Going Bovine

First of all, the writing was bouncy and engaging enough to keep turning page after page, the sort of book where you really want to find out what happens next.

------ CAUTION, SPOILERS, YOU REALLY CAN'T HELP IT WITH THIS BOOK. -------

I was really rooting for Cameron to live, somehow the various miraculous coincidences and the manner in which the "cosmos" came through for him, made me hope it would miraculously all work out, a happy ending: Cameron has learned and lives, his family is brought together again, evil is conquered, happy ending for all. But alas! The reader is dreaming along with the protagonist, perhaps. Then again, perhaps not. It does seem, though, that death happens, but it is not the end anyway, and that is one big message right there. One other book I can remember carries the reader briefly along after death as this one does, by Connie Willis, called _Passage_.

Cameron has good reasons not to be engaged with the people around him; EVERYbody around him had either sold out (even his sister Jenna was following a formula to be the Perfect Preppy Girl) or was some kind of failure or, was just lacking in inspiration. Those strange "snow balls" that are everywhere in the book do seem to be symbolic, of the stasis so many people get stuck in, the snow ball corporation is on the side of evil here; trying to stop the living, encase them in glass, if the people are not really living, they're not the threat, no need to encase them, they're encased already in their stuck, formulaic, failed lives. Quixotic; that to live, one must create. Even foolishly, but with liveliness, the antithesis of death. A noble theme.

Libba Bray's Going Bovine, the 2010 Printz Award winner for excellence in young adult literature, is a big, ambitious novel, and certainly worthy of the critical acclaim that has come its way this year. Cameron Smith is simply going through the motions of life; he's alienated from his parents and twin sister, has no real friends or interests, and spends most of his time either smoking pot or collecting the musical works of the Great Tremolo, a Portuguese musician who writes for the recorder and ukulele. Even his interest in the Great Tremolo is a sign of his cynicism, as he collects the music not because he likes it, but in order to make fun of it. As Going Bovine opens, Cameron's sad life is deteriorating even further; he's hallucinating in class and at home, which causes him to get suspended and have even more trouble with his family. At first it's assumed that drugs are the cause, but ultimately Cam is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, more commonly known as Mad Cow disease. His diagnosis is terminal, so when an angel in torn fishnet stockings challenges Cam to save the world and (perhaps) find a cure, he accepts the challenge, shakes of his stupor, and embarks on a road trip accompanied by his hospital roommate, a dwarf named Gonzo.

Going Bovine is both funny and sad, real and fantastical, witty and absurd. It is not like any other book that you will read this year. I know it's a book that I'm going to be thinking about for a long time.

Libba Bray’s Going Bovine is literary genius. Cameron is a below average 16 year old who wants nothing more than to smoke pot, collect LPs of an artist to only make fun of him, drift through life, and dream of Staci Johnson. Everything is a joke to Cameron from school to his family to his job. He sees all of his life from a glass half empty perspective. It does not help that his twin sister is the polar opposite of Cameron with her good looks, good grades, and social status. To top it all off, Cameron gets the unfortunate news that he is actually dying from an extremely rare and fatal prion disease. Lucky Cam. Now he will never be able to have sex with the girl of his dreams. But this is actually the beginning to his great adventure. Libba Bray makes it easy for the reader to relate to Cameron’s situation. She really conveys how someone with no motivation thinks and acts but she shows Cameron’s growth throughout the book. Bray uses words that a teenager would use and interjects quirky jokes, which do not require much thought to understand. Libba Bray keeps the tone of the book humorous despite his imminent death. Her book takes the reader on a journey and makes the reader feel like they are a part of the group. The places and people they encounter on the way and how Cameron and his friends handle them, such as the religious cult, show how she feels about these subjects without directly expressing her opinion and avoiding clichés. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, easy to read, and beautifully written novel.

I loved the theory behind this book. A yard gnome that talks and a kid with mad cow disease should have been enough to make me crazy about this book but I never could really get absorbed in it. I read the whole book hoping for it to draw me in and then finally just waiting for it to be over. I couldn't lose myself in the plot. So much happens in this book yet none of it seems real. Just because its bizarre fantasy doesn't mean a good author can't write in a manner in which I temporarily suspend the practical side of me and believe. Perhaps part of the problem is that it is so full of stuff and jumps so quickly from one event to another without really progressing in logical fashion that it just becomes like listening to someone's account of a long dream and everyone knows that can get...boring. Yeah, I saw the ending coming too, though that was probibly intended. I also found most of the satire and jokes a little too obvious; I like my satire a little more subtle and witty. I checked her other novel, Beauty Queens, out of the library at the same time and though I loved the idea of that book as well I am a quarter of the way through and disliking it for similar reasons.

