The Hunger Games

Written by Suzanne Collins, this series explores the tension between authoritarian government and its oppressed subjects. Set in a future world post-United States where the new government and its upper-class (those living in "The Capitol") require two teenagers from each of the 12 Districts to be sent to certain death each year for the Hunger Games.

The Games pit these children from the Districts against each other in a kill or be killed situation that is also broadcast to the entire country as further propaganda and punishment for the Districts' rebellious past.

These books, including the original trilogy and the two new additions: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping are excellent and pertinent explorations of our humanity, our biases, how we are influenced or indoctrinated by narratives, and how we can make choices under extreme duress.