Review: Going Bovine by Libba Bray

  Title: Going Bovine
  Author: Libba Bray
  Release Date: September 28, 2010
  Publisher: Random House Children's Books
   Pages: 480
   Format: Hardcover
   

Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?

All 16-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 a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

I picked up Going Bovine for two reasons. One, it was by Libba Bray and I loved Beauty Queens. Two, it looked interesting and the synopsis sounded great. So I read it and, wow. I was blown away by this book. I was so crazy and awesome and great. The ending however, I found terrible. You had to guess to find out what happened to Cameron, and I was very confused about it.
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Plot: This book starts out with Cameron. He's an average teenage slacker who just wants to get through high school. Right at the start of this book he starts to have these visions about fire giants and he's not in control of his movements, and that's when we know something is wrong. It turns out that he has mad cow disease and he is going to die. One day in the hospital he sees an angel who tells him that there is a cure if he will go find it.

The plot of this book was really out there, but it was very enjoyable. It was super crazy and awesome with loads of crazy stuff happening.

Characters: Our main character is Cameron, and he is very much a teenager. He doesn't care about school or anyone but himself, and I think that's what makes him have such great character development. He starts to care about others throughout the book and he really grows into a strong character that I thought could really find the cure to his disease. Throw in Gonzo, a dwarf who is obsessed with death and video games, and a lawn gnome that is the viking god Balder and you have a crazy road trip on your hands.

Writing Style: Wow. The writing style of this book was crazy. Libba Bray brought so many elements into this book that I didn't even think about. She brought in crazy science and music and an awesome road trip together to make this crazy book. I loved the writing style.

Rating: This book gets 4 worms. I loved everything about this book except for the ending. It cut off before I could find out if Cameron died or not. I got the initial idea that his nurse turned off his life support machines and he died, but that just didn't satisfy my urge to know. Everything else about this book was great and I definetly think you should check it out.