Ender's Shadow

Bean's story is almost more intriguing than Ender's; his origins are a mystery and future even more uncertain. Ender's Shadow has the advantage of not needing to establish a whole world, which allows the story to focus solely on characters. Bean is a formidable character, but also such a victim that I was even pulling for him to exact revenge on a few characters. The end was believable and made me misty-eyed, which I never expect from sci-fi.