breboo42's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
happycamper12's review against another edition
1.0
I never did finish this book...just couldn't stick with it.
barf_mobile's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
rainmisoa's review against another edition
4.0
This book is so... wow. There's so much going on that you have to really take the time and read everything carefully otherwise, you will not be able to understand anything that is going on. This read was a bit slow for me but I stuck through it and it was definitely worth it. Once you get towards the middle of the book, it starts icking up and you see what Libba Bray is trying to portray.
As always, Bray's writing style is just amazing. I love the way she forms her stories though this one is WAY different from her Gemma Doyle series. There's some more mature content in this book but that doesn't affect the overall meaning to it all. I love the thought provoking substance Bray is trying to convey to the reader about the bigger things in life through the smaller things. I love the philosophy of it all. This book is indeed very unique. None out there like this one.
The characters are all epic. Cameron, the lead, was at first just another delinquent at school. I didn't much care for him but as the book progresses, he starts growing to a much more memorable and lovable character. He has become one of my favorite male protagonists! Gonzo, just like Cameron, annoyed me at first. He was way too "safe" and not daring enough and his massive amounts of phobias just got on my nerves. But, just like Cameron, he grew and became a very well-developed character. Then there's Dulcie who is Cameron's love-interest (Not a spoiler. Let's you know from the beginning) is this kick-ass punk-angel and I love how she's all cryptic and not willing to share anything with Cameron. She just lets him figure things out because she wants him to learn. Yeah she was amazing. Balder is my abosolute favorite, though. He was so badass and smart and just a very cool character. The book really starts to pick up after he is introduced! Love him!
To wrap everything up, the book is very though provoking and worth the read. Yes, it is slow at the beginning but I promise you that it starts to pick up and you will see so many trippy things and well-though-out things and things that just freak you out that you are going to be for one hell of a ride. You will not be disappointed. If you like thinking about the "meaning of life" and what have you then I really think you are going to love this book. Bray is an awesome writer so check it out! Though be warn that this is NOTHING like her Gemma Doyle Trilogy! Just saying!
As always, Bray's writing style is just amazing. I love the way she forms her stories though this one is WAY different from her Gemma Doyle series. There's some more mature content in this book but that doesn't affect the overall meaning to it all. I love the thought provoking substance Bray is trying to convey to the reader about the bigger things in life through the smaller things. I love the philosophy of it all. This book is indeed very unique. None out there like this one.
The characters are all epic. Cameron, the lead, was at first just another delinquent at school. I didn't much care for him but as the book progresses, he starts growing to a much more memorable and lovable character. He has become one of my favorite male protagonists! Gonzo, just like Cameron, annoyed me at first. He was way too "safe" and not daring enough and his massive amounts of phobias just got on my nerves. But, just like Cameron, he grew and became a very well-developed character. Then there's Dulcie who is Cameron's love-interest (Not a spoiler. Let's you know from the beginning) is this kick-ass punk-angel and I love how she's all cryptic and not willing to share anything with Cameron. She just lets him figure things out because she wants him to learn. Yeah she was amazing. Balder is my abosolute favorite, though. He was so badass and smart and just a very cool character. The book really starts to pick up after he is introduced! Love him!
To wrap everything up, the book is very though provoking and worth the read. Yes, it is slow at the beginning but I promise you that it starts to pick up and you will see so many trippy things and well-though-out things and things that just freak you out that you are going to be for one hell of a ride. You will not be disappointed. If you like thinking about the "meaning of life" and what have you then I really think you are going to love this book. Bray is an awesome writer so check it out! Though be warn that this is NOTHING like her Gemma Doyle Trilogy! Just saying!
marrowmackenzie's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly provocative and heart warming. Gratuitous use of the R-word though. always a bummer.
Nebraska Library Commission Book Club Spotlight - October 24th, 2022
Cameron Smith is a burnout. His family doesn’t get along, he’s barely getting through High School, and his only hobbies are getting high and listening to music he hates. Being basically a hermit, the people in Cameron’s life try to convince him that he needs to get out more and actually experience the world for once. But before he can do so, he contracts Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease, better known as Mad Cow Disease. Yup. Cameron is dying from a bad burger…bummer. The thing about Mad Cow Disease is that because it’s pretty much eating your brain, you will experience some buck wild and vivid hallucinations. So while Cameron is laid up and dying in the hospital, he is visited by a punk rock angel who informs him that he’s the only person who can save the world. With this knowledge, Cameron and his new friend Gonzo head out on this world-saving mission with the promise that Cameron’s cure waits at the end of it all. So that’s how a kid dying from Mad Cow and a 16-year-old anxious dwarf go out on an epic odyssey across America to save the world and themselves. Along the way, they meet jazz legends, cults, and a Norse god in the body of a garden gnome. Seriously. Well maybe. It could just be Cameron’s hallucinations, after all.
