At age 6, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin leaves his home and family for Battle School. A space station where he will be trained in military strategy.
It's really hard to remember that Ender starts the book at age six—every time the author mentions it, it seems like a surprise. Six years old, and he can set up security systems, master battle techniques, and outthink his commanding officer. Which he does throughout the entire book, I might add, despite his age at any given point.
Ender advances through the ranks with remarkable speed. He is promoted from his launch group (the other kids his age with whom he traveled to the space station) and assigned to an army when he is still 6. Most kids don't advance until age 8.
The purpose of the different armies is to fight mock battles and, in so doing, learn battle technique and strategy. The armies are all named after animals/bugs, e.g. Condor Army, Salamander Army, Rat Army, Scorpion Army, Centipede Army, and so on.
The first army to which Ender is assigned is Salamander Army. His commanding officer, Bonzo, didn't appreciate having the disadvantage of an unexperienced soldier. Bonzo's disdain for Ender continues throughout the book.
Shortly after Ender had been transferred to Salamander Army: “He could see Bonzo’s anger growing hot. Hot anger was bad. Ender’s anger was cold, and he could use it. Bonzo’s was hot, and so it used him.” Ender's calm thinking and strategy make him the best soldier the Battle School has ever seen.
Later on in the book, when Bonzo and company ganged up on Ender in the shower: “He refused to feel weak because he was wet and cold and unclothed. He stood strongly, facing them, his arms at his sides.” I admire Ender's courage. He refused to feel weak just because he was at a disadvantage.
Ender can be calculating, but he has a conscience. He doesn’t just hurt people because he likes the rush of power. He does what is necessary to keep himself safe. And he always feels bad afterwards because he doesn’t want to hurt others. As evidenced by his thoughts: “Everything they can do to beat me, thought Ender. Everything they can think of, change all the rules, they don’t care, just so they beat me. Well, I’m sick of the game. No game is worth Bonzo’s blood pinking the water on the bathroom floor. Ice me, send me home, I don’t want to play anymore.”
When Ender was given an army himself to command, his soldiers advanced quicker than any others. One such solder, Bean (also very young) became a commander as soon as Ender graduated from Battle School (at the ripe old age of 10). “[Bean] was a soldier, and if anyone had asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he wouldn’t have known what they meant.”
This is one element of the story that I find very sad: the Battle School robbed Ender (and those like him) of his childhood.
I don't want to introduce any spoilers, so I will just say this: I think it’s pretty sleazy the way the military deceived Ender. I understand the rationale, but it’s sleazy just the same.
The ending was just okay to me. I think it was supposed to be peaceful and profound and whatnot. Meh. Didn’t really resonate with me. I thought it was a bit weak. I’m glad Ender found a way to be happy-ish, I suppose. But mostly I thought he deserved more than that after all he went through.
Even so, I enjoyed it overall. Ender's Game is an interesting story that kept my attention.
Ready for next month? My pick for October is
by Scott Westerfeld
Uglies was recommended to me by a friend studying children's literature. In just one semester, she had to read 25 books for her major. Uglies was one of the 25, and she said it was worth the read.
Uglies is both sci-fi and dystopian. I liked the last sci-fi book I read (see above), so I'll give the genre another chance. Dystopian novels (think Hunger Games or Divergent) seem to be in vogue now, too, so the time is ripe for reading this book.
According to Wikipedia, a movie adaptation is in the works. I always enjoy reading the books behind books-turned-movies. Uglies is the first in a series, so if I like this one, I'll stay busy reading the rest. Reading one book that leads me to others is always a plus.
From Goodreads: Tally Youngblood is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait for the operation that turns everyone from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to party. But new friend Shay would rather hoverboard to "the Smoke" and be free. Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The "Special Circumstances" authority Dr Cable offers Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
Uglies earns an average rating of 3.88 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 stars on Amazon, and 4.5 stars on Barnes & Noble. Not bad.
See me next month for my review!
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