T’is the Season for Some Reading!

The holiday season has finally arrived, and with it the opportunity to curl up underneath the covers with a good seasonal book that makes you all warm inside. 

Let it Snow, a compilation of three stories by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.  I occasionally dust this one off during times of the year besides the holiday–it’s that good.

Dash & Lily’s Book Of Dares by Rachel Cohen and David Levithan.  Perfect for the holidays–quick to read, and fun to boot!

Wintertown by Steve Edmond.  I was sent a copy by the publisher when it first came out, and I’m glad I got my hands on a copy.  The story combines the idea of a written story with a comic-like story that’s created by the “characters” in the story.  It’s put together wonderfully and I’ve yet to find anything else like it.

Also… Some highly anticipated reads coming with the new year:

In stores January 15th

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis.  Finally, the end is near!  One of the highest rated series I’ve come to love, I don’t know whether to be thrilled or saddened that it’s at an end.  But I’m looking forward to seeing how Amy and Elder’s story ends…

In Stores February 5th

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter.  I can’t be the only one enticed by the Heist Society.  So far all of Carter’s books have been just as delicious as the last, so I can’t wait to see what’s to come in the next installment!

In Stores February 26th

Also Known As by Robin Benway.  Can you tell I like spy stories?  I may just be pushing my love for Ally Carter’s stories onto other novels, but I really think this debut has some potential.

Book Review: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Title: Ender’s Game

Author: Orson Scott Card

Publisher: Tor Science Fiction

Publication date: July, 1994

Stand Alone or Series: Series–this is a part of a series.

Softcover: 352 pages

How I got this book: Bought



Why I chose this book: This book has an interesting synopsis and after it was recommended to me I decided to give it a try.

Synopsis:

 In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut–young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender’s skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers, Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender’s two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If the world survives, that is.

Review:

All it takes is a look at my bookshelves (or my reviewing history) to see that this book is different than what I usually read and talk about.  So I was surprised when I really got pulled into this book.  The plot follows Ender Wiggin, a small boy, who has the fate of the world resting on his shoulders.  Sounds like a burden, right?

A lot of what this book deals with is political and psychological as you wonder if what the adults are putting through Ender is humane and worthy.  Though the setting for the novel is primarily Earth, it is set in the future when space travel is common and there are new technologies and government structures.  Card does a fantastic job of taking so many different sub-plots until at the end of the book the reader is completely satisfied with what is given throughout the story.  Though the story is a part of a series, it is very possible to be appeased with just this one novel.

I was a little worried near the middle of the book while Ender is in battle school and the plot-line starts to plateau.  I started reading slower and even picked up a second book to read at times.  However, it is worth it to plow through the slower sections, because overall the book is definitely worth a read.   

You can visit Orson Scott Card’s website here: http://www.hatrack.com/