War of Gifts

"War of Gifts" is billed as a short novel in the Orson Scott Card's Sci-Fi Ender series. While Ender does play a role, sci-fi is fairly non-existent. Instead it is a simple human story of the longing for cultural and religious symbols. Ender himself is fairly cardboard, seeming to know exactly what to say and when to say it. The main thrust is the development of the character of Morgan Zeck, who grew up getting bit by his dad, a firebrand preacher. Morgan is on a quest to "purify" the battle school, and does so by an attack on Dutch Christmas traditions. The other Christians respond by giving gifts, and the Muslims respond by praying. The adults quickly bring a halt to all this, leaving Morgan even more isolated than he was before. At the end he confides in Ender and seems to have a more stable worldview. (The story abruptly ends here, so we are not sure exactly how it turns out.)

This book has a smidgen of additional background on some of the characters in the Ender series, however, it is mostly forgettable.