Recently there was a book made into a movie, called Ender’s Game. Based off of what I read, I believe this book is science fiction because the majority of the story takes place in space and has to do with an alien race called the Buggers. After reading the book I saw the movie. Comparing the book to the movie, I thought the book was better. Although the movie was good and had the general idea of the book, character development was something it was lacking. Character development is an important factor if you want to really hook your audience and make them feel what the character feels. The main character of the plot was Ender, a genius boy who is the third child of his family, which was rare because families needed special permission to have a third child. He was believed to be an eligible candidate to win the war against the Buggers. Ender also had his most trusted acquaintances, Petra, Dink, Bean, and Alai. He also has two older siblings, Valentine, his down-to-earth sister, and Peter, his violent older brother.

The story begins at Ender’s school. The first major event that happened was when Ender got his monitor taken off. This was an important event because having the monitor means the child is still eligible to get into Battle school. When Ender got the monitor taken off, he was afraid he had washed out. This disappointed him because the only reason he was born was to get into Battle School. Almost as soon Ender is alone, a boy named Stilson along with some boys’ bully him. He convinces Stilson to fight him alone, so Ender isn't ganged up on. Ender beats up Stilson, a seemingly unnecessary amount, and uses it to his advantage by warding off other bullies. Towards the end of the fight, the movie seems to differ from the book. It differs because in the book, to me, Ender seemed less hostile and more calculating in the fight. In the movie it seems that he is more violent than I would have guessed from reading. This change doesn’t necessarily affect the plot, but it changed how I personally perceived Ender.
The next difference in the movie had to do with Ender and his brother, Peter. The movie cut out a caring comment to Ender from his brother, Peter, when Peter thought Ender was sleeping. The comment had to do with Peter apologizing for being a terrible brother, and about him knowing how it feels to get his monitor off. I thought that this was a bad change because that scene is when Ender knew his brother loved him; despite the terrible way he would treat Ender. What Ender thinks about his brother is important because his brother affects him in a physiological way throughout the story.
The movie differs in a couple ways from the book when Ender is in the ship to take off to Battle School, a space station. The first way it differs is by cutting the scene where Ender accidentally breaks a boy’s arm because he was kicking Ender seat and hurting him. This scene was important because it shows Ender’s first enemy, the boy, Bernard. Another way it differs in this scene is by adding an important character early to the story, Bean. Bean was supposed to be younger than Ender, and in a later Launchy group. Instead they added him into Ender’s group, making them around the same age. This difference actually doesn’t affect the plot too drastically, but it got rid of character development between Ender and Bean, who in the book didn’t start out as friends like they did in the movie.
The movie then cut out a large part from the book. The movie cut all of Ender’s army’s battles, and practices, except for the one where they had to fight two armies at once. Not only did this get rid of a lot of character development, but it also cut out a lot of plot. The audience was unable to see how Ender has grown into the leader he is. There were also little things that didn't make as much sense. One example was when they used the string in the battle to redirect a flying soldier. The tactic would have made more sense if the movie didn’t take out the practices because it would have shown how they came up with the idea to use the string. This made the movie a little harder to follow if the audience didn’t read the book.
The next large part that the movie cut was Demosthenes and Locke. Demosthenes and Locke are the names Valentine and Peter used to disguise themselves on the news net online. This was a subplot having to do with Peter and Valentine’s actions while Ender was in Battle School. This got rid of a chance for the audience to learn more about Valentine and Peter, who in the book, made a large political impact using the names Demosthenes and Locke.
Afterwards, for majority of the plot, the movie stayed faithful to the book. The end of the book and movie generally had the same ending, but the movie was a little different. The movie’s ending seemed to be short while the book’s ending prolonged the story a little more. Both got the general idea across.

Overall, I enjoyed the book over the movie. The book was better able to connect with my feelings through character development. I would recommend reading the book over watching the movie. The book also had more plot and would be easier to understand then the movie. I think the theme of the story is to always choose peace over violence when given the chance. That’s the lesson Ender learned in the end. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes science fiction or a good read.