Ender's Game

By Orson Scott Card.

Published in 1985 by Tom Doherty Associates, New York.

Winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award.

Ender is six years old when the novel opens, but it is immediately clear that he is not an average six year old. Neither are any of the children surrounding him. The Earth is at war with an alien species, and military forces are testing young children, trying to find the next great military leader. The children are trained and tested through a series of games. As one of the characters says to Ender, "I've got a pretty good idea what children are, and we're not children. Children aren't in armies, they aren't commanders, they don't rule over forty other kids, it's more than anybody can take and not get a little crazy" (118). This story is very well told, and moves at an incredible pace. I was swept up in a future reality that seems entirely plausible, and hated to put the book down. This book will appeal to readers of all ages, and while it comes across at first glance as being very boy-centric, the book deals with relationships and emotions in a way that will also resonate with girls. I loved it.

9/10.

Ages 12-100.