Growing up is never easy for anybody, but it would be that much tougher if you were living on the streets as a child, begging for food, and fighting with ruthless street gangs who would beat the living daylights out of you for a scrap of that food. Well, that's exactly how nine-year-old Poke and her crew are living on the streets of Rotterdam.

One day Poke meets a four-year-old boy who has learned to survive on the streets by using his brains. He gives her advice on how to get a bully to keep her crew safe, so Poke names him Bean and lets him into her crew. She also finds a twelve-year-old bully named Achilles to protect her crew and help them find more food. Achilles does his job well and manages to get them into a charity kitchen every day. Helga Braun, the owner of the charity kitchen, calls Sister Carlotta, a recruiter for the International Fleet's battle school for children, and tells her about Poke's family of kids. But tragedy strikes, when Achilles turns on Poke and kills her, so Sister Carlotta ends up taking Bean into her home and prepares him for battle school.

Life is very different in battle school --- it's up in space, and there is always food and shelter. Bean is so smart and learns so quickly he is soon promoted to higher and higher levels until he finally reaches Command School under the leadership of Ender. As they prepare for war with the Buggers, Bean learns many surprising secrets about himself including his real name, and that he has a twin brother. Pick up a copy of ENDER'S SHADOW to find out if Bean and his army win the battle against the Buggers!

   --- Reviewed by Ashley