Module 5: "Going Bovine" by Libby Bray

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Book Cover Image:

Book Summary:

Texas high school junior, Cameron Smith is known to be an unambitious kid with no goals for the future.  Although his parents are teachers, Cameron’s only motivation is drugs and finding trouble.  Having a preppy twin sister who is popular and smart irritates him as well.  It would seem that he is headed down the path to nowhere.   His erratic behavior is blamed on his drug use, until he is diagnosed with a progressive fatal illness called Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s disease, also known as “Mad Cow disease.”  This malady affects the central nervous system of the brain.

As Cameron battles the disease and endures hospital treatments, his mind gradually deteriorates and he begins to hallucinate, imagining fantastical wizards and tall flames of fire are attacking him.  Luckily, a punk rock angel named Dulcie and her sidekick dwarf named Gonzo come to Cameron’s defense and they all set out in search of the Mysterious Dr. X who is able to cure him of his disease.  The reader must determine what is real and what is imagined in this darkly comic novel that explores the meaning of life and making the most of the time you have been given.

APA Reference:  

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

My Impressions:

This book is very unconventional to be sure, and there were many things that I, as an adult, did not care for.  One thing is the foul language throughout the book.  Another problem for me is that I could never truly relate to the main character, Cameron.  I found myself getting annoyed with him for not doing something useful and productive with his life when he seemed to have everything going for him at first.    I also had a difficult time getting into his dream fantasies and the characters that popped up along the way.  It is my assumption that these characters were the product of his imagination and the deterioration of this thought process as his disease worsened.

There was, however, some wry humor that made me laugh now and then as well as that the story tries to impress upon the reader how short and precious life is, Cameron came to the realization that he was about to die, without ever really having lived.  That is very sobering and makes one re-think their daily lives.

The book won several awards, partly for its portrayal of teen life and also for its humor and description of social misfits and dealing with a terminal disease.

      *  2009 - Children's Book Sense Pick

• Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year - 2009
• Booklist Books for Youth Editors' Choice in 2009
• 2010 – won the Michael L. Printz Award (given to a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature)

Professional Review:

Going Bovine By Libba Bray.

Sept. 2009. 496p. Delacorte, $17.99 (9780385733977); lib. ed., $20.99

(9780385904117). Gr. 8–12. In a giant departure from her Gemma

Doyle historical fiction trilogy, Bray’s latest

offering is an unforgettable, nearly

indefinable fantasy adventure, as immense

and sprawling as Cervantes’ Don Quixote,

on which it’s based. Here the hero is Cameron,

a 16-year-old C-plus-average slacker

who likens himself to “driftwood,” but he

suddenly becomes the center of attention

after he is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-

Jakob disease, the human variant of mad

cow disease. In the hospital, he meets Dulcie, an alluring angel

clad in fishnet stockings and combat boots, who presents him

with a heroic quest to rescue the planet from an otherworldly,

evil force. Guided by random signs and accompanied by a teen

dwarf named Gonzo, Cameron sets off on a wild road trip

across the U.S. to save the world, and perhaps his own life. Talking

yard gnomes, quantum physics, cults of happiness, mythology,

religion, time travel, the blues, Disney World, the vacuous machine

behind reality TV shows, and spring break’s beer-and-bikini

culture all figure prominently in the plot, and readers may not

feel equally engaged in each of the novel’s lengthy episodes. But

Bray’s wildly imagined novel, narrated in Cameron’s sardonic,

believable voice, is wholly unique, ambitious, tender, thought

provoking, and often fall-off-the-chair funny, even as she writes

with powerful lyricism about the nature of existence, love, and

death. Familiarity with Don Quixote certainly isn’t necessary, but

those who know the basic plot will want to start over from the

beginning and pick up on each sly allusion to the classic story.

—Gillian Engberg

[Review of the book Going Bovine  by L. Bray].  (2009, August 1). Booklist,
 105 (22).  67.  Retrieved from http://www.booklist.com.

Library Uses:

Since the content of this book is for mature teens and deals with serious issues, I would have to use this book either on a book display with other issues that are of interest to teens, or do a book talk in the high school to get kids to read.