First up to the plate is probably my favourite book this year... Going Bovine by Libba Bray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Ho-hum-ho. Clearly the stars had aligned when I was in the Half-Price on Anderson (which, by the way, I hate for various reasons), and I saw--THE BOOK.
THE book. Libba's new book. The one that won the Printz. THAT book. THE book.
I had high expectations for this book. But they weren't cosmic, allowing the book to surpass them.
Cameron has mad cow. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Creutzfeldt-Jakob. His brain is being turned into a sponge.
Then again, what was he living for anyway? Getting high with the three local stoners for kicks? Listening to crappy LPs of a guy he can't help but make fun of? He doesn't have a girlfriend; he doesn't really even have a girl he likes. Well, there's Staci, but she's a rabid female dog and Cam knows it.
But when a punk-rock angel tells him that he can be cured... well...
Off he goes, dwarf gamer friend Gonzo in tow.
The question is, can he reach the mysterious Dr X, the only man capable of saving him, in time?
What is real? What is hallucination? What is life, and what is death? Why does microwave popcorn taste so good? And what the heck is with all the snow globes?
It's like candy to read after writing something without much planning. Because this book doesn't feel planned (for the most part). It's a journey. It's an epic journey, though some might disagree (mostly history buffs that love the Odyssey and say it's the only 'epic journey' just because they can). There is a full cast of incredible actors throughout: Cameron. Dulcie. Gonzo. Balder, oh gods, Balder.
It's a lengthy book. I didn't get through it in a day. I get through everything in a day. I didn't get through the book in a day. I'm almost a little sore about that, seeing as I fully expected to finish it in a day. It's only a couple inches thick.
Then again, I also didn't expect it to be so good.
It vaguely reminds me of two different stories for different reasons. One, I cannot reveal, for reasons you may or may not discover after reading. The other is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Why? It's disjointed. Everything wraps up on itself. Things repeat where you least expect them to. You're on the edge of your seat the whole time.
Of course, in this one, there's also another slight little issue--the protagonist is completely mental.
All the better for the story! Full speed ahead to the nearest bookstore or ordering website! This is a book that needs to be read.
Because everyone needs to have their head screwed with every once in a while.
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