I did like Gonzo and the gnome. Those petty bickering scenes were the most real feeling to me and those two characters the most interesting and amusing.

If I had an 8 year old I wouldn't want her/him reading this book. Language I don't mind, but the main character uses drugs and alcohol recreationally in it and there are a few sex scenes that though not graphic are not really suitable for someone that young. I doubt they would really appreciate some of the deeper themes in the book either. Its a book best suited for teenagers. Maybe if I had read it when I was one (as opposed to an adult) I would like it better myself.

"...I'm just starting to understand how amazing this whole crazy ride is going to be and now it's coming to an end." -Cameron, pg 410. In the most eloquent way, Cameron's pleading speech to gal pal maybe love interest Dulcie is the perfect way to summarize this novel. Throughout the beginning I kept wondering if this story was going anywhere, if it meant anything, and I continued asking myself why I should read it. People kept insisting that I finish it and that they loved it so much but I couldn't wrap my head around the about first 150 pages that seem to go no where. I realize now that they were so necessary; they're not just needless fluff: they define what Bray wanted to say about life and how disposable it can be if we don't spend any of it wisely.

Cameron's world goes upside-down when he's the Universe's last chance at survival and at first it seems like a stoner's story but the truth is that everything connects...randomly, of course...that every detail in this novel comes back to create meaning once again. The meticulousness is quite amazing and admirable. I forced myself at times to get through it but, when I was nearing the end, it felt like I couldn't read the novel any faster and I sympathized with Cameron's statement above. I couldn't tell as I read it but when I was getting towards the end I began to realize just how awesome and important this entire journey was and is going to be.

To say more would be spoiling the story, but GOING BOVINE is a story about life in its whirlwind of magic, power, and crazy adventure. At the heart of it all, under the profanity and offensive nature, is another swelled heart packed-full of emotion--some that escaped me when I neared the final words--one that allows you to feel for these characters and for this world. Read this one.

Cameron Smith, average teenager, is content to go through life a loner and a social misfit. A social misfit means no one ever noticing you, not living up to anyone's expectations, even your own. It means not caring about, well, anything. But when he starts experiencing uncontrollable fits and strange hallucinations, he chalks it up to some bad weed.

When one of those fits leads to him flipping out and punching a fellow classmate in the middle of class, people seriously start to take notice of him. Is it drugs? Is he psycho? No, it's worse. Cameron has Mad Cow disease. A disease that has caused all of this, a disease that ultimately will kill him.

Unless he listens to the pink haired, punk rock angel Dulcie. Dulcie tells him the only way to save himself and the entire world is to find Doctor X. Who's Doctor X? A doctor that disappeared ages ago, and hasn't been seen since. So, with the help of Dulcie and a dwarf named Gonzo, Cameron sets out on the road trip of all road trips in the hopes of finding the doctor, in hopes of finding himself before it's too late.

Only author Libba Bray could write such a book as Going Bovine. She manages to take something so serious, something so scary and spin it into a laugh out loud book full of memorable moments and unforgettable characters. Moments like Cameron and Gonzo getting picked up by a smoothie drinking cult, and characters like a Norse god disguised as a garden gnome.

Going Bovine is seamless written, and realistic, almost to the point of being too realistic. Emotions ride high in this book, and readers will experience all the ups and downs right alongside Cameron.Bray challenges readers to step into Cameron's shoes to better understand what he's going through. But still, she manages to weave fantastical moments and elements that make the book stand out from other young adult novels.

As far as young adult novels go, "Going Bovine" is at the top. Bray's writing is witty and fresh. It doesn't assume or encourage a lack of intelligence among its target audience. Bray, too, doesn't take advantage of the current vampire craze or raging, teenage hormonal needs for racy romance. Instead, she deals with death and prejudices and indoctrination and sexuality--hefty topics she approaches deftly and with wry humor. "Going Bovine" is a singular novel in its genre. (I want to thank the cute queer girl who recommended it to me while I was working at Borders.)

I write full-length reviews, among other things, at litbeetle.com.