Like a modern-day Don Quixote, what’s so great about Going Bovine is that we, the audience, know that Cameron’s brain is dying, so we can’t trust anything he experiences to be real. But even so, Cameron is just an angsty teen who never really got a chance, but who was still able to go on this incredible life-changing journey all the same. Even though this book is unfailingly silly in nature, it asks the reader if reality makes a difference if you yourself are changed in the end. Sure it’s a meaningless adventure in the long run, but not while they are experiencing it. I know that sounds pretty heavy for a YA Book Club title, but sometimes you have to ask those big questions. Ask your group their thoughts on coincidences and reality. Do they see certain things as signs from the universe? Maybe to you, seeing a butterfly means a lost loved one is still around, or perhaps it’s a sign from a higher power. Does that being true or not change what it means to you? Is Cameron’s experience worth anything, even if it didn’t actually happen?
Nebraska Library Commission Book Club Spotlight - October 24th, 2022
Cameron Smith is a burnout. His family doesn’t get along, he’s barely getting through High School, and his only hobbies are getting high and listening to music he hates. Being basically a hermit, the people in Cameron’s life try to convince him that he needs to get out more and actually experience the world for once. But before he can do so, he contracts Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease, better known as Mad Cow Disease. Yup. Cameron is dying from a bad burger…bummer. The thing about Mad Cow Disease is that because it’s pretty much eating your brain, you will experience some buck wild and vivid hallucinations. So while Cameron is laid up and dying in the hospital, he is visited by a punk rock angel who informs him that he’s the only person who can save the world. With this knowledge, Cameron and his new friend Gonzo head out on this world-saving mission with the promise that Cameron’s cure waits at the end of it all. So that’s how a kid dying from Mad Cow and a 16-year-old anxious dwarf go out on an epic odyssey across America to save the world and themselves. Along the way, they meet jazz legends, cults, and a Norse god in the body of a garden gnome. Seriously. Well maybe. It could just be Cameron’s hallucinations, after all.
Like a modern-day Don Quixote, what’s so great about Going Bovine is that we, the audience, know that Cameron’s brain is dying, so we can’t trust anything he experiences to be real. But even so, Cameron is just an angsty teen who never really got a chance, but who was still able to go on this incredible life-changing journey all the same. Even though this book is unfailingly silly in nature, it asks the reader if reality makes a difference if you yourself are changed in the end. Sure it’s a meaningless adventure in the long run, but not while they are experiencing it. I know that sounds pretty heavy for a YA Book Club title, but sometimes you have to ask those big questions. Ask your group their thoughts on coincidences and reality. Do they see certain things as signs from the universe? Maybe to you, seeing a butterfly means a lost loved one is still around, or perhaps it’s a sign from a higher power. Does that being true or not change what it means to you? Is Cameron’s experience worth anything, even if it didn’t actually happen?
jamiehr's review against another edition
4.0
Easily one of my favorites!
I really don't know where to start with this one. It was so whimsical and intriguing. If you need a crazy book to pull you out of a slump, here it is!
It's also LGBTQ friendly!!
I really don't know where to start with this one. It was so whimsical and intriguing. If you need a crazy book to pull you out of a slump, here it is!
It's also LGBTQ friendly!!
goodbetterbetsy's review against another edition
1.0
I really, really wanted to like this book. I've read great review after great review. I finally sat down with it after it won the Printz Award. For me, the good times ended after the first chapter. It was the highlight of the book for me. After that it was a cliff dive into boredom. I didn't care about any of the characters. I didn't really like Cameron or Gonzo. I didn't really care if Cameron lived or died and I didn't really want to be dragged along on his "journey."
I did appreciate the ending of the book, however. It almost made the previous 475 pages worth my time. And Libba Bray is an excellent writer. I can't say I didn't like the book because of shoddy writing skills. The premise of the story sounded so cool, too.
I just wish I could have liked this book. I stuck out the entire 480 pages because I wanted to find something that could make me like it. Balder was about as close as I got. He was pretty cool and funny. Oh well, at least I'm done now and can move on to something that will hopefully be a little better.
Also, just because I didn't like this doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it to others. It was a neat idea and well written...it just wasn't for me.
I did appreciate the ending of the book, however. It almost made the previous 475 pages worth my time. And Libba Bray is an excellent writer. I can't say I didn't like the book because of shoddy writing skills. The premise of the story sounded so cool, too.
I just wish I could have liked this book. I stuck out the entire 480 pages because I wanted to find something that could make me like it. Balder was about as close as I got. He was pretty cool and funny. Oh well, at least I'm done now and can move on to something that will hopefully be a little better.
Also, just because I didn't like this doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it to others. It was a neat idea and well written...it just wasn't for me.