Going Bovine

Absolutely Hilarious!

Wow, the book got a prize! I'm not surprised; it is possibly the most random, hilarious story I have ever read. If you're looking for something pretty much completely random and pointless that you will never quit laughing at/about or quoting, then look no further than "Going Bovine": you will not be disappointed! I think that it's best for geeky types: there are a number of references to the science of parallel dimensions, supercolliders, and my hero, Stephen Hawking. :D Not hard to grasp, though. Just really, really funny.

7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

One crazy journey

First off, I know one ought not to judge a book by the cover, but how could I not be interested in a book called Going Bovine with a standing cow holding a garden gnome? Also, I would say that the story is not entirely what I expected it to be, but considering the description, a story like this could be just about anything. Seriously though, punk rock angel with pink wings, blobby fire demon things that destroy stuff, and a bad guy that takes the form of a knight with a space helmet. How can you not be surprised every few pages?

All that said, it was far more like an epic story such as The Odyssey or The Aeneid than I would have thought it to be. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Bray didn't attempt to mirror something of epic legend through each of the scenarios throughout book. It does start out a bit slow, but once you get past the first 150 pages or so, it really picks up. Cameron is also not necessarily the character you would root for because of his lethargic outlook on life, but since he narrates it, you grow to love his sardonic inner dialogue. I actually laughed out loud a few times. I recommend this book to lovers of eccentric fantasies with a heavy helping of satire.

-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com

4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Great story!! But what's up with the language??

This story was very creative. But was the foul language necessary to portray the teenage drama this kid is going through? Libba Bray is a talented and funny as all get out author, but the language was way too much in this book!!

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Caution when buying for youth!

I try to read books I think might be good for our teen grandchildren. This book was recommended by an area newspaper as summer reading so I expected it to be worthwhile. I can not recommend this book for young people because of the bad language and the contempt for all authority. The serious illness described in this book could have been explored without including so much crude.

2 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

Take This Funky Trip!

I laughed out loud reading the acknowledgements so I knew I was in for a good ride. Libba Bray has her finger on the pulse of the American teenager, in fact, I was continually amazed how she was able to get inside the head of the modern teenage male. The book is clever, witty, edgy, emotional and so imaginative! The characters are very current, comical and accurate but refrain from being simple stereotypes. The story is a wild fantasy and topic not often explored in teen lit. Libba Bray has found a way to allow us all to experience what is important at 17 by putting her main character in a life & death situation. I still find myself thinking about the ending.

The book had been compared to my favorite book CATCHER IN THE RYE so I picked it up to preview it before giving it to my 13yr old daughter. After reading it, I think she needs to wait t o read it until she is closer to 16. Not just because of language and sexual content, but because I don't think the book will be anything but "sensational" until she can actually relate to the characters emotionally. I recommend this book for teens in high school and especially their parents so they can get inside their teen's head and remember how we saw the world when we were young.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Waste of Time

I am a huge fan of Libba Bray. I read her "A Great and Terrible Beauty" Series and it was amazing, so when she came out with this book I bought it hot off the press. The beginning was pretty good, but the story peters out. The book is entirely random, yet predictable. I struggled to finish it, and was very glad when it was over.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

WOW all i can say is this book was INCREDIBLY boring

i bought this because a friend reccomended it but it turned out to be a huge waste f time and money. The ending wasnt so terrible i guess, but i struggled to finish it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Parents Beware!

This book is not at all suitable for younger tweens or teens who read above their grade levels. It is chock full of curse words, has explicit drug use, and sexual references including extra-maritial affairs. I quit reading after chapter 13 and will not let my 13yr old son read this for some years.

