I just finished reading this book for the first time and I found it to be very interesting. It made me think about my childhood and my parents way of raising us kids (there are 3 of us children in my family). In the first chapter I realized I could not relate to Ender. I am the oldest of 3 kids and I had the best of times as a 6 year old. I can't imagine what life must have been like for him since he was the Third and always feeling guilty for being alive. And I can't imagine being able to give up a child to space wars so easily. If my parents had agreed to let me or one of my siblings go off into space to train to kill an alien species, I would never be able to forgive them! It just made me realize how different the author wanted the future to be from the present.
I also couldn't relate to Ender because my parents raised all of us in a Christian home and were proud of it. It's weird reading about a future where religion was forced to be ended but at the same time, the military making the parents break the law and have a Third just so they (the military) could use the child to their own benefits.
Ender was very mature for his very young age, he was able to make adult decisions that some adults would probably struggle with. I found it very interesting that the author wanted to make sure to point out over and over again how young Ender and all the other kids were. I don't understand why the hero of the World had to be a 9 year old super genius, but it definitely made the book a lot more interesting.
Reactions as a first time reader
- elfprince13
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Re: Reactions as a first time reader
Out of curiosity, I noticed one of your strong reactions was to the portrayal of child soldiers, but you describe it as a reality very different from the world we live in today. Did you make any mental connection with the way in which child soldiers are used in other parts of the world (especially Africa)?
"But the conversation of the mind was truer than any language, and they knew each other better than they ever could have by use of mere sight and touch."
Re: Reactions as a first time reader
Read Ender's Shadow next
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