Going Bovine

De: Libba Bray

Narrado por: Erik Davies

From the author of the Gemma Doyle trilogy and The Diviners series, this groundbreaking New York Times bestseller and winner of the Michael L. Printz Award for literary excellence is "smart, funny, and layered," raves Entertainment Weekly.

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America . . . into the heart of what matters most.

From acclaimed author Libba Bray comes a dark comedic journey that poses the questions: Why are we here? What is real? What makes microwave popcorn so good? Why must we die? And how do we really learn to live?

"A hilarious and hallucinatory quest."—The New York Times

"Sublimely surreal."—People

"Libba Bray's fabulous new book will, with any justice, be a cult classic. The kind of book you take with you to college, in the hopes that your roommate will turn out to have packed their own copy, too. Reading it is like discovering an alternate version of The Phantom Tollbooth, where Holden Caulfield has hit Milo over the head and stolen his car, his token, and his tollbooth. There's adventure and tragedy here, a sprinkling of romance, musical interludes, a battle-ready yard gnome who's also a Norse God, and practically a chorus line of physicists. Which reminds me: will someone, someday, take Going Bovine and turn it into a musical, preferably a rock opera? I want the sound track, the program, the T-shirt, and front row tickets."—Kelly Link, author of Get in Trouble, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
©2009 Libba Bray; (P)2009 Random House

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Libba Bray not only breaks the mold of the ubiquitous dying-teenager genre—she smashes it and grinds the tiny pieces into the sidewalk. For the record, I'd go anywhere she wanted to take me."—The New York Times

"Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"An unforgettable, nearly indefinable fantasy . . . wholly unique, ambitious, tender, thought-provoking, and often fall-off-the-chair funny."—Booklist, Starred Review

"Readers will have a great time."—The Horn Book

"It's a trip worth taking."—SLJ

"Here's one book about dying that has a wicked sense of humor."—The Denver Post

"A laugh-out-loud tear-jerking fantastical voyage into the meaning of what is real in life."—VOYA

"A very messed-up book, but in a good way. . . .Hilarious, random, surreal and thought-provoking."—Guys Lit Wire

One of Entertainment Weekly's 8 Great Road-Trip Books
*
Winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
An Indie Next Pick
A Booklist Books for Youth Editors' Choice
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best book
A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

made me confused about life.

The story was funny sad and exciting sometimes all at the same time. sometimes hard to keep track of what is happening but in a good way.

Drug-enhanced Trip or Depressing Monologue?

At times this book feels like a drug-enhanced trip, other times it’s a depressing monologue about Cameron’s journey toward death, and still other times there are poignant points as Cameron discovers his own humanity.

The tale is a surreal, twisty ride with so many elements thrown in it almost feels campy at times, everything from a pink-haired angel to dwarves, wizards, gnomes, and fire giants. There’s also the sinister United Snow Globe Wholesalers group and the cult-type Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack ‘N Bowl.

I felt like the ‘journey’ in the middle went a little long and could have been shortened a bit, but the story is never predictable, so if you’re looking for a zany take on a hard topic this is worth a read. I give it three stars in my five star rating system.

Slow Reading

When I listen on 1.0x speed, it was far too slow, but if you speed it up, which I did, you lose the accent for the Norse character. :(. Otherwise pretty enjoyable.

Fantastic story! Unexpected and quirky

Loved this book! I had no idea what to expect and it surprised me at every chapter. The performance was good, however, the voice was too… well… old. The story is told by a 16 year old teen and the reading voice sounded about 50 and like the movie phone guy. But the story was a 10/10 for me.

this story defined a large part of me.

I read it at the beginning of high school and related so much to the sarcastic nihilism. the idea that reality is completely subjective, and you have a large part in choosing what your reality is. phenemal book that keeps me thinking about it long after I've finished it, every time. excellent re-readablility

A decent idea, too many curse words

Bray has a great idea, but the book is plagued by curse words. Apparently she thinks that all teens must talk that way. She is also stuck in the 80s. This is supposed to be a contemporary book, yet there are references to Star Wars and video arcades (which hardly exist any more). She seems hung up on MTV, with a thinly veiled Carson Daley as a chief annoyance.

The idea, however, of a kid launching on a Quixotic quest while having Mad Cow Disease is great. I also loved having the god Balder stuck in a yard gnome. However, with this set up, the bad guy is obviously swiped from Star Wars (read Luke vs Vader in Degobah) and the ending is a serious let down.

Alright

Libba Bray is one of my favorite authors. This book however wasn't up to my standards. It's an interesting read with an okay narrator. I probably won't relisten/reread it. I am glad I did at least once though since I enjoy the author.

Good for the imagination!

Loved it, kept your mind thinking. Ill never look at gnomes the same way again.

Pretty dang good

A little difficult to follow at times, but overall really awesome. The writing style reminds me of John Green but a little more blunt, if that makes any sense.

A decent work a young adult fiction with a horrible narrator

A decent surrealistic dive into a story of growth and appreciation for what it means to live. Would suggest for a 17 year old who enjoys drugs and thinks they could be into science. Beware, possibly the worst narrator I've heard in an audio book.