In Orson Scott Card’s novel, “Ender’s Game” humans are preparing for war against giant ant-like aliens. After an initial attack made 50 years ago, humans have set out to end all future wars. To achieve their goal Earth’s brightest children have been training for battle before they were out of diapers.

Card’s protagonist, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is a six year-old boy. Andrew’s nickname is a foreshadow of what is to come during the book.

“I liked Ender, he was a sensitive boy with an instinct to survive,” Threatt said.

As the third child in his family, Ender is cast-out and bullied at his school and at home. When Ender gets his monitor removed, an incident occurs in which he defeats a bully. Immediately after, he is taken to command school. Principal of the school, Colonel Graff seeks to ostracize Ender; his ultimate goal is to make a leader out of Ender, regardless of the boy’s emotions. The same order of events seem to happen as Ender transfers schools. Just when he gets accustomed to his classmates, Andrew is promoted before he turns seven to Salamander’s army under the command of Bonzo Madrid.

As the youngest child in his sect, the bullying continues. Ender is the smartest and most observant of all the children at the school which makes him  seem like a threat to the older children of the school. His teachers and principal show favoritism, which does not help his case. However a new friend, Petra, practices with Ender and he develops the skills he needs to be traded to the Rat army.

In his new army Ender slowly gains respect. His mentor Dink plants a seed of doubt of who the enemy really is. With the realization that the International Fleet (I.F.) controls every aspect of their lives, Ender falls into a depression. He believes the school is turning him into his brother.

Finally after two years of no contact; I.F. allows a censored letter from his sister, Valentine who loves him dearly. She reassures Ender that he is nothing like his “slumbitch” brother.

Ender is rewarded another promotion in which he gets a new teacher. Mazer Rackham, legendary pilot from the first attack trains him to be a better leader and improve his battle strategies. The training includes practice trials, that will ultimately decide if Andrew can succeed in destroying humanity’s threat.

Card’s plot twist, which will not be revealed, nearly destroys Andrew.

The characters of “Ender’s Game” all play a significant role in Ender’s decisions.

His parents are distant, they are ashamed of themselves for having a third child, which is normally not accepted in their society. However, the I.F. previously worked with Ender’s siblings who showed much potential but had flaws and more importantly unable to lead. Ender was genetically engineered so that he would be a combination of his siblings, Peter and Valentine.

Peter was kicked out of the program at age six because he was too quick to react and a savage. Peter intimates Ender, and he plays an important role in Ender’s sanity. After every violent act Ender questions himself. His fear of becoming like his brother will register with a wide audience.

Ender’s sister is more of a mother figure. She is the only one who remembers Ender’s birthdays throughout the book.

Colonel Graff manipulates Ender and all the other children in the fleet.  Ender has been setting him up to be an outcast since their first meeting. Ender has known this all along, and refuses to be a pawn in his games.

In reaction to Card’s novel the book club members had several thoughts:

“I loved it,” said junior Antonae Thompson.

“It’s one of my favorite books,” said senior Bailey Vanswearingen. “But I hated the ending.”

Katie Leenders was astounded by the ending. Ultimately she loved it.

“While I enjoyed the characters, I just could not make myself love the book as much as my peers,” Threatt said.

Card’s novel was recently released as a movie starring Asa Butterfield as Ender. Book club plans to see it November 23, and all are welcomed to join.