For the Win

Slightly pedantic (a downfall of many YA books), Cory Doctorow explains economics, labor movements and socialism to kids via this near future romp through the MMORPG sweatshops of India and China.

MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) are hugely popular (see: World of Warcraft), and Doctorow uses real life examples of players creating real mini-economics as a springboard. Just like you can apparently buy credits in Second Life using REAL MONEY, so do Doctorow's young teenage heroes discover the various ways to make money and get exploited via your talents in the online world.

The story moves along quickly, and Doctorow paints a variety of settings (California; Bombay; a company town in China; Singapore) in a realistic, fascinating light. He clearly knows his stuff. Role players of the world unite!