10. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
As The Hunger Games seems to have kicked this trend off it would be silly to not start with it here. Say what you will about the series - the most common criticism is usually the startling similarity it has to Battle Royale, but author Collins has maintained she hadn't heard of it until after she'd submitted her book - it has been a runaway success with no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Whilst the kids-fighting-to-the-death plot has caused controversy, what is most striking about the Hunger Games novels is the world Collins has created. Panem is a convincing portrayal of fractured America, split into factions and presided over by the tyrannical Capitol, and President Snow. We're given this society of great wealth versus great poverty where the smallest rebellion is met with the harshest punishment and it feels unsettlingly familiar. The idea of The Hunger Games, watching a select set of innocents fight to the death on live television, is not miles away from current entertainment. Reality shows are omnipresent, and the most popular ones usually involve the degradation of contestants. ITV's I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here allows the audience at home to choose their least favourite contestant to undergo "Bushtucker Trials". These generally involve eating some sort of foul live animal, being covered in rats, or something similarly horrifying. Forget that it's a Young Adult novel: its themes are incredibly mature. Every now and then when reading a particularly violent occurrence you realise this book was meant for teenagers, but it certainly doesn't treat the teens it is aimed for like children. This is surely a good thing, that it doesn't shelter them from both everyday violence or the scathing satire lying underneath And remember, the odds are never in our favour.