I'm going to nominate "Speaker for the Dead" by Orson Scott Card. It is actually a sequel to the much more publicised Ender's Game (which, like many other Science Fiction books, was used as the basis for a not very good movie). Speaker for the Dead stands alone and in my view is probably Card's best work, at least of those I have read.
It is a very different book from Ender's Game and has many themes worthy of discussion. It is not hard science fiction, but uses the setting to examine many issues. Humanity, ashamed at having wiped out the first alien species it encountered (in Ender's Game) now has to deal with a second. Is this an opportunity for redemption? Or for a repeat? Have any lessons been learned? When the aliens kill the main "Xenologer" sent to study them how will humanity react? Or is history condemned to repeat itself? A very thought provoking book which ranks high amongst my favourites.
Quote:
In the aftermath of his terrible war, Ender Wiggin disappeared, and a powerful voice arose: The Speaker for the Dead, who told the true story of the Bugger War.
Now, long years later, a second alien race has been discovered, but again the aliens' ways are strange and frightening...again, humans die. And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenocide, who has the courage to confront the mystery...and the truth.
Speaker for the Dead, the second novel in Orson Scott Card's Ender Quintet, is the winner of the 1986 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1987 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
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Amazon AU: $12.99
Amazon US: $ 8.99
Amazon UK: £ 5.99
Amazon CA: $ 5.99
Kobo US is also $8.99, and as the book seems to be an agency title I expect it will be available in these 4 countries at these prices. The books is also readily available from libraries and in paper.