Going Bovine by Libba Bray Review

Book: Going Bovine

Author: Libba Bray

From: Library

Summary:

All sixteen-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school--and life in general--with a minimum of effort. It's not a lot to ask. But that's before he's given some bad news: he's sick and he's going to die. Which totally sucks.

Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure--if he's willing to go in search of it. With the help of Gonzo, a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf, and a yard gnome who just might be the Viking god Balder, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America of smoothie-drinking happiness cults, parallel-universe hopping physicists, mythic New Orleans jazz musicians, whacked-out television game shows, snow-globe vigilantes, and disenfranchised, fame-hungry teens into the heart of what matters most.

From New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray comes a dark comedic journey that poses the questions: Why are we here? What is real? What makes microwave popcorn so good? Why must we die? And how do we really learn to live?

Review: I'll admit it, I was a little nervous to read this book. I wasn't quite sure how Libba's jump from the Gemma Doyle books (Victorian, girls, supernatural...) would be to a book like Going Bovine. In the end, I had nothing to worry about, because Libba wrote something just as magical and captivating but entirely different.

When the book starts, we see how Cameron is living his life (or not living). Then, he is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob's (Mad Cow disease). His body slowly starts to breakdown, having twitches, seizures, hallucinations. His life will soon be over before it ever really began.

Then angel Dulcie pops in, and the story gets going. Told he needs to follow the random clues, he and his hypochondriac dwarf friend Gonzo are on a mission to find Dr. X, Gonzo's purpose, and the cure for Cam's illness.

Going Bovine is wild, crazy, fun, comedic, scary, sad, and everything in between. The story is amazing, the characters are beautifully written, and at the end, you'll have a whole new appreciation for life.

Highlights: Way to go, Libba Bray, for stepping out into something new. This novel really hits home that you need to get out there and live while you can, because you might not have much time.

Lowlights: Honestly, nothing. Going Bovine is a must-read.

Rating:   

-Lea