Going Bovine ~ Libba Bray

Title: Going Bovine
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Random House Children's Books, 496 pages
Copyright: 2009


Summary:
Plot: Sixteen year old Cameron Smith is diagnosed with Mad Cow disease and discovers that he will die. He goes on a wild ride in a surreal dreamland while he is in a drug-induced state.
Major Characters: Cameron (or Cam) Smith, Dulcie,
Major Subjects: Fantasy, Death and Dying


VOYA Review:
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. Reviewer: Laura Panter


Review:
Buckle up, readers. You're in for a wild ride. You won't know what's real and what's not, but then again, that's the whole point. This novel is a monumental undertaking and somehow Bray accomplishes it. 


Cameron is going nowhere at school. He gets fired from his job at Buddha Burger with good reason. He talks cynically about his family and they aren't too fond of his sarcasm either. His only hobby seems to be to listen to music he hates so he can mock it. He's high at least once a week. Basically, Cameron is on a slow but uncontrollable skid to nowhere.


That is, until his recent bouts of uncontrolled behavior and terrifying visions are revealed to be caused not by drug use (as his parents suspect) but by Creutzfeldt-Jakob's, better known as mad cow disease. Basically, the tissue in his brain is breaking down, turning into a spongy mess (and apparently also letting in armor-clad wizards and threatening pillars of flame). Pretty soon, Cameron is finding himself poked and prodded, stuffed into hospital beds and down MRI tubes, with a terminal diagnosis and the horrible realization that he might be about to die without ever having lived. Does that sound like anyone you know? I thought so. 

The only chance that Cameron has to save his life is to undertake a mission to save the world. No biggie. 


Guided only by cryptic clues from an elusive and strangely attractive punk rock angel named Dulcie and accompanied by a hypochondriac, video game obsessed dwarf named Gonzo, Cameron sets off on a wild goose chase to find the enigmatic Dr. X, a physicist who disappeared as if into thin air years ago. According to Dulcie, Dr. X holds both the potential to destroy the entire world and the ability to cure Cameron's disease. Joined along the way by a talking yard gnome,  aided by drunken frat boys and a Portuguese warbler and a visionary jazz man, Cameron's trip culminates in what might be the world's wackiest spring break. 


Living inside Cameron's head as he travels across the US after ditching the hospital with the LP is tedious, at times, and fantastically funny at others. The book takes place in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. By turns hilarious and tragic, Going Bovine above all will keep readers guessing, as they must unravel what is real, what is a dream, and whether any of that really matters.


As a kooky old woman that Cameron meets on his journey says, “No one should die until they’ve wrung out every last bit of living they can,” and this book is absolutely alive on every page. 


Favorite Line: "The best day of my life happened when I was five and almost died at Disney World. I'm sixteen now, so you can imagine that's left me with quite a few days of major suckage." 


Reading Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Notes about Audience: Recommended for ages 16 and up (curse words, especially overuse of the "f" word, "pot talk" and other mature content in this book)

 Other books by Libba Bray:

http://www.libbabray.com/books.html

You might also enjoy:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

If I Stay ~ Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 208 pages.
Copyright: 2009

VOYA Review:

Beginning with the idyllic chocolate-chip-pancake morning, seventeen-year-old Mia recounts the twenty-four hours surrounding the tragic car accident that kills her parents and leaves her comatose in an ICU ward. In a manner that is not stilted, Mia becomes the invisible observer and narrator of her roadside rescue, emergency surgery, and the waiting room vigil of family and friends. Expertly woven into the detail of medical procedures and heart-wrenching visits by loved ones is the story of Mia, her parents, and ten-year-younger brother Teddy; her passion for the cello; and the unlikely but true boyfriend Adam. And although Forman's novel is about what might go through the lucid mind of a teen who finds herself in Mia's horrific spot, it offers even more. It is a story about the difficult choices facing teens everyday - even those who, like Mia, are part of a supportive family and have everything going for them. Mia's retelling of her own history is not a lament. At times, the reader will forget the narrator's present circumstance and get completely lost in the description of her first date with Adam at a Yo Yo Ma concert. Still the accident and Mia's condition provides a powerful backdrop that brings the history into frighteningly sharp focus - especially at the novel's conclusion. Forman's characters are smart and solid. There is little wasted prose, and not a single event rings false. Music lovers will appreciate the passions of Mia, Adam, and her family, who adopt an eclectic mix of favorites. 

Summary: 

Plot: Seventeen year old Mia is a musical genius, namely an aspiring celloist. She barely survives a fatal car accident and lays in the hospital in a deep coma, though her spirit lingers elsewhere... 

Major characters: Mia and Adam.

Major Subjects: Supernatural, Fantasy, Death & Dying

Booktrailer for If I Stay:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrpMNXdEl3Q

Review: 

A car accident kills 17-year-old Mia's parents and sends her into a coma. While her body is in a vegetative state, her consciousness is somehow inexplicably awake and able to follow other people (such as her grandparents, best friend, and boyfriend) around the hospital where she's being treated for life-threatening injuries. In this strange twilight existence, Mia has to decide: will she join her parents in death or fight to stay alive?

I appreciated Mia's clear, down-to-earth voice and the lack of histronics around what could have easily become a weepy, maudlin melodrama. The book is definitely a tearjerker, but it's not manipulative. I can see a lot of teens, especially teen girls who enjoy books with suspense, a dreamy romance, and a least a hint of the supernatural, loving this book. A good readalike for Lovely Bones & Elsewhere fans. 

Reading Level: Intermediate to Advanced

Notes about Audience:

This book is intended for readers ages 14 and up. 

Opening lines: Everyone thinks it was because of the snow. And in a way, I suppose that's true. ~ pg. 3

Favorite line(s): And there was so much noise. A symphony of grinding, a chorus of popping, an aria of exploding, and, finally, the sad clapping of hard metal cutting into soft trees. Then it went quiet, except for this: Beethoven's Cello Sonata no. 3, still playing. The car radio is somehow still attached to a battery and so Beethoven is broadcasting into the once-again tranquil February morning.  ~ pg. 13

Other Books by Gayle Forman:

http://www.gayleforman.com/books/sistersinsanity

http://www.gayleforman.com/books/youcantgetthere/

Upcoming Sequel to If I Stay:

Where She Went ~ Coming in April, 2011

You might also enjoy:

Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold