Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
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Audience: 11 and up
Rating: A
Synopsis:
Ender Wiggins is a child of unusual ability. He’s been recruited to an elite training school where his directions are straightforward: save the world from another attack from the deadly buggers. The rules of his training, however, keep changing. As Ender struggles to adapt to the pressures and keep up with the challenging rules of the training game, it becomes increasingly obvious that despite his young age: Ender’s not playing a game anymore.
Chatter:
(Spoiler Alerts! ) This book is a classic, and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it! Even though it was originally published in the 1970’s, it still feels futuristic today and Card’s predictions about how technology would evolve are uncannily accurate. I know I’d like a desk like the one Ender has, and with tablet laptops becoming ever-improved, we’re almost there.
The brilliance in Card’s writing is his ability to show how conflicted everyone is about putting Ender in the position of saving the world. They recognize the need to sacrifice his childhood for the greater good, yet that doesn’t make the decision any easier to live with. Ender is also quite conflicted, he knows how he’ll have to play the game to survive, yet he regrets the need to place a distance between himself and those he commands. He wants their friendship, but he needs their respect.
The ending, like many other parts of the book, was surprising to me. I didn’t expect Ender to find the replica of his desk-game, nor the bugger’s egg. Although, as soon as he found the egg, I knew that Ender would protect it. He had too much regret about the civilization that he was tricked into destroying to not cherish the potential for amends that the egg represented.
Ender’s version of the tragic hero is haunting. His childhood was stolen, and his future as well. It was really only the months at the lake where he had any freedom, but even then he knew it couldn’t last.
Questions:
How would Peter have used Ender if had ever returned to Earth?
How would others have treated him?
What do you think was Ender’s happiest moment?
What do you think Ender will do with the Bugger egg?
Keep reading!
Paige
