Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When I was in ninth grade, we were taken to the library and told to choose a book so we'd have something to read between standardized tests. Instead of picking a book, I started screwing around in the library. Generally getting into trouble. Typical teen stuff. The librarian eventually nabbed me, and asked what sort of books I liked reading. For some reason that I still can't explain to this day, I thought that all the "cool" kids read science fiction. So that's what I said. "Then you should read this book," she told me, handing me a fairly worn copy of 'Ender's Game,' and telling me that she loved it enough to re-read it every year. I wasn't thrilled with it, to be honest. The cover seemed kind of hokey. It smelled funny (hey, I was a kid). I had no idea what a "Hugo" or "Nebula" award might be. But the bell was ringing, testing would begin shortly, and I was kind of stuck for options. I checked out the book, and went on my way. I've always been a fast test taker, and so about an hour into a three-hour test I was done and bored. I opened the book and started reading. And a two hours later I was done. Up to that point, I'd read tons of books—mostly of the "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" and "Encyclopedia Brown" variety. This was the first "grownup" fiction I'd ever read. And I was hooked. I went on to read everything I could find by Orson Scott Card. I wrote tons of short stories as creative writing assignments, all featuring Battle School or Ender himself. And I took what was a sorta-hobby of writing short stories and "books" (very short books, I assure you) and ended up turning it into a lifelong pursuit. And, like the librarian, I've taken to re-reading this book every year. I've given away more copies of this single book than I can count. And I've owned every English-language version of it ever released. It's a benchmark, life-shaping book for me. 'Ender's Game' was the book that taught me that books could be what you do for a living. And for that, I'm incredibly grateful. My only regret is that I can't give it more than five stars.