Ender's Game

Ender Wiggin may be a child, but he cannot afford to act or think like a child.  Ender is a "third" whose entire reason for existing is to serve humanity by training to become a soldier in a possible Bugger War.  At the age of 6, he leaves his family and is taken to battle training school where he is to learn the art of warfare in hopes that he may someday be able to command Earth's starfleet as it responds to the alien threat of the Buggers,  a race of insect-like beings who had already invaded the Earth twice.

Each chapter begins with a conversation between two shadowy speakers, adults who are discussing Ender's progress and promise.  I was a little confused by these exchanges at first, but the text looks different in these parts than in the rest of the narrative so it became easier to understand them as I read.  Since the rest of each chapter focuses solely on Ender's thoughts and actions, the conversations that open the chapters help the reader see a bigger picture than Ender himself can see.

Ender's Game started a little slowly for me, perhaps because I was reading it while distracted by planning for the new school year.  By the time I was halfway through the book, though, I had to force myself to put it down.  I love Ender's empathy, his leadership, and even his self-doubt.  I cannot imagine a world in which children would have to go through what Ender and his friends do!  In that respect, Ender's Game reminded me of The Hunger Games; people who enjoy Suzanne Collins's trilogy should give Ender's Game a shot.