So I just finished this book, like two minutes ago and have a definite book hangover right now. I don't even know how to process what I just read. The story was excellent, characters were brilliant and well thought out, the setting was great and the adventure was real. The book starts with your average kid who is just doing the bare minimum to pass through life. And then he learns that he is dying of Mad Cow disease of all things. The interesting thing about Mad Cow is that it makes you go a little crazy, like having hallucinations crazy. That is what makes the story so interesting, and in fact it made the story what it is.
The whole time I was reading this book I knew that the adventure was all in his mind and yet I still had hope that there was a cure for him at the end. It wasn't until the last chapters that the book that I realized for real he was not going to get better and it wasn't about finding a cure, it was about living life to the fullest. It made me want to go out and have an adventure because you never know what could happen to you. I thought this book was just great. It wasn't cheesy or overly sad as it could have been, given the subject matter.
I both loved and hated when Cameron would slip in and out of his hallucinations. When he would come back to reality it sort of brought you back to the realization that he was dying and this grand adventure is all in his head. And that his family had to watch him die a slow agonizing death. That was hard. I also grew to love Dulcie. I wasn't sure what the purpose of her character was at first, besides starting the journey. But she was more than a supporting character. She ended up being his peace in the end. And that is beautiful. I can only hope that there is someone that is there to bring us peace at the end of our lives. There was not I did not like about this book. Of course I hated that he died but really that was not a surprise. I give a big thumbs up to this book. Good job Libba Bray.

If you like this review check out other reviews on [...]

I have always enjoyed Libba Bray's other work but this was definitely out of the ordinary. Following the main character as he contracts a version of mad cow disease and goes on a Quixotic quest to find a cure was wonderful. The characters were all engaging and never quite went where I expected. Dulcie was an awesome angel and while the main man was an idiot and really annoying for a long time, I still enjoyed his journey and how the book proceeded and ended. It was all very bittersweet as his disease is a death sentence but he still manages to live rather than just exist. This has made me want to revist her earlier work and see what else has come out since.

Here are three metaphors for High School in America:

1. You are on a quest, like Don Quixote, to understand the fantasy of reality, and the reality of fantasy.

2. You are armed with the knowledge of good and evil from Star Wars,

3. Sometimes your life feels like a Road Runner cartoon, and you can't tell if you are the bird, or the coyote.

Add all this together with a twin sister, a hot crush on a cheerleader, and a couple of undersized traveling companions, and you will have some idea of the crazy, funny, startling mix of characters you get in the instant classic road novel "Going Bovine".

This novel follows closely the structure and form of Don Quixote by Cervantes. The speech, cultural references, and behavior of Cameron and his friends sounds like the lunch room of any high school today. Dulcie, the angel, is a perfect foil for the life threatening illness which afflicts Cameron.

The author takes on some tough issues, doesn't flinch once, and delivers a perfect ending.

"That's all folks."

Part Norse mythology, part The Odyssey, part Dante's Divine Comedy, Going Bovine is the epic journey of Cameron Smith, apathetic 16-year-old, who is diagnosed with terminal mad cow disease. With his best friend, a hypochondriac dwarf named Gonzo, and a garden gnome that is the Norse god Balder, Cameron is charged with saving the world from the dimension-hopping Doctor X by a punk angel, which sends him on a picaresque journey across the United States. Hilarious, full of character, unabashedly accurate in its portrayal of high school and teenage life (i.e., contains sex, drugs, and alcohol), packed with intelligent literary references, this young adult book is so very refreshing, original, and thought-provoking. Cameron is a likeable, disingenuous, irreverent and observant character who subtly and perfectly changes throughout the book as he faces life and death. If the book has a fault, it is its picaresque nature, which is disjointed and moves too quickly, with little detail. But smart, clever, and witty readers of all ages should adore this refreshingly brilliant tale. Grade: A

This is a completely original (for YA fiction, I think) story about the classic 'I am young, beautiful, and dying' plot. Bray does a great job keeping the story about the darn kid and not the parents or the soon to be lost sibling, or the best friend. It is all about Cam, who is 16 and dying.

The book rambles, it makes up words, it makes no sense, and it offends big time. It offends over and over, most people. Bray does a great job with intertextuality (she inputs some amazing references to sci fi, classics, and pop culture literature) while not being snobbish about it (like the stupid Beautiful Creatures book). This allows Bray to show how childish subconscious experiences (cartoons, libraries, candy) are always there and how we choose to ignore them. There are Don Quixote, Peter Pan, Oz, and Starwars references all over the darn place and it made the book even better. Keep in mind; this is an approach to what a 16 year old is capable of creating (so why didn't a 16 year old write it... blah). Bray is able to do this because unlike a teen, she has the writing chops oh and she's gone through puberty. I loved it and hope you pick it up.

This book was just awarded the Michael L Printz Award for 2010. I loved Libba Bray's other books and was really looking forward to reading her latest. Without too many spoilers, let me just say it was an excellent book, the storyline was very original and thought provoking. I loved the comparisons to Don Quixote. The descriptions of the world and characters within were vivid and made me feel like I was right there. However, if you have a problem with profanity in books, this one is not for you. Also, I would have a hard time letting one of my kids read this book until they are much older than the publisher's recommended 8 grade & up limit.

