After reading (and loving) Ready Player One I was excited to give Ender’s Game a try. I’d heard from many trusted fellow book nerds what a great book it was but had shied away because I thought it wasn’t “my kind of book.” I should have trusted my gut. This book tested my patience as I struggled through the first third, finding nothing that captured me or held my interest. After setting it down for a few days (instead I read Wonder, which I would highly recommend, and The Good Girl), I picked it back up, determined to chug through. Plus, I was told the ending would change my mind.

Eager to get to said ending, I admittedly skimmed a large part of the middle half. So as not to give anything away, all I’ll say about the ending is I appreciated what they were trying to do. And I certainly enjoyed the last quarter of the book much more than the rest, I just wish I didn’t have to slog through the other three-quarters just to get there.

Some of the things that made it hard for me to latch on to the story: Ender’s age (six years old?!), the constant fart jokes (anyone else notice this?), and the lack of any sort of dynamic characters (I didn’t find any of them relatable). I also didn’t quite grasp Valentine’s and Peter’s storyline. Perhaps that’s expanded upon in the next book?

Overall, I’m glad I read it because it’s beloved by so many. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them.