Ender's Game

I was looking through our library for books to read while in China and thought that I should finish reading Ender's Game. I had gotten about halfway through it years ago, but school was busy and I didn't have time to finish it. It's one of Jeff's favorite books and he's really excited that they are turning it into a movie. The basic premise of the book is that humanity is at war with alien 'buggers' and military leaders are searching for a brilliant commander of their forces. The best and most promising children are selected for training in space, and the bulk of the book is about the war games the kids play. We follow Ender, the last and most promising genius, through the grueling training process, until he taken to command school. There he learns that since the last war with the buggers, the military has developed space travel and has sent an armada to the buggers' home planet. With the friends he made at Battle School, Ender prepares to lead the ships through simulators. In the final battle Ender destroys the alien planet, winning the war.

It's a well written, engaging and thought-provoking novel. We hear about Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, and the influence they have on Earth while Ender is in space. Through Ender's struggles we wrestle with the ethics of making morally questionable decisions 'for the greater good.' I really loved the book and am looking forward to the movie, which should come out next year.