Really fantastic. I loved the honesty of it. I also appreciated the frighteningly accurate portrayal of teenagers (liking things ironically? I didn't even think adults knew teenagers did that, Libba Bray must be paying attention). The book was hilariously satirical at times while still managing to keep the characters as relatable characters and not overblown caricatures.
Libba Bray has a lot of range as a writer. She's written modern satire like "Beauty Queens" and "Going Bovine" as well as period fantasy like The Gemma Doyle Trilogy and "The Diviners".
Going Bovine hit me hard. It made me really start thinking about how disconnected I am and what I was doing with myself and my time. Living? Or simply existing?

Totally unprepared for this novel! I thought it would be almost all comedy like "Beauty Queens" but it wasn't. I almost gave up near the beginning but the book kept drawing me on and getting better all the time until it broke my heart!

High school student Cameron Smith is existing. His life is less than exciting, the family dynamics are sometimes excruciating and a love life is completely absent. But everything changes when he starts hallucinating and is told he has somehow contracted mad cow disease.

The rest of the book is quite a trip, but one I enjoyed taking. We get to meet Dulcie, a punk-rock angel, who gives Cameron his mission to save the world, and Gonzo, a hypochondriac dwarf with a heart of gold that gets talked into going along for the ride.

I've never read a book like Going Bovine so I'll compare it to a couple of movies I thought had similar elements, Big Fish and Oh Brother, Where Are Thou?, both of which were quirky, funny, touching and loved by yours truly.

You are never quite sure if Cameron is an unreliable narrator or not, but half the fun of the novel is figuring that out for yourself. The ending is quite poignant and hopefully raises bigger questions about life and death. Highly recommended.

Five years after reading this book from the school library, I have decided to purchase it for myself because the story has stuck with me ever since. Libba Bray's novels are always a treat (I've read the Gemma Doyle trilogy and Beauty Queens), but this one stood out to me because of the unique characters and one hell of a journey of a plot. I highly recommend Going Bovine.

I loved this quirky, funny and touching tale about a teenaged boy with mad cow disease and his crazy adventure to find a cure before his life is gone. The main character was well written, and the side characters were imaginative and fun to read about. You know you're reading something different when you wipe away a few tears at the passing of a yard gnome.....

Mirroring the Spanish tale of Don Quixote, Going Bovine by Libba Bray is the wildly funny, outrageous to the point of unbelievable tale that involves a midget, a garden gnome, and a slew of physicists. Sixteen year old Cameron is an unpopular, slacker teenager, who doesn't do anything more in life than smoke in the bathroom with the potheads. After a series of hallucinations, Cameron is diagnosed with Mad Cow disease, which means he's going to die soon. A mysterious angel and possible hallucination named Dulcie sends him on a quest with Gonzo, dwarf, throughout the United States so they can find Cameron's cure and save the universe.

After many escapades that range from parallel world travel to stealing a garden gnome who's actually a Viking god in disguise, Cameron discovers the meaning of living opposed to merely existing. One of the central themes in this book is how everything is connected. This is one of my favorite of the book's aspects, because seemingly random things all seem to relate. Pay attention to some of the 'out of the blue' things mentioned in the beginning of the book, since they'll probably play an important role later on.

This book was very well written, though if you know the ending, the plot collapses. I knew what would happen with 300 pages still left to go, so the plot became sort of an unrealistic drag. If you read this book, DO NOT READ THE ENDING FIRST, since it will ruin the book for you!

In this book, a person gives a first person account of reality to him--but reality is only reality in his dreams, as he has mad cow disease. At first, reality mixes with his hallucinations but as the disease progresses, reality reaches him less and less often and he becomes more enthralled in his dreams. With a wild cast including angels, gnomes, and others and a completely crazy plot, this book is a good read. It drives home the horrors of mad cow disease--the loss of the knowledge of what is reality and what is in your head.

Cameron is an aimless, listless high school boy with an annoyingly popular sister, a physics professor dad, and an English Lit mother. And then he started to die.

Cameron is diagnosed with a variant of Mad Cow disease, to which there is no cure. He will die, and he will lose his mind along the way. Unless the angel, Dulcie, who came to him in the hospital is correct, and he can find the cure from the mysterious Dr. X.

Cameron, his hospital roommate who is a classmate and a dwarf with an overprotective mother (hence his hospital stay), and the angel Dulcie leave on a quest to find this time-traveling physicist Dr. X and outrun the terrifying Wizard of Vengeance.

Their trip from Texas to New Orleans to Florida is a whirlwind, madcap adventure interweaved with Don Quixote, Schrodinger's theory, slushies, marijuana, Norse gods transfigured into lawn gnomes, MTV parties, reclusive cults of happiness, jazz clubs and a dash of magic.

