Although to me this second instalment of [b:The Ender Quartet Box Set|3363015|The Ender Quartet Box Set (The Ender Quintet, #1-4)|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415096435s/3363015.jpg|7178427] is the first step in a deterioration and commercialisation of what should to me have been a stand alone book (Ender's Game), this one is worth reading in its own right.
I would say that in this second instalment we leave the genre of YA fiction, though. Actually, I'm not sure Card was attempting to write YA fiction even with [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet, #1)|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408303130s/375802.jpg|2422333], but he certainly passes beyond the genre with this one, as it has no large teenage characters, and is very philosophical. Card is very interested in shades of meaning and truth, and the limited perspective of those forced to live within the limited time allocated to an ordinary lifespan.
I do feel that it is a fair criticism noted by other reviewers when they point out the limitations of Card's depiction of female characters. They are dependent, lacking in depth and too driven and limited by the roles that they play in relation to the more major characters.
The plot is fascinating, twisting and original with its intrusions into piggie biology and evolution, and the characters of the main piggies are reasonably fleshed out, but it is my feeling that Card is more interested in the debate over the issues of value of life and one life versus another and the circumstances under which annihilation of a species may be justified. This is fine, but this interest does overwhelm the plot at times, making the characters seem a bit like placeholders, and the book reads at times as not quite enough more than a vehicle or an exercise for Card's own interests.
In my view, this is a tendency which grows as the quartet continues.