Going Bovine by Libba Bray

BookTalk

“As a kid, I imagined lots of different scenarios for my life. I would be an astronaut. Maybe a cartoonist. A famous explorer or rock star. Never once did I see myself standing under the window of a house belonging to some druggie named Carbine, waiting for his yard gnome to steal his stash so I could get a cab back to a cheap motel where my friend, a neurotic, death-obsessed dwarf, was waiting for me so we could get on the road to an undefined place and a mysterious Dr. X, who would cure me of mad cow disease and stop a band of dark energy from destroying the universe.” pg. 203

Cameron is a bit of a loner…well, maybe a loser. At 16 he’s floating through life, C+ student, a stoner, and the closest friend he may have is a dwarf he doesn’t know that he likes. Things are about to change. After some muscle twitches and a few visions of toasters bursting into flames Cameron is diagnosed with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, A.K.A. Mad Cow disease. While in the hospital a punk-rock-princess Angel sends Cameron on a Quixotic journey. With the help of Cameron’s dwarf friend Gonzo, they’re searching for Dr. X. Find the good Dr. and they’ll cure Cameron, find a gift for Gonzo…and save the world…sort of…

Review

Wow, I just finished this book and all I can say is that it was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever read. Simultaneously I feel as though…I may not be smart enough to ‘get’ this book…That I should have read Don Quixote…That I really did ‘get’ this book and it was wonderful!…That I should have stopped reading this book 30 pages in…This book made my head hurt…I should probably read this book again…Maybe I should smoke pot then read this book…Maybe I should read it again after reading Don Quixote…I need to YouTube the “Small World” ride…

There, you’re just as confused as me right now…This book was horrible and this book was awesome…

Going Bovine is a controversial book. Yet, it won the Printz. As you can tell I’m a little all over the place when it comes to my reaction to reading it. But if I’m choosing a team…I vote Team-I-Liked-This-Book. It’s a dark tale that mirror’s Quixote’s journey. I’d probably have lots of very literary things to say about the two books’ connections had I ever read Don Quixote…as you can tell from my wildly confusing opening…I haven’t…I’m a bad Librarian.

So that leaves me with the emotional reaction to the book. Know that the book is funny; it’s a dark comedy. Cameron is dying. His wild journey with friends is interspersed with clips from his time in the hospital. The hospital scenes serve as a reality touch-stone, badly needed in this acid-trip of a story. These hits of reality remind the reader that Cameron really is dying. Believe me, once you get sucked into Cameron’s crazy road trip you’ll see the need for the doses of death. You see, Cameron is a person who never really lived in his life and yet is given this chance to have an amazing adventure before his death. As a reader you’ll see Cameron grow and develop in ways your heart will ache to wish he had experience in real life…not just in this dream.

The plot is a crazy blend of philosophy and physics. Displaying messages about everything from how to live your life to the existence of parallel universes. I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t know that I was smart enough for this book…I think I needed footnotes. Understanding all of the plot points aside, the message of this tale is really to live your life in the moment, take advantage of all it has to offer. I suppose, it’s not really about what your journey is…but that you take it. Not knowing how a Superconducting Super Collider works will not hinder your understanding of the take-away message.

Honestly, I’m still not positive I shouldn’t have read this on some type of illegal substance. Cameron himself spends quite a bit of time high…so it all might have been clearer to me. I’m not revealing any spoilers about the ending. But if you read it and you make it through, you may agree with me that the worth of this tale wasn’t about what actually happened in the story…but instead about the feeling you had when it was over. That you should be happy in whatever life you lead, and that you should live that life to the fullest.

Rating: 9/10

Read Full Post »

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King

Review

I’m in the minority. You should probably read Please Ignore Vera Dietz…Everyone else thinks you should…But I didn’t love it. I’m not going to booktalk it. I am disappointed. I could possibly be the only person on the internet brave enough to say so.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a Printz Award Honor book. I had such high hopes! I love the Printz, rarely do the picks for this award fail me. On top of its award status, other readers loved this book…five-star-loved this book. And I’m with them to a point…

I did find Vera to be funny. She’s a self-deprecating, dry humored kinda gal and I like that. Right from the start of the book I found her to be realistic and funny. I enjoyed listening to her voice. Vera is a smart kid, intelligent and aware of herself. She’s just lost her best friend Charlie during a night when the local pet store also burned down. And the story centers on Vera’s trouble dealing with life after his death. Charlie has been blamed for the fire and from the beginning of the novel the reader knows, that Vera knows, that Charlie didn’t do it. Charlie asked for Vera’s help, he’s left evidence to reveal the truth to her. Because of this Vera is being chased by her own demons (talking, Charlie shaped demons) to reveal the truth of that night.

This is where I think I lost my enjoyment of the story. Perhaps I misunderstood the point of this novel, I focused too much on the secrets surrounding the death of Charlie. I was distracted with the ‘knowing the truth’ part. I assumed the truth would be worth the wait…a suprise of some kind. It’s Not. The truth surrounding Charlie’s death is not the major break through of this novel. Be warned. When you pick this title up forget about the secret, forget about the thing Vera’s supposed to find in the tree, Save Yourself! Find enjoyment and satisfaction in this book! 

This book is all about Vera growing up and facing her demons. She has more than the ghost of Charlie on her plate. Vera’s mother abandoned her at the age of 12 cutting off almost all contact with Vera. Add to this tragedy the facts that Vera’s parents were teens when they became pregnant and married, her father suffered from alcoholism, and her mother was a stripper at a local joint for the first year of Vera’s life. Much of the emotional play of the novel is due to these filters, even how she handles Charlie’s death and the night of the fire. We watch as Vera basically crashes and burns a few months after Charlie’s death. She’s drinking, dating the wrong type of guy, and attempting to go completely ignored at school. Vera is realistically messed up and realistically finds her way out. This is why the novel is a Printz Honor.

My problem with it all was that the author had me waiting for a big reveal (it never comes), and while I liked Vera in the beginning I found her kinda odd by the end of the story. I’m not sure I’d be friends with her, and I’m not convinced I was totally rooting for her. A lot of people out there connected to this book. I didn’t. I could have stopped halfway through and been just fine. I’d love for someone to convince me otherwise…restore my blind faith in the Printz…but this one just wasn’t my favorite.

Rating: 5/10

Read Full Post »