1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

An Excellent Journey into Insanity

As a person who is constantly reading, it's a little easy to slip into that stream, the mainstream of books that are all sort of the same. And I'm not just talking about vampire romances, but more like those recommended feel-good books of the summer and the year's best fantasy novels. It was in the middle of my search for something different, something truly good, that I found Going Bovine. The first thing that got me was, yes, the cow with the gnome tucked under one hoof on the cover. I mean, seriously. That is pretty cool. Also, the author, Libba Bray, according to the 'about the author' on the back tab has a life dream of getting better at the drums on Rockband. I felt we immediately bonded even before page 1. Honestly, I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started, just that this kid got Mad Cow Disease and apparently drove across the nation. When I began reading it surprised me how deep the thoughts were running through this teenager's mind, and I instantly was hooked on the language and what this narrator had to tell me. It is set in the perfect small Texas town, with this perfect, quirky 16-year-old Cameron to guide us through the problems of his high-school life. He himself, is a cheesy-music loving, pot-smoking, sarcastic loser with the popular, pretty sister he has to deal with in his same grade. But everything changes when he begins to go through spasms in the middle of class and experiences sudden hallucinations of human-destroying fire giants. The doctors tell his family Cameron has been diagnosed with the human form of Mad Cow Disease, the disease that makes cows go... well, mad. And unfortunately, it does the same to humans. It gets worse and worse with many more mirages in his mind- feathers left for him with messages on them, strange websites telling of a cosmic tear in the universe... Cameron eventually blacks out after a particularly bad episode and is taken to the hospital. This is where the book gets very interesting. It is written in first-person, no doubt the best way to personally escort us into Cameron's mind, but Cameron has lost grasp on what is truly real. Though he's in the hospital for the whole time, within his mind, he is traveling cross-country, searching for a cure with a dwarf named Gonzo and a talking invincible yard gnome with the wisdom of Dulcie to guide the way, a winged punk angel with quite a thing for sugary foods. Cameron learns what's truly important, why living is living, and why death is a part of it along the way of this semi-epic, hilarious tale of space-knights, famous jazz-horns and of course, Disney World. This book had me involved the whole time, following the maybe-real journey into Cameron's mind, and loving it all the while. Definitely one of my favorite books of all time, and that's saying a lot. I recommend this to readers, non-readers, people who like cows, or are part of a happiness-cult that supports perfect bowling. (Yes, that last one is a part from the book.) Going Bovine, a truly excellent novel worth checking out and reading at least six times. So go follow Cameron in this book, and let's hope you become insane along the way.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Different!

I've read a lot of funny & weird books (Hiaasen, Christopher Moore,etc.), but this was different....only word that seems to fit. As it starts we are introduced to Cameron, a rebellious teenage boy, who is no stranger to getting into trouble. However, Cameron starts doing things he didn't mean to do, like dropping things. He thinks nothing of it and neither does anyone who knows him, because he is usually such and ornery kid. Soon, he has an episode which may be an hallucination or some kind of a seizure, which sends him to the hospital for tests. It is discoverd that he has mad cow disease (big bummer and fatal). What follows is the story of his stay in the hospital and his quest to find a cure and save the world....maybe.
Whether it's an hallucination or real, it's a funny, poingnant, sweet, philosophical epic. He is joined on his quest by a gaming dwarf, a garden gnome, and an angel.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best book ever!

While it may not have been exactly the best book ever, I truly dug the tone it presented. It was exactly how I felt at the time and I couldn't have asked for a better book to read. I definitely recommend it. Read it; trust me you'll like it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

awesome

i loved this book! i read all 480 pages in two days! it was a bit confusing at times but it eventually explains everything! there is a lot of language used in this book...but that's fine with me i guess...i kind of just ignored it. and the ending is really shocking! kinda...my point is i reccomend it!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Seriously you will laugh until your crying (quit literally)

I've never laughed and cried so much in such a short span on time. This book deserves to be put on summer reading list. Being a recent grade I only ever like two mandated reading book, Catcher in the Rye and Crime and Punishment. This book makes me feel the same way Catcher in the rye did. As confusing as it is with all the imagery and lit references I still feel a connection a definite understanding. Their is so much of his journey that I want to believe and choice to believe and even more I allow myself believe because this is after all a work of fiction. You will laugh til you cry literally.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Awesome book

Its a really funny book to pass the time.

