'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins

A striking contemporary movie re-awakens interest in this science-fiction novel, which is aimed at informing teenagers about the ways in which 1% of the wealthiest manipulate the rest by reality television that emulates warfare. For the more world-weary this is an excellent exposition of the cynical exploitation of human nature by the Capitalist system. There are reminders in the movie of previous works such as "Rollerball", "City Lights", "Metropolis", "Logan's Run", "1984" and of course "Matrix" but with a freshness that comes from the vigorous young cast.

It matters little whether you choose to begin with the book, or take the option of relaxing with the DVD since there has been a faithful transition. Either way the reader will learn about the faults in our system or have their suspicions confirmed.

The movie and the book are very very similar. Obviously, the book gives you a better peek into the mind of Katniss (the main character), but one thing I'm a little disappointed about (as a big history person) is that very little was said about HOW things got to be the way they are. I wanted to know more about how society transitioned from today to the Hunger Games world. Information on that aspect was sparse. I wanted to understand just HOW our society threw away our morality concerning our children - to such an extent that we would once again start offering our children as blood sacrifices.

This may be your opportunity to write a "prequel", Shirina.
Research might include the previous movie "Rollerball" and of course "Lord of the Flies".