by Sawyer Black
Release Date: May 5, 2022
2022 Independently published
Kindle Edition; 218 Pages
ISBN: 978-8838903952
ASIN: B09Y3MMQHQ
Genre: Fiction / Horror / YA
Source: Review copy from author
3.25 / 5 Stars
Summary
When the influencers and live-streamers of Jackson High are selected as the winner of the Operation Gen Z contest, Craig Boucher and his friends can’t believe their luck.The Zoomers think they’ve been chosen to compete in a secret competition to win a million-dollar scholarship. But when they get to the site – the rundown building that used to be the Oakridge Academy, an infamous school shut down after rumors of torture and brainwashing – they discover that they’re pawns in a brutal game of survival.
As they search for a way out of the booby-trapped campus, Craig and his friends are hunted by three fanatical Boomers determined to prove that Generation Z embodies everything that’s wrong with the modern world.
My Thoughts
Zoomers vs Boomers was actually a fun, fast read and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I loved the satirical commentary on both generations with regards to social media and thought the use of a live audience watching everyone get killed was interesting; it actually reminded me of Bachman's book, The Running Man, a book I read as a teenager, but definitely made an impression on me.
The concept of this book isn't new: you take a bunch of teenagers, throw them into a situation where they think one thing is going to happen but suddenly something else happens, the killing starts, and wait to find out the purpose behind it all. Every story with this format simply has its own twist and I would say the twist is that all of the players are social media influencers and the killing is live-streamed. To be honest, I thought the reason behind it all to be rather weak as it was your typical boomers hate all zoomers and think the younger generation need to be raised with more discipline and are all spoiled brats. However, I did think the game was fun, although the players themselves were ridiculously easy to pick off because they were all silly. And I guess you could say that you should never annoy a boomer as you won't know how they will react? But, on the other hand, never underestimate the resilience of a zoomer and their will to survive?
It did take a few chapters before the action started, but when it did, it didn't let up until the final chapter. And when the first major thing happened, it actually caught me by surprise as I wasn't expecting it so I liked the twists and turns that happened. The book was an easy read, short compared to other books, so I read it in one sitting, but I think I would have even if it was longer as it was good fun. Because it was so short, there wasn't a lot of time to really develop characters, so other than Craig, and maybe one or two others, I didn't really develop any empathy for them. This made it difficult because when they did die, it was hard to feel empathetic although I did wince a time or two. I would have liked to have known more about who set up the contest and how it all came together, but that was left purposely vague so I was a bit disappointed about that. The ending was satisfactory, and the overall story was tense and exciting.
Verdict
Zoomers vs Boomers was quite fun, and definitely had a lot of twists and turns that kept my interest throughout. I do think it would have benefited from some type of prologue as the beginning was a bit slow, but when the action started, it didn't let up. There really wasn't a lot of character development, and a bit more of that would have helped the tension as you would have felt more empathy towards the characters when they died. Overall, a fun book and I do recommend this one to anyone who is looking for a quick, entertaining read.
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