With his reality blown apart by disease and adventure, Cameron can hardly tell up from down let alone hang on to any preconceptions he ever had before. Can he find himself in this chaos, and come to terms with this new reality?

Although definitely a book for young adults (18+), this novel is clever and complex, full of twists, turns and literary references. Libba Bray infuses the book with sarcastic wit that had me laughing out loud and cheering for the slacker protagonist. When I read literature for young adults, I often think about who I would give the book to. In this case, there is a liberal dose of sex, language and drug use, so I would definitely opt for someone over the age of 16 who is mature enough to handle the subject matter (or perhaps a more immature adult!). But this book would be hard to give away; definitely one to keep and re-read.

Going Bovine, by Libba Bray, winner of the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award, is the story of Cameron Smith, a socially awkward teenager who after experiencing shakes, tremors and hallucinations discovers he has Creutzfeldt-Jacob, "mad cow" disease. While in the hospital after he collapses at school he is visited by an angel, Dulcie, whom he has seen before, but never talked to. Dulcie tells Cameron he must find Dr. X to save himself and the world. He needs to follow the signs and convince his hospital roommate, Gonzo, a hypochondriac dwarf to go with him. Bray's writing combined with the quirky characters entices readers go along for the ride of Cameron's life.

Why I was interested: I read Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy), and loved Bray's style of writing. The way she puts together words has always made me want to read more by her even though I wasn't excited about the story of A Great and Terrible Beauty. We also chose Going Bovine for our adult book club that reads teen novels because it was the 2010 Printz winner.

Why I finished it: Bray's writing. Again, I wasn't really in love with the story and Cameron at times annoyed me, but I just love the way Bray writes. I will admit even though I didn't like Cameron I wanted to know what happened to him.

I'd Share it with: Readers who liked An Abundance of Katherines by John Green because both have quirky characters that were compelled to take a road trip (for very different reasons) and experienced adventures on the road.
For a bit of fun, check out the video Libba Bray did for the store, it captures her humor so well!

Going Bovine, by Libba Bray, winner of the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award, is the story of Cameron Smith, a socially awkward teenager who after experiencing shakes, tremors and hallucinations discovers he has Creutzfeldt-Jacob, "mad cow" disease. While in the hospital after he collapses at school he is visited by an angel, Dulcie, whom he has seen before, but never talked to. Dulcie tells Cameron he must find Dr. X to save himself and the world. He needs to follow the signs and convince his hospital roommate, Gonzo, a hypochondriac dwarf to go with him. Bray's writing combined with the quirky characters entices readers go along for the ride of Cameron's life.

Why I was interested: I read Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy), and loved Bray's style of writing. The way she puts together words has always made me want to read more by her even though I wasn't excited about the story of A Great and Terrible Beauty. We also chose Going Bovine for our adult book club that reads teen novels because it was the 2010 Printz winner.

Why I finished it: Bray's writing. Again, I wasn't really in love with the story and Cameron at times annoyed me, but I just love the way Bray writes. I will admit even though I didn't like Cameron I wanted to know what happened to him.

I'd Share it with: Readers who liked An Abundance of Katherines by John Green because both have quirky characters that were compelled to take a road trip (for very different reasons) and experienced adventures on the road.
For a bit of fun, check out the video Libba Bray did for the store, it captures her humor so well!

Quirky and imaginative take on a "buddies on a journey" tale. This novel has lots to say about friendship, American culture, coming-of-age, life, death and other ponderables -- but is a rollicking good story in spite of it.

I don't often experience professional envy because I think I'm pretty good at what I do, but Libba Bray, and especially this book, left me blown away. Saying too much about it will spoil the experience so just read it.

~Suz deMello/Sue Swift

I laughed . . . I cried . . . what an adventure this book is. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am not a teen. The narrator was hilarious and the supporting characters were just an added bonus. I found it to be soooo sweet in parts. Loved it. Go buy it. It's worth it. I loved Libba Bray from Gemma Doyle and while this was a complete 180 from those books, she is an extremely talented writer. I think if you can write a YA book and get adults interested too, then you've got it in the bag. Cameron - go get em Cowboy.

Going Bovine is a serious yet funny emotional whack in the head. Sad yet hopeful.

I seriously didn't want to like this book. I found the whole "adventure" heartbreaking because I knew the outcome at diagnosis, but the author does an impressive interpretation of how the disease process affects a sixteen year old boy. The ending is predictable in more ways than one, yet Libba Bray weaves a rewarding end for the reader. And for Cameron. Especially for Cameron. The story is filled with pearls for living. Question reality and believe in your dreams. Recommended.

