Hi! I just finished a great book, and I wanted to recommend it to you. It's YA fiction called THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins. It won a bunch of awards recently, and it deserved them. This is a combination of the TV show SURVIVOR meets the movie DEATH RACE meets the short story THE LOTTERY. Essentially, 24 teens are selected at random from their pitiful, poor, home districts every year, and they get makeovers, and have interviews and gather sponsors. Then they're all put in a huge arena. They are televised while they kill each other. The one who survives is set for life, with money and food and a nice house.
This book addresses government oppression, and mindless, thrill-seeking TV audiences, and friendship, and survival, and I'm sure all kinds of other things that English teachers would notice. I just thought it was awesome, and I was up reading it until after midnight every night this weekend because I couldn't wait to see what would happen.
As for recommending it to kids, there's no sex or language or drugs, but there is murder. Not too graphic, but still, not for the very young.
It's pretty popular, so you might have to fight it out with other people at your library to get your hands on a copy. Let the games begin! :)
Peace and excellent books,
Kim