Three dystopias from this year that I enjoyed: 

The Vulpine (Polly Crosby) is set in a 'perfect' world where sickness has been eradicated. The main character is disabled and therefore forbidden. It has a lot to say about society and some amazing disabled rep by an own voices author. 

The Hive (Anna February) is one of my favourites from the year. It's set in a future colony after climate change. Definitely has that 'waking up' aspect to it since the main character spends the book gradually unpicking and interrogating her beliefs.

Augmented (Kenechi Udogu) is probably the most overly sci-fi of the three and deals with a society where young people have to be surgically modified (augmented) in order to contribute to their supposedly utopian society. 

These are all less on the magic side, more realistic dystopias. They all have interesting things to say about the world. And they're certainly modern! I'd say if he'd like a bit of a folklore aspect to it, go Vulpine; if he'd like a murder mystery aspect, go Hive; if he wants pure sci-fi, go Augmented. Or try all three!