I found the author dressing up in a cow suit for her book promotion video to be in poor taste though. She's quirky and weird. I get that. But the suit just feels wrong.

This book was recommended by a parents' site for readers age 12 and up. I'm glad I took the time to read the book first. It is definitely not appropriate reading material for my 12 yr old daughter. The book itself was well written and as a general rule, held my attention. It would be a good read for an older teen or even a insightful mid-teen. Keep in mind there is liberal use of obscene language and several instances of sexual teen angst exhibited(nothing overly descriptive). The vague reference to Don Quixote and the whole premiss of going on a noble journey forms the basis for the story. It results in a novel that reads like a play-by-play description of the ultimate action/suspense/horror spring break road trip with a side of schizophrenia thrown in for good measure. The message is good but the method by which it is delivered is somewhat dark if not depressing. It's a decent book. Just be aware of what your young adult is reading.

High school is rendered very much like I remember mine, including reactions to the main character's illness. (In my high school my best friend had cancer.)

This is 1 of 2 books that made me cry. "Brava" to the writer for making me care so much about the characters.

Completely different from her Gemma Doyle trilogy, I found this to be funny and tear jerking at the same time. I think just mentioning mad cow disease, a hypocondriac little person, talking yard gnome, and Disney World should be enough to ctach your attention to read the book. One of my favorites this year.

I thought this book was brilliant. Libba Bray manages to write pitch-perfect in the voice of a disaffected teenage boy, and yet tackle the murky questions of existence and death in a fresh and decidedly non-maudlin way. To those reviewers who are unhappy that this book is "not like the Gemma Doyle" books : who said it would be? Why can't Ms. Bray write in a different voice about a different kind of character? To those reviewers who were shocked by the obscene language in the book: um, this is how teenage boys talk. Really. Even if they don't talk that way around you - this is how they talk.

The book is a dizzy blend of the banal and the sublime - just like real life. It almost made me want to go out and buy a garden gnome.

Imagine taking characters from Norse mythology, finding their analogues as Kevin Smith characters, and have them run through the plot of Don Quixote as depicted in classic Looney Tunes spoofs.
One thing that really intrigued me is that every celebrity name, brand name, and even cultural institution was carefully renamed, leaving you in a jump-to-the-left analogue of our universe. Except Disney, which apparently straddles all space time.

I thought Going Bovine was very entertaining. I've never read any of Libba Bray's other books, but I will after reading Going Bovine. I didn't find it to be bad when it came to "bad words", teens will have heard worse at school. Yeah, there was a sex scene, but people have sex. Overall Going Bovine is a nice book. It's refreshing to have an author realize that young people want to think/talk/read about the big questions without being regarded as ninnies.

This book really makes you question life and what it means to be human. What is real? What is the point? Totally changed the way I view living. Also the book was really funny. I definitely recommend it!

Going Bovine is an incredible book. It is at once hysterically funny, moving, interesting and thought provoking. The book is so jam packed with adventure and wit that it seems to fly by, even at 480 pages (fairly large type). I have rarely felt the need to restart a book right after finishing it, but that is exactly what I did upon reading the last page of Going Bovine. While classified as a young adult novel, this book is great for adults as well as teenagers. DON'T MISS IT!!!!!

I finish every book I start, especially popular ones since I want to see what made them so in the first place. I had seen this book recommended to me on the store, Barnes and Noble had it on their must reads, and a friend of mine said that was the best book of 2009.

I can safely say that I disagree with all of these statements.

Perhaps it is because I didn't have one relatable charcter in the bunch. He was a teenage boy who didn't care about anything, really, anything at all. I was the teenage girl who cried if I got a C on a test. If that is the case, then there is no fault with the author, rather it just wasn't the book for me.

But my problems weren't just with the unrelatable characters. It was also with the way his entire adventure was presented. Like I was supposed to believe it was real at all. There wasn't one point in time where I thought his adventures were real. At the end we are presented with the question "What is reality?" Well, I may be naive, but hallucinations and dream sequences are not real. We can get into a huge philosophical discussion but I can dream that I am a millionaire, and it doesn't make it real (if only!).

For me, it was just some kid hallucinating a really bizarre adventure. I don't know if many people read fanfiction, but the story was essentially a Sugar. A lot of randomness, no plot, what you would get off a sugar high.

That's also where it lost me, it was obvious to me right from the start of this adventure where he had to go and instead we're taken every which direction for apparently no reason at all. The lack of concrete plot and concrete rules just got to me and kept me from enjoying this book.

It has some funny lines and the dialogue between characters is funny, but it was all sugar and no substance.

If you like your writing linear, like little white picket fences surrounding a tidy green lawn, this book might not be for you. If you like your writing similar to little Russian nesting dolls, one opening to a smaller duplicate of itself, this book might not be for you.

