The Earth is under attack from aliens known as "buggers." The only hope is a brilliant general named Ender Wiggin. The only problem is that he is a child. Follow up with the parallel novel, Ender's Shadow.
In 1821, Mexico finally won its independence from Spain after a long war. It was a lot like the American Revolution against Britain; heroic generals led an army of poor, brave farmers against the Spanish army and by sheer guts wore the Spanish down. The constitution written in 1824 even called the new nation the United States of Mexico. It was larger than the United States, covering all of modern Mexico plus the western third of the modern United States.
When I was 14, I walked into the Hazelwood Branch of the Carnegie Library on my way home from Louis Field with my basketball under my arm and changed my life.
