Which should I read next: Speaker of the Dead or Ender's Shadow? Does either cliffhanger?

It's not a sequel because the story happens at the same time as Ender's Game. The only difference is, the story's being told by a different character who has a different life, different goals and a totally different experience within that story. You definitely don't need to read Ender's Game before Ender's Shadow.

Even though they're about the same events, the overlaps that occur aren't left "unexplained" like sequels tend to do. Everything is explained as if everything was new, but simply from the point of view of a different character. There are some secrets and "aha" moments in Ender's Shadow that sort of "spoil" Ender's Game, but they still are two very different stories that are linked, but don't rely on each other.

Hope that helps!

I think to better understand it, that would be best but you could skip the other books about Ender and read the Bean books.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.