Godspeed

Chosen at random to fight in a staged war, the only way for her to survive is to kill. America in the late 21st century is a pale shadow of its former glory. Decades of war and the growing divide between the poor and the wealthy leave all but the super-rich in the grips of the greatest depression since the 1930s. This is the world that sixteen-year-old Sharon Hall lives in. With her city on the verge of economic collapse, her dream of graduating and getting the diploma she needs to get a real job and save her family grows more distant with each passing day. However, a team of television developers has other plans for her city. In exchange for around 140 high school students selected at random, her city will receive the millions of dollars it desperately needs to jump-start its economy. Before Sharon knows what the developers are really filming, she's drafted into the production, known simply as "The Battle." But, "The Battle" is anything but simple. While touted as an ordinary wilderness survival show, the game is, in fact, a staged war that splits Sharon's circle of friends in half and equips everyone involved with rifles, machine guns, and other deadly weapons of modern warfare. If Sharon ever wants to see her family again, she's going to have to shoulder her weapon and step into battle. But when the cost of her survival is the lives of her friends on the other team, it may be a more expensive price than she's willing to pay.