Boomsday
by Christopher Buckley
Published by Twelve/Warner Books imprint
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by Brenda A. Snodgrass
(Also in audio--see our review)
Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.
--Herbert Hoover
Cassandra Cohane has busted her rear end to maintain a grade point average that would be acceptable to Yale. She finally receives her letter of acceptance into this time-honored University. She shares her good news with her parents only to discover her dad had spent her tuition money on his new dot com business. Her father has a company plane and he drives a BMW, yet he tells Cassandra she should join the military for her tuition.
Cass joins the army and is in an accident caused by a U.S. Congressman who drove them into a minefield. The Congressman, Randy Jepperson is injured, and Cass loses her army career and is honorably discharged. Due to the media frenzy following the accident, Cassandra changes her surname to Devine.
Wealthy Jepperson offers to pay Cass's Yale tuition, which she declines. But through his connection she is hired by Terry Tucker to work at his strategic communications/PR company. In her off-hours she blogs about the unfairness of the 30% tax increase on citizens under the age of thirty, to enable the baby boomers a decent retirement.
Cass receives 2.6 million emails in response to her blog. The ensuing riots that occur result in Cass being jailed for trying to "overthrow the U.S. Government." Her outrageous presentation of "Voluntary Transitioning" (suicide) to the boomers as they age to seventy, boasts the advantages as being an expense paid "final honeymoon," no death tax so it all can go to their children, relieving the problem of social security and government deficit. Her first attempts at launching this program were met with derision--but gradually caught on as a workable solution.
As well written as it is, there doesn't seem to be any excuse for the heavy peppering of profanity as it adds nothing to the story.
Armchair Interview says: Boomsday is smart, funny and entertaining. All the dialogue is great and the characters are larger than life.