triangles, in fact (is that a love square?). Those almost always get on my nerves because there are just so many of them in pop culture these days and they are often overdramatic. That was my only really big problem with this story, though. The ending left me dying for the next one to come out (unfortunately, the next book, "The Rise of Nine," is not expected until August 2012).