Armada by Ernest Cline

Zach has spent his life wishing his dad was still alive.  He was only ten months old when he died, but he has many of his father's interests.  He loves gaming, Star Wars, any movie with fast action plane fights and great new weapons, and he even loves his dad's old jacket.  He's eighteen now, and he can wear the jacket and it fits.  But he still has an empty spot in him.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can pick up a copy now.

I really loved the movie "The Last Starfighter".  This book reminds me of that.  These teens have been playing video games where they must win often to have a high ranking.  Only those who make good marks at the game get chosen to join an elite force to fight the aliens.  

The story is well built, has lots of technical jargon and different politics in it.  Even among the elite there is a difference of opinion.  But almost everyone believes we have to fight the aliens to stay alive.  Almost...

Not everyone survives the war we brought on ourselves.  There's happiness, sadness, and a sense of wonder in this book.  You wonder why we were so stupid to start with.  You wonder how you go on after you lose what you love.  Yet, it's also a wonder that life goes on and earth still survives despite the leader's bad judgement.  I hope that's true in real life, too.