~o~Rating~o~

~o~Goodreads Synopsis~o~

Andrew “Ender” Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.

But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military’s purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine’s abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.

~o~Review~o~

Ender’s Game is one of the few books I have read multiple times. It is one of my all time favorite books. Ender Wiggin is a very strong character. At the mere age of six, he had been through so much. Every time I read this book, it makes me cry.

Ender is an outcast from the day he was born because he was a Third. The government only allowed families to have two children, but because his parents had two exceptionally smart children who couldn’t be admitted to Battle School for their personalities, they decided to allow them to have a third child. Ender is sought out by school bullies; he is tortured by his brother, Peter and his parents don’t really understand him. The only person he loves dearly is his sister kind and caring sister Valentine. He is taken away from his family when they decide he is perfect for Battle School.

Ender is isolated in Battle School on purpose by the instructors. Every time he made friends, he was taken away from them. And the one time he decided to give up completely, they used his sister against him.

~o~SPOILER ALERT~o~

The ending was devastating. They told him he was actually doing a stimulation when he was actually controlling a battleship. He had to endure so much and now he had to live with knowing he was responsible for wiping out an entire species.

At-first I was confused when he finds an alien in his “Game” world. But I liked how it represented hope for him; finding a place for the Buggers to establish another home would give him a chance to redeem himself.