The Giver by Lois Lowry

This book, written for upper-elementary readers and middle school students, is one of the best I've read in awhile. It is the story of a young boy, Jonas, growing up in a seemingly utopian community. Gradually throughout the story things about the community are revealed that make the reader feel uncomfortable and question whether this community is ideal after all. Jonas is selected to become the next Receiver of Memory, a very honorable and rare profession. For his training Jonas begins to visit with the old Receiver of Memory daily and receive memories from him so that he can bear the burden of painful and powerful memories for his community so they don't have to suffer. Jonas' life is enriched by the memories that are forbidden to the rest of his community and he discovers that his seemingly utopian life is actually relatively empty and full of dark secrets.
This is probably the first dystopian novel that most children will read. It is a great introduction and not having experienced this genre before will make the twists-like when Jonas learns what it means to be 'released' especially powerful. Readers will learn to appreciate their own experiences and realize how important they are when they see how lacking Jonas' life is without them. This story helps readers understand the importance of negative emotions as well as positive and see how all feelings enrich their lives. This book gives insight into what makes life meaningful and why in an accessible way- I would definitely recommend reading and discussing it either for reading groups or as a language arts assignment.