Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1), Orson Scott Card; Tor Science Fiction

“A veteran of years of simulated war games, Ender believes he is engaged in one more computer war game when in truth he is commanding the last fleet of Earth against an alien race seeking the complete destruction of Earth.”
Robin’s Note: If you haven’t already read Ender’s Game, it’s a classic for many reasons: a brilliant idea executed in clear but eloquent language.  The idea of using children to fight a war is not unheard of, of course, but Card takes the whole idea and tells if from the point of view of a reluctant child strategist whose brilliance makes him a target for his peers and his enemies.

King Of The Mild Frontier: An Ill-advised Autobiography, Chris Crutcher; Greenwillow Books

“Chris Crutcher, author of young adult novels such as “Ironman” and “Whale Talk,” as well as short stories, tells of growing up in Cascade, Idaho, and becoming a writer.”
Robin’s Note: Jack Gantos’ Hole in My Life is an intriguing memoir of a life that could have gone horribly awry, and this memoir is very engaging but in a different way.  Chris Crutcher is know for many teen novels, but his memoir is charming and often laugh out loud funny.  If the crime element is what appealed to you in Hole in My Life, this title doesn’t have that same allure, but as a memoir of a regular guy who went on to become a top-notch writer, it’s a solid choice.

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak; Alfred A. Knopf

“Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel—a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.”
Robin’s Note: Markus Zusak based this title on his parents’ memories of World War II in Germany as civilians, and his poetic but simple writing style makes this an extraordinary look at the Holocaust with Death as your narrator.  Zusak succeeds in making the familiar stories out of WWII Germany new, and newly horrifying, even as the remarkable language and gentle progression of the story wrap the reader in Liesel’s family and town.  Never saccharine and occasionally brutal, this beautifully written novel appeals to a broad range of readers, from teens to adults.