Ender's Game

Instead of short picture books, I decided to start reading some longer books for young adults. I picked up Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (a Hugo and Nebula winner) since it's always been on my list of books-to-read-someday. I found it in the library with a young adult label and thought, "now's the time!" Turns out, it's the best book I've read in a long while. Beyond Bridge to Terabithia, beyond other cute children's books, I had an interesting experience reading this book. I couldn't put it down, but I couldn't let myself finish because I didn't want it to be over! I stayed up late one night reading about 100 pages, and then took the next 5 days to read 20 pages, subconsciously not wanting the story to end. I've found myself doing this with books I become really attached to - I just want to be part of them forever and know that I can always come back and jump in where I was. The last great book I felt this way about was The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver when I read it last summer. Alas, both Ender's Game and The Poisonwood Bible came to an end.

I had no preconceived notions of Ender's Game's plot before I started reading it. I knew it was science fiction and I knew it was well-liked, but I had no idea what I had committed myself to read. I almost don't want to write about it because I want other people to read it without knowing either! In an effort to reconcile with myself, I will talk about major themes and issues in the story, but not the end! I will not tell the end!

Ender Wiggin is only 6 years old when this story begins. He is a "third" (This futuristic government regulates how many kids a family should have. Unless the government approves, only two children are allowed) and like many children, has an implanted chip in the back of his head/neck that lets government officials watch and monitor his actions. The whole point is that they are searching for the next "genius commander" that can defeat the Buggers in space warfare...sometime in the future. Luckily for him, Ender is chosen (over older brother Peter and older sister Valentine) and is taken to Battle School to begin his training. There he is isolated, beat down, confused, pushed to his limits and strengthened. He is thrown into simulated battles with flash suits in zero gravity, bullied by peer trainees (who were pitted against each other on purpose), deceived by his supposed teachers - all while trying to grow up. Even though the story is about kids, some of these kids are so intelligent that they speak and think like adults.

A somewhat obscure thing I really enjoyed about this book was the lack of a romantic couple that "falls in love". True, most of the main characters are children, but they have so much depth that romantic love seems trivial. Ender loves his sister with his whole heart that he would save the Earth for her, but his emotions are richer and more complex than a traditional story about a teenage boy growing up. By the time he is 11, Ender has killed other beings, but never is he concerned about girls. He is trained in warfare, not affairs of the heart.

Manipulation and deception run rampant through this book, but what goes around definitely comes around. I wish I could talk about the end, but I refuse to be a spoiler! Just know that this is a worthy read, for both kids and adults. The world created by Orson Scott Card is futuristic and fictitious, but closely correlated with the world today so it is easy to understand. I'm in awe of what these kids were capable of and will forever wonder about the potential of my students. I also know that there is a whole series of books that comes after this one, but I'm not sure I'll have time to read them this semester. The following are some passages that truly carry the heart of this story:

"For now that they could not be together, they must be infinitely apart, and what had been sure & unshakable was now fragile and insubstantial." p 122

"He was a soldier, and if anyone had asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he wouldn't have know what they meant." p 158

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves." p 168 - Such character of heart!

After all is said and done, this is officially one of my new favorite books. I'm even considering putting it on facebook as such. Now that's real committment.