Help me name this book? Please

[Tiffany]

I started reading this months book and I suddenly had a flash of a book I read when I was in high school (15 years ago). The basic storyline of the book is that Earth is overpopulated and resources are scarce. Once you graduate form high school you are basically assigned to one of the slums that hold people. You are given basic food/rent stipend and left to look out for yourself.
A group of graduates gang together to pool their resources and are recruited into a game (I think). This game is kinda like VR and it transports them to a place where they must learn to fend for themselves on a strange world. Eventually they get really good at the game and in the end you find out that the VR game was preparing the kids to fend for themselves on an alien planet to which they are transported unbeknownst to them.

I probably read this book between the ages of 15 and 16 (more than 15 years ago) so it's not a new book. And I'm pretty sure I checked it out from my school library so it would have been deemed appropriate for impressionable young minds going to school in Virginia.

If anyone can help me try and figure out the book I would be grateful. It has sort of become like when a song gets stuck in your head. I guess I would call it a book worm instead of an ear worm.

Thanks oodles :)

[Richard]

Doesn't sound familiar, but does sound like something I'd like to read. I don't see any details specific enough for a useful google search. I really hope someone else can help.

[P. Aaron]

Sounds halfway between Ender's Game and Tunnel in the Sky.

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

Sounds like Invitation to the Game

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invitati...

[Tiffany]

OMG Tassie that is exactly it! Invitation to the Game! Thanks so much now I can reread that and get it out of me head!

I appreciate that so much!

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

I'm glad I could help :-)

[P. Aaron]

Aaaaaand, on my to-read list. Curse you both.

[Kalin]

Thank you so much i have been looking for that forever

[Napoez3]

I'm totally reading this one!


So I won't be doing anything productive this summer. I'm starting to hate my kindle and Sword and Laser.

[terpkristin]

As usual, if there's ever a book you're hunting for, there's a GR group called "What's the Name of the Book" dedicated to helping members track down books. It can take awhile but they seem to have a high success rate.

[Boots]

I think I'll add that one to-read as well.

[toria (vikz writes)]

Boots wrote: "I think I'll add that one to-read as well."

and me

[aldenoneil]

terpkristin wrote: "As usual, if there's ever a book you're hunting for, there's a GR group called "What's the Name of the Book" dedicated to helping members track down books. It can take awhile but they seem to have ..."

But then we don't get to play. I never leave the safety of S&L on Goodreads.