But let's just say you love John Irving with his unique characters and threads of subtle plot that tie themselves up into an inextricable knot in the end. And let's also assume you adore Kurt Vonnegut with his snarky commentary on life and distinctive settings. Like your novels laugh-out-loud funny? Good. Throw all that in a snow globe, shake the snot out of it, and when the dust snow finally settles, well, there it is...the hilariously well-written Going Bovine by Libba Bray.

Bray's first-person narration by her sixteen-year-old male protagonist, Cameron, is spot-on (I should know, I have a boy at home). Cam finds out he is dying of mad cow disease, which is just another added insult piled onto his already crappy life. He is offered a chance of survival from a punk-rock angel, who may or may not be a delusion related to his spongy brain. Going Bovine launches from there into the swirling chaos of a teen's journey to find himself before it is too late and it is in this wild ride that Libba Bray weaves a tale worthy of a comparison to Irving and Vonnegut.

Cameron's ensuing road trip to save himself, accompanied by a midget and a garden gnome, feels like getting lost in a fun house while on Percocet. (Don't ask.) Some passages made me snort with laughter, while others I had to go back and reread them just because it was such well-crafted prose. The author weaves social commentary throughout the odd tribulations Cam encounters, leaving the reader to question values and life's purpose, as Cam is. The situations become more entangled, yet symbiotic, as the novel progresses, while fate drags Cam nearer to either a cure or his demise.

At novel's end, you are standing in a room of mirrors. You see the now, the past, the future as each reflection is captured and multiplied. You are turning with Cam, quickly, dizzyingly, trying to find the you in you. If you escape intact, throw a quarter in the Fortune Telling machine and ask it, "What is the meaning of life?" or "What is my future?" or... scarier still, "When will I die?" Going Bovine is a wild ride, one worth standing in line, the kind of ride you want to never stop, and the one you dream of late at night when the carnival has left town.

This YA novel will undoubtedly appeal to adult readers, too. Rated for ages 14+, the language and adult situations might be a bit too graphic for some, and the twisting plot devices will require a student who can keep track of the many threads that are weaving together throughout the novel. Going Bovine would make a great gift for high school or college-age guys, along with any adult who appreciates witty, riotous writing.

Coming in September to a bookstore near you! Click here to order from an indie bookstore.
Click here to see Libba Bray's Going Bovine website.

NAME DROPPING NOTE:
I first heard of Going Bovine when I attended an agent/author panel at NESCBWI, which was fascinating, and Barry Goldblatt was waxing eloquent about his bride, Libba Bray. (I could name drop and say I had dinner with him later, but really...he was on one end with his agent friends and I was FAR AWAY on the other, plus there were many successful writers between us...so actually, he probably didn't even know I was there. haha) But there we were, at dinner, and he was talking about "Libba Bray" this and Libba Bray" that, until I thought maybe it was her name, you know, like a Cher or Madonna...Libbabray. Later I found him on FB and he was again going on and on about Libba Bray ("@libbabray") and I was thinking to myself, "Isn't that adorable how gaga he is over her?" and "Now really, how brilliant could she be, really?" Then I read Going Bovine and I must say, Barry, you were right. She is every bit of brilliant you claimed and then some.

This book takes you through the entire gambit of human emotions. Bray's writing style is full of original metaphor, rich descriptives, and clever narration, and I laughed out loud in several places. With a mix of both fantasy and deep reality, I finished it feeling pleased and satisfied. A wonderful story and a fantastic book, I highly recommend it.

though i enjoyed the characters in this story, i found the plot to be a predictable one. at first it was enjoyable, however after a time i just wanted it to end. three stars for the awesome characters, about two stars for the over all plot.

Enough said. This book's summary does it no justice...from page one, I fell hook, line, and sinker for Libba's fabulous writing style. I promise, this book is made of 100% win! You will not be disappointed!!!!!!!

Before I say anything else: the reason I gave this book a 2* is very closely related to my personal taste. I like "surrealism" if it is put forth in a realistic way, whereas here, it was not. Hence the very low rating.

Also: ***************SPOILERS****************

The premise was excellent, and I was super-excited when I first started to read it--I love reading paranormal books with medical/scientific undertones. Furthermore, Cameron's voice is clear, witty, rather assholian, but overall very endearing. I felt like I instantly "clicked" with him, right from page 1. This feeling remained constant throughout my perusal of the novel, but several other factors hampered my appreciation.

