pretty mad.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Review for those who have ADD: It's a book about a guy who gets mad cow disease and then has to save the world, either in his head or really, depending on what you believe. Actually this book might be written for those with ADD - it's a breakneck paced road trip novel chocked full of so many characters, places, and ideas, it's tough to ever be bored. I don't know if that means it's good, but it's certainly compulsively readable. 500 pages goes by super quick. But perhaps I should put that phrase in bold (I didn't because I didn't want your eyes to go directly there) I don't know if that means it's good.

still here? okay here we go: I make a point to read the Newbery and Printz award medalists every year, if not the honors books as well. Newbery will rarely steer (ha, get it?) you wrong, and Printz never has - Last year's Jellicoe Road remains on my list favorite books of 2009, and probably will go down as one of my favorite books ever. But Bovine is different territory. Cameron Smith is a pot smoking, talk-backing, lazy and generally incredibly unlikable character. The key to making this book readable and not just annoying is that you want him to succeed - and Ms. Bray does this by giving him a likable slacker attitude and then a terribly sad disease. It definitely works - you root for Cam and the characters he picks up along the way.

Plot: Like I said, Cameron is a go nowhere sort of character, who has no idea what's up next in life, or even if he cares. He's a bored, annoyed, teenage boy who sees himself above the fray... until he mysteriously gets mad cow disease and starts to lose his mind. After that, a beautiful punk rock fairy named Dulcie gives him a quest to save the world and find his cure. And he learns, of course, that he wants to live, as well as finding friends in a dwarf and a lawn gnome who turns out to be a Norse God.

More: That's the sort of thing this book throws in and makes work. It's pretty glorious when it does, too. What is hit and miss are the satires on pop culture... for some reason, Ms. Bray felt the need to change everything she thought to mention, except Disneyland. Star Wars is Star Fighters, MTV is YA!TV, And an indie band like... maybe the Magnetic Fields? Or Sigur Ros? is replaced with a group called The Great Tremolo. And then again, like I said, Disneyland remains Disneyland. In a book that deals with string theory and parallel dimensions, I was willing to buy it, but I didn't really understand the need. It was distracting. I suppose I can put this all in the pocket of "in a world almost exactly like our own, EXCEPT," but I don't think that's what Going Bovine is going for.

Should you read it?: Yeah, I think so. The novel was actually a rollicking good time, and the message was on point for so many people in the world - stop existing, start living. The three or four Printz books that I have read so far seems to all have that in common, and it's a message I never tire of. Plus, the Norse Mythology and Gonzo's characterizations are treats enough in their own right.