A review by emily_m_green
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game has been on reading lists for years. Why? What’s the appeal of a prepubescent boy leading Earth in a war against an alien enemy? A good question, as more recently we see series such as Hunger Games and Divergent with enormous popularity. Many are disturbed by the violence and have concern for the children who read such books. Isn’t it harmful for adolescents to read about other adolescents committing terrible atrocities against each other? What possible benefit could a thirteen year old receive from reading about six year old Ender brutally beating his bully? Or by his being threatened by the school bully and his cruel older brother, Peter? 

Ender’s Game is set in a future world that suffered two wars against aliens that have been named Buggers due to their likeness to Earth insects. During the first war, the aliens took humans by surprise. During the second, the humans barely won. Now, an international alliance wants to beat the aliens once and for all, using a team of specially trained children to do it. 

Enter Ender, whose existence as a rare third child was allowed after his older brother and sister showed military promise. Peter was too eager to do violence, their sister Valentine, too kind-hearted, but by allowing Ender’s birth, they hope to find in a comfortable middle—willing to apply necessary force, but not eager to do so. Ender is chosen to go to battle school, which is located in outer space, so that students can learn to fight in lowered gravity. 

In some ways, battle school is like a boarding school—children live together, away from their parents, and go to classes and learn. In one very important way, it is different: the games are everything. The games are battles between child armies, made up mostly of boys, in which they fight in simulated outer space to raise their ranks. 

Ender is immediately set apart from the other boys, made to be isolated as well as envied. He is moved through the ranks quickly, which helps him to become better at warfare, but does little for his mental health and growth. Interspersed throughout the story are bodiless conversations between the high-ranking officers in charge, who often discuss the impact of their manipulations on Ender. 

Most people, especially educators, agree that reading is especially important for brain development and literacy. Therefore, one argument for books like Ender’s Game is that such a book gets kids to read, and the story is intense and exciting and the ending packs a big bang. 

Valid, but is that enough to encourage kids to read about children fighting society’s battles? 

In Ender, readers recognize the hero, the one who is extra compared to the best. He has more pressure upon him than any other character, and he is given little choice but to train to fight the war that was begun long before his birth. In many ways, is that not an analogy for childhood? Placed in the middle of inherited structures and asked to succeed without all of the right tools. 

The violence is also part of an internal struggle for Ender—he must protect himself against the violence of others, which often requires him to use significant force, as he seeks not just to prevent one beating but to convince the rest of the bullies to leave him alone. However, Ender feels great guilt and self loathing for hurting others, and yet does not see any other options that would guarantee his safety. It is a decision that many of us have to make in our youth—how will we respond to those who would hurt us? Especially those who seek to cause great harm?

It is not about what our children read, it is more about helping them to process and think about what they have read. If books like Ender’s Game are not pushed past an initial understanding of plot, if children are not asked to consider Ender’s plight, then the violence and all the ideas within the book have been lost. When people connect to a book, usually it is more than an exciting plot—they want to think and feel, as this is part of the entertainment—yes, using your brain is entertaining. People--including young people--like to feel smart when they catch onto subtleties in a book. 

Would I teach this book? Ender’s Game has a compelling plot and a lot to dig into. A middle school student can easily handle the writing style and content. Do not underestimate their imagination and depth. Even those who hate the book have a lot to say about it. If anything, the book does not teach students to glorify violence, but to consider the deep personal and social repercussions of it.