In Pittacus Lore’s new book series, “Generation One” takes place after the events in the last series, “I am Number Four,” where humans are given powers called legacies and are expected to use their powers for good.

While some of the humans want to be heroes and protect the citizens, some want to use their abilities for their own gain and don’t want to be ordered around. This type of mindset makes the story exciting for readers because it makes them think about what they would do if they were in the characters’ shoes. This new series provides a fresh point of view of what is yet to come for Earth and still possesses the same humor and writing style as the last series.

The world government has recovered from an alien invasion thanks to the help of another alien race called the Garde because of them they succeeded in defending the planet. While the entire world is focused on cleaning up the damage done by the invaders, young teens across the globe suddenly develop powers and are classified as Human Garde. The government pushes to help these kids control their powers by constructing the Human Garde Academy in California.

However, not everyone views the government’s decision to help the Human Garde as a positive development; others want to use these teens as weapons rather than protectors. This organization is called the Harvesters, consisting of teens who have legacies and a mercenary group of highly trained soldiers.

In “Generation One,” readers are introduced to a broad range of characters with first-person perspective switching between multiple characters throughout the chapters. One of these characters is Taylor Cook, a girl who grew up on a farm in South Dakota living a simple life with her father until, one day, she wakes up to find out she has telepathic powers. She never wanted to leave her father’s farm but is given no choice when she is taken to the Human Garde Academy to help further develop her powers.

On the way to the academy, she meets Kopano Okeke who is also going to be attending the academy. Kopano is from Nigeria, and when his powers manifested, his father used his powers for an entire year for his own personal gain. All of that changed when Kopano’s mother takes him away and delivers him to a military base to be examined. These two become close friends throughout the events found in the book.

The “Generation One” series more easily connects to readers than the “I am Number Four” series because the characters are clueless and scared of their newfound powers. Young children with active imaginations have always wondered what it would be like to have superpowers, and in this new book readers can actually see the thought processes of characters they can relate to as they control their newfound powers.

With surprising new characters waiting to be discovered, to the familiar characters fans know and love, Lore provides drastic character development and dialogue between the characters to keeps fans guessing.

The only flaw in “Generation One” is the boring start; it’s slow to introduce excitement as only toward the end of the story does any excitement escalate. Readers who have read the “I am Number Four” series expect the same level of action from this new series but unfortunately are disappointed by the lack of conflict.

Those who enjoy action, suspense, romance and comedy will be entertained by “Generation One” because of its relatable storyline and amazing character development. Despite the slow start, “Generation One” receives a rating of 9/10 for the unique writing style and interesting story development.