Ender's Game

I am a pretty crazy reader.  I go through these insane bursts of reading where I go through books like chocolate and wine.  Then I have my quiet periods where I just can't get into a book, like all my reading ability has been drained and I need to wait for it to recharge.  I just came out of one of those quiet periods and am once again devouring books.  I am on Goodreads, which I have been horrible at updating.  I think I was trying to blog reviews here, which I was also horrible at doing.  Sometimes I just don't have words after I have finished a book, and sometimes rather than letting the books sink in, I dive into the next and the previous book is usually forgotten (well, not really fresh enough for me to blog/review anymore).  David and I just read a book together, and I think it's still fresh enough to write about.  I'll try not to be too spoiler-y, but I can't make any promises.  David-you can add to this if you feel so inclined. ;)

So the book we just finished was "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.  I read this book a really really really long time ago.  Long enough that I really had zero memory about what happened and it was like I was reading it for the first time.  It is a science fiction novel, which is right up my alley.  It takes place on earth, briefly, and in space (yay!).  We follow Andrew "Ender" Wiggin though his journey, and the side stories of his siblings Peter and Valentine Wiggin.  These children, and I do mean children, are incredibly (frighteningly) talented.  Earth is in a sort of holding state on the cusp of war with the "Buggers", and children are being bred and groomed to be the army that goes to war.  The result is some incredibly aggressive, mean and chilling children.  In Ender's family, his siblings were not chosen to follow the path he was. His brother Peter made me think of Mike Meyers as a young lass (but school smart).  Valentine wasn't abusive, but she was manipulative.  Most of the book is told through Ender, except for some snippets from those shaping the youth of that day.  We follow Ender through his training, and how he perceives his world, and the actions of others around him and to him.  It wasn't entirely easy to read because of the things that happen, especially when you remember it's happening to children, many of which are not even in their teens yet.  The manipulation and abuse was frightening.  I would relate my emotions reading this book, not unlike what I felt watching Hunger Games (and I will point out I have not actually read Hunger Games, I have only watched the movie).  Different plots, but both terrible scenarios.  Having said that, I still feel Ender's Game was a good book.  It was thought provoking and even if it made me feel icky, I'm still thinking about it.  If I'm still thinking about it, it was a good book.  Hope I didn't give anything good away, I tried to be generic.  Actually now that I've written this I feel like I should give Hunger Games a read.  Especially since I will see the Ender's Game movie after it's come out on DVD.