No, there wasn't a female role in the book, except for Petra, who was as you said, pre-pubescent.
I don't think he should have added a female role to the screenplay, especialy not one as annoying as Anderson seems from the script. I didn't get the impression at all that she added "a counterpoint for the adult roles in Battle School, introducing a conflict" as Card put it. Rather, she seemed thoughtlessly and pointlessly argumentative. Why add a female role if you're just going to make her a ditz?
It bothers me that Card seems to be making these changes (adding a female role, buggers -> formics) for the purpose of becoming more politically correct, not necessarily improving the plot in any way.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't think he should have added a female role to the screenplay, especialy not one as annoying as Anderson seems from the script. I didn't get the impression at all that she added "a counterpoint for the adult roles in Battle School, introducing a conflict" as Card put it. Rather, she seemed thoughtlessly and pointlessly argumentative. Why add a female role if you're just going to make her a ditz?
It bothers me that Card seems to be making these changes (adding a female role, buggers -> formics) for the purpose of becoming more politically correct, not necessarily improving the plot in any way.