Going Bovine
by Libba Bray
Bray, L. (2010). Going bovine. New York: Delacorte
Books for Young Readers.
In Libba Bray’s Going
Bovine, Cameron Smith is a cynical sixteen-year-old boy that lives by the
philosophy of don’t expect much and you won’t be disappointed. As Cameron
begins to have hallucinations and problems with muscle control his parents
believe his drug use may be the cause.
However, his problems are soon contributed to a brain disease known as
Creutzfeldt-Jakob, or Mad Cow Disease.
After being diagnosed Cameron embarks on an epic journey as directed by
his punk rock guardian angel to find Dr. X.
On his journey out of Texas toward Florida, he is accompanied by a dwarf
and a yard gnome in the pursuit of finding a cure and saving the universe.
The author uses humor and
snappy dialogue to lure the reader into the story. Bray has created a dynamic character in
Cameron Smith who moves from a classic underachiever into a hero working to
save the world, but more importantly, learns to care. By using a dwarf side-kick and an angel
guide, Bray incorporates humor to tell a glum story about death. Although the story is well written and
entertaining, it does lean to didacticism especially when Cameron visits the CESSNAB. This of course gives the reader something to
ponder, but did not obviously connect to the overall story line. The author showed no fear by including such
things as drug use, homosexual relationships, theft, and heterosexual sexual
encounters. Although these fit into the
plot line, they at times feel like the author was trying to push the
envelope. This of course can be
appealing to young adult readers, but some of it seemed to be disconnected from
the development of the story.
Additionally, the story can be confusing when Cameron suffers
hallucinations. The reader is constantly
questioning what is real and what is being imagined by the main character. Although an entertaining story,
recommendations for this book might be given for established readers. Literal readers may struggle to make sense of
the book and getting through the tangents taken by the author.
Personally, I enjoyed the story. I was much more impressed with the beginning of the story which showed a large amount of wit and humor. Bray also did an excellent job of developing the family dynamic within the Smith family and connecting the reader to Cameron. At 480 pages, it became a long and tedious read though. I was also disappointed in the ending even though it was not a surprise; it felt like it ended too abruptly. This may have been the author’s intention, but I felt a little cheated at the end.
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