As soon as Libba Bray began to introduce "fantastic" elements into the novel, I could feel my heart sinking into my socks. From Cameron's first encounter with the "fire giants," I couldn't shake off the feeling that everything happening to him was a hallucination, which proved right in the end. Furthermore, because I regarded the fantastical as hallucinatory and "not real," I couldn't accept the magic. I kept waiting for something more to happen, for him to realize that his experiences were the products of his prion-diseased brain, or for the magic to be real. Thus, I read the whole "adventure" component of the novel (which accounted for approximately 95% of the book) kinda like you'd recall a dream. It was so clearly surrealistic, that I couldn't immerse myself into the story through any stretch of the mind. It was just unreal, the characters vapid, the whole "quest" transparent, ghostly, and kinda pointless, since it obviously wasn't going to amount to anything (being a hallucination). The character issue was especially apparent with Dulcie; she appeared in the novel as a mysterious angel, and vanished as one. There was no development or insight into her character at all.

And before anyone can tell me that the whole point of the novel was to explore reality--I realize that. That's why I was so excited by the end (or, almost-end) of the novel, where the Wizard of Reckoning starts debating reality with Cameron, and tells him Cameron's entire adventure was an illusion. I thought, oh finally! Cameron will finally be able to cast of the falseness of the situation he's immersed himself into, and...?! I also fully agree with his conclusion--"There is no meaning but what we assign. We create our own reality."--but what frustrated me was that Cameron's reality was unrealistic. It was flat, undecipherable, random, and unreliable. I read the book really quickly, because I was constantly on the edge of my seat, waiting for something big to occur, something that would tie everything together and provide some depth to the book. Instead, the book ended with the Wizard dying (exactly how Cameron predicted it), Cameron dying (which I expected), and Cameron continuing his adventures with Dulcie in a strange, exploding-particle place. The story locked itself into a neat, tidy, impenetrable circle, and you can infer from the ending that Cameron will probably continue on another haywire, surrealistic adventure.

Actually, this is an aspect that frustrated me in Libba's other novels--though I loved "A Great and Terrible Beauty," I always felt like there was something missing from its magical world. The Realm was faintly defined and sedentary; it simply lacked life, for whatever reason (which I haven't figured out yet). Though "lacking life" wasn't the issue in "Going Bovine," believability certainly was.

To summarize--I couldn't get into the book. The unrealistic quality of its "realities" was unrelatable. The characters felt flat. The book's fantastical elements were put forth in a way that immediately triggered my skepticism (it really reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, actually). So, while I wouldn't say that it's filled with "nonsense," I certainly would contend that there's quite a bit of absurdity in it. Finally, it lacked that big "oomph" that I was certain Libba Bray was working the reader up to. While I agreed with many of her musings on reality, I couldn't derive any satisfaction from the book as a whole.

But, as I said in the beginning: if you enjoy "surreal surrealism," you'll probably like this book. I like books with a solid basis for whatever surreal qualities the author incorporates, and this book lacked that.

I find myself reluctant to write a review because everyone seems to like this book, so why don't I just let people enjoy their fun? But I must confess to being confounded by the seemingly universal positive reaction to this book. I found it clichéd, unforgivably sophomoric and worse -- unfunny! Bray certainly tries hard for laughs, doing everything short of prompting the reader in appropriate spots to "[Laugh Now]."

Going Bovine lead me once again to a sinking feeling I get when reading several contemporary young adult writers (Levithan, Green, Bray...): they expend far too much energy attempting to resurrect the corpse of Holden Caulfield. It's getting old. Plus this FrankenCaulfield isn't funny. He's a grimmer, shabbier, cynical, soulless version of himself, rendered without love.

I don't give two desiccated turds about the protagonist in Going Bovine. Don't even remember his name or care to look it up, and suspect that Libba Bray didn't care much about him either. Holden himself would have described this book as "phony." The wisdom it purports to offer in the form of pithy quotes and Don Quixote references is laid on thick, with a wide literary trowel. I believe the author may have been blinded by I'm-trying-so-hard-to-appeal-to-my-target-audience-of-adolescent-boys syndrome that she never arrived at any sort of genuine truth.

I don't care how much zany surrealism has been slathered over this tired buddy movie/road trip plot. I don't care how much Bray attempts to create madcap action and cool, snarky, drug-culture "wit." This book tries too hard. Sexy guardian angels, snarky dwarves, garden gnomes? All felt lifted from elsewhere (Amalie, TLoTR, Wings of Desire...). The predictable ending was writ large from page 1: "...and it was ALL a dream!" Left this reader holding a large, black, deflated balloon.

In a wild adventure to find a cure for Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease, Cameron Smith takes Gonzo, a gaming dwarf, to find a mysterious character by the name of Dr. X. Though the disease is fatal, won't go down without a fight. This book is written differently than other books I've read, so it was difficult to become interested in the subject. This was, personally, a short read