Author: Orson Scott Card
Publisher: Tor Books
Copyright: 1985
ISBN: 9780812550702
Reading Level/Interest Age: Grade 7 and up
Genre: Science Fiction--Aliens
Reader’s Annotation: Ender Wiggin is a genius hand-picked to save the world from alien invasion. He's also just six years old when he's taken from his family for training in Battle School.
Plot Summary
Ender is a Third, a child born by special dispensation from the government because of his potential value to the International Fleet (IF). Ender’s older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are both brilliant, but neither has the exact combination of compassion and ruthlessness that the IF is looking for. The buggers, an insect-like alien race, have twice attacked Earth. A third war is near, and the IF is looking for a savior, someone who can defeat the buggers once and for all.
Ender is taken to Battle School, which is located on a space station, when he is just six years old. The life of the school revolves around a battle game, played in zero gravity, that teaches military strategy and skill. Ender quickly rises to the top of the standings due to his clever, unconventional tactics. The IF commanders do everything they can to isolate Ender, push him to his limits, and stack the odds against him. They quickly make him the youngest commander in history. His prowess makes Ender some real enemies, until eventually there is a physical confrontation. In spite of all this, Ender manages to make some loyal friends and to keep a perfect winning record for the army he commands. Throughout the novel he struggles to maintain his humanity in the face of the brutality around and inside of him.
Critical Evaluation
It’s hard to imagine Ender’s Game being better executed. It has interesting, sympathetic characters; a fascinating setting with a well-developed history and rules; and a gripping plot. It’s easy to become immersed in the world of Battle School. The physical setting and social dynamics are described in detail, and it even has its own slang. The thrilling battle-game scenes will make you want to jump in and play. The larger political/historical setting, too, is clearly explained, and provides a context in which the extreme conditions of Battle School life make sense.
There is a large cast of characters, most of whom are geniuses. Card succeeds in imbuing them with distinct motivations and personalities. There is Colonel Graff, the IF commander who never stops manipulating Ender (all in the name of saving humanity); Petra, a fierce, proud girl in a male-dominated world; and Bean, probably the smartest one of all, who is even smaller and younger than Ender and is his only real rival for the job of savior of mankind. Peter and Valentine, left behind on Earth, write political essays that influence events both on- and off-planet while also trying to influence (and manipulate) each other. Ender’s voice and complex inner life make you feel you really know him. His basic, indomitable goodness will have you rooting for him from beginning to end.
Curriculum Ties: N/A
Booktalking Ideas
Describe life in Battle School
Describe the Formic Wars and the International Fleet's search for a savior
Challenge Issues: Violence, mild language
In the defense file, I will include my library's selection policy, ALA's Library Bill of Rights, ALA's guidelines on free access to libraries for minors (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/intfreedom/librarybill/interpretations/freeaccesslibraries.cfm), and ALA's strategies and tips for dealing with challenges to library materials (http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips/index.cfm). I will also include my library's reconsideration form, in case challenges if this book cannot be defused with "tea and sympathy." Reviews to include come from Common Sense Media (http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/enders-game), which details elements parents may find objectionable; School Library Journal (positive); and SFReviews.net (http://www.sfreviews.net/endersgame.html), positive.
About the Author
Orson Scott Card is the bestselling author best known for the classic Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and other novels in the Ender universe. Most recently, he was awarded the 2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in Young Adult literature, from the American Library Association. Card has written sixty-one books, assorted plays, comics, and essays and newspaper columns. His work has won multiple awards, including back-to-back wins of the Hugo and the Nebula Awards--the only author to have done so in consecutive years.
His titles have also landed on 'best of' lists and been adopted by cities, universities and libraries for reading programs. The Ender novels have inspired a Marvel Comics series, a forthcoming video game from Chair Entertainment, and pre-production on a film version. A highly anticipated The Authorized Ender Companion, written by Jake Black, is also forthcoming. Card offers writing workshops from time to time and occasionally teaches writing and literature at universities. Orson Scott Card currently lives with his family in Greensboro, NC.
http://www.amazon.com/Orson-Scott-Card/e/B000AQ3SS0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1
Why is this title included?
Ender's Game is one of my favorite books. I've recommended it to many people, including some very reluctant readers, and they've loved it without exception. It's won numerous awards and been translated into many languages. Though middle school readers also enjoy it, it's a book that holds up well to rereading, and older readers will usually get more out of it.