Bray, Libba. Going Bovine. United States: Delacorte Press, 2009. Print.
Citation:
Cameron is dying of mad cow disease, and when a punk rock angel appears he know things are going to get stranger. Cameron must set out on a quest with his dwarf friend Gonzo and the Norse god Balder, who is trapped in the form of a garden gnome, to kind the mysterious Dr. X. Dr. X holds the secret that will save the Universe from total destruction and might just be able to cure Cameron’s disease.
Justification for Nomination:
Any book that starts out with stoners in a High School bathroom talking about the Schrödinger’s Cat thought experiment has got to be good. Now, if that same book can run the Schrödinger’s Cat theme throughout the book along with Don Quixote, and Norse mythology themes, than that book is great. Going Bovine by Libba Bray is a great book. While dealing with a very fantastical plot it both real and moving. The reader has to guess if all Cameron’s crazy adventures are really happening or just the dreams of a dying boy. Bray uses real language to convey her characters and both Cameron and Gonzo sound like teenagers. Mixed in with the story are such literate and intellectual concepts such as Schrodinger Cat, Don Quixote, and Norse Mythology, all of which Cameron was exposed to before he got sick which just adds to the mystery of is this all really happening? Bray has managed to create her own pop culture for the world she has created and steeps her young characters in it. The ideas of reality and fantasy are explored and interwoven is an often humorous and very intelligent and warm story. Written well and crisply paced Going Bovine is a book that all ages can enjoy, and should.
Genre:
Fantasy
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