Going Bovine definitely caught my attention, first of all, with

Going Bovine definitely caught my attention, first of all, with the summary. Mad cow disease? How many YA books are about that? The second portion of the summary confused me, but I began reading, thinking that this was going to be a realistic fiction book. Something like "It's Kind of a Funny Story", by taking a serious concept but making it a little un-serious. And I suppose it was, but not in the way I originally thought. I mean, there are talking yard gnomes, dwarves, punk-rock angels, and smoothie-obsessed cult freaks, but yet this story would teeter on the line of "realistic fiction". I won't tell you how, you'll have to figure that out for yourself.
The characters were funny, especially the main guy, and I loved the originality the author gave everyone. Cameron's character was like an explicit version of Percy Jackson. While some people didn't like the crude humor in the pages, I found them pretty amusing at times. I also enjoyed the random plot in the story. Sure, he wants to find the cure to his mad cow disease while saving the world, the things that he has to do to accomplish that? Weird, to say the least.
The only reason I give this book a four star instead of five is because, to be honest, the ending blew. Majorly. It kind of left me a little angry and thinking, "Well, this book is kind of pointless." I felt a little empty inside and I half-expected the next page to shout "April fools! Here's what really happens:" But it didn't, and that was pretty upsetting.
But if you think you can handle that, I'm sure you'll love this book. Its unique, its fun, and really gives you a lot of lessons to learn from.

You just hoped

Such a good book, fighting for your life has never been this entertaining, knew where it would end but enjoyed the ride while it lasted

Going Bovine is one the best books I'e read ina very long time!

Going Bovine is one the best books I'e read ina very long time! It was unbelievably hilarious! Great character connections, well-written, lots of language but still great. This is one of those books that leaves you all sad and happy and thoughtful after you've read it! WORTH BUYING! Warning though! The language was heavy and I wouldn't recommend this for kids under twelve or thirteen. ONE OF MY NEW MOST FAVOURITE BOOKS!

BUY THIS AND YOU WILL LAUGH, CRY, AND BE LEFT WITH A SENSE OF AWESOME HAPPINESS!!!

Cameron Smith was born below average, and his all-too-perfect tw

Cameron Smith was born below average, and his all-too-perfect twin sister Jenna got all the luck. Seriously. When Cameron is diagnosed with Mad Cow disease, his whole life grinds to a halt. No more smoking weed in the fourth floor men's bathroom, no more working long hours at the Buddha Burger, and no more dealing with a despondent father. After being moved to the hospital, an angel appears to him. The angel asks a very real question- do you want to die in here having done nothing with your life? Cameron is scared, so he decides that he wants to live a real life in the few weeks he has left. Now that he is ready to go, he decides to bring his new friend from school. His new friend is a death-obsessed video gaming dwarf nicknamed Gonzo. As Cameron and Gonzo go on their journey to save the world from dark energy, as the angel Dulcie told them, they meet strange people and do strange things. This story is full of randomness and laughter. The funny parts still hold meaning, and the deeper theme of living life is always shown.

My favorite things about the book was the total randomness and cleverness shown in the book. With evil Wizards, fire giants, Norse gods, party houses, and a punk-rock angel, this story never failed to keep you guessing. The ending was particularly fantastic, but you'll have to read it to find that out now won't you?

I recommend this book for anyone who can follow a crazy story and has the maturity to handle a more adult-like book. I give this book five stars because of the fantastic randomness of this book. Read it, and you won't regret it. Plus, you get lots of "why does your book have a cow carrying a lawn gnome on the front"s which are always interesting... So read the book and it will be one of the greatest stories you will ever read.

Pretty Good

I found this book fairly funny. The ending was a bit depressing though.

Favoriteee

Best book evaaa libba bray is hilarious