Going Bovine

Bray, L. (2009). Going bovine. New York: Delacorte Press

Author Website: Bray, L. (n.d.). libbabray.com. Retrieved from http://www.libbabray.com/

Author Info: Libba Bray's perspective on an autobiography is quite different then others. She did grow up in Texas and lived there until she was 26; then she went to New York with only $600 and a punchbowl. She writes on her laptop, Lucille (because she names all of her computers) and she has an artifical left eye (which you can tell now if you look at the picture below - kind of freaky). She originally had aspirations of becoming a playwrite but books became her passion. She was a freelance writer but she did end up writing young adult novels. She was inspired to write Going Bovine by a man who lived in her hometown and had Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s disease. She also wanted to explore the idea of reality and of living life to the fullest.

Review One: Spencer, R. (2010, April 1). [Review of the book Going bovine]. School Library Journal.

In Libba Bray's unconventional novel, winner of the 2010 Michael L. Printz Award, Cameron, the 16-year-old down-and-out protagonist, meanders through varied phantasmagoric experiences after being diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jacob ("mad cow") disease. Cam has given up trying to succeed at home, in school, or as one of the cool kids. Instead, he sinks further into disassociation from his world until he is visited by Dulcie (reminiscent of Quixote's Dulcinea), a possibly hallucinatory punk/angel, who convinces Cam there could be a cure, if he is willing to assume great risks in searching for it. And so begins Cam's bizarre quest to thwart evil, unravel the mystery of the disappearing Dr. X-who may hold the key to a cure, but might also be plotting to destroy the world-and beat his terminal diagnosis. Cam is accompanied on this dark roadtrip of an increasingly spongy mind by Dulcie, a hypochondriacal dwarf named Gonzo, and a resilient yard gnome who could possibly be the ancient Viking god, Balder. Erik Davies ably narrates this psychedelic ride, with a deft touch of teenage angst and ennui. There is so much going on that listeners could easily lose the twisting thread in an instant of inattention. Filled with slang, four letter words, humor, pathos, satire, absurdities, sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, and the fight between good and evil, this is not a journey for the faint of heart.-

Review Two: Panter, L. (2009, October 1). [Review of the book Going bovine]. Voice of Youth Advocates.

Sixteen-year-old Cameron Smith is a social outcast and known slacker. He has no desire to care about anything in life until he is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, otherwise known as mad cow disease, and discovers that he is going to die. As Cameron's health continues to worsen, he sinks into a dreamland that resembles a world on a bad drug trip. Hope arrives in this parallel universe with punk angel, Dulcie, who makes Cameron believe there is a cure for his illness. Cam's journey for that cure takes him on a cross-country road trip from Texas to Florida where he makes friends with a dwarf nicknamed Gonzo and a talking garden gnome who believes himself to be the Viking god Baldar. Together they encounter mythical jazz musicians, battle fire giants, escape a happiness cult, meet universe-hopping physicists, dodge wacked-out snow-globe police, and befriend fame-obsessed teenagers. Bray portrays Cameron so realistically that he is every teen struggling with his or her identity. At times, readers will both love and hate Cameron as his adventures are alternately comical, nail biting, and heart wrenching. Readers will be rooting for Cameron to overcome his obstacles to save himself and claim his love for Dulcie. The novel is a laugh-out-loud, tear-jerking, fantastical voyage into the meaning of what is real in life and how someone can learn to live. It is a must-purchase for any libraries wanting to reach out to all teens who need to know there are stories out there for them.

24-word summary:

Cameron finds out he is dying and goes on a journey to learn what it means to really live and reality is all perception.