Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
When I first picked up Ender’s Game as a teenager, I was sure I knew what the deal was — science fiction, space battles, aliens. The cover (yes, I judged) showed spaceships, the jacket blurb spoke about war and armies — I was sure this was not going to be for me. A high school drama teacher recommended it and I usually took her word for gospel, so I had to give it a shot. For all that surety, I never saw the ending coming and it remains one of my favorite reveals in literature to this day. And it wasn’t just the “big reveal” that kept me guessing and make this book so unpredictable. It was the defiance of “genre” conventions, the focus on character over idea and flash, and the wonderful appeal a book that should have left me cold held for me in the sad, brilliant mind of Ender Wiggin. I had no idea what I was getting into, and I loved every minute of the ride. It’s a book a still re-read yearly.
-Kira Apple
2 comments
Loved, loved this book.
The Birth of Venus, by Sarah Dunant
I ended up not liking this novel, but I finished it anyway. The ending felt pretty forced – but let me just say that I’ve never read anything that involved a snake tattoo, a faked cancer, a pig’s internal organ, and a paintbrush all wrapped up in one character…who was also a nun. It was nutty.
Comments are closed.