Going Bovine by Libba Bray

When Libba Bray's fourth novel, Going Bovine, won the Michael L. Printz Award in January, most people didn't really know what to think. I'm not sure I saw it on a single mocked up honors list. Of course, the Printz has a reputation that way--of going against expectation and choosing a book nobody expected to win. And the Printz may not have the name recognition of the Pulitzer, the Booker, or the National Book Award, but it's a much coveted medal in the young adult literature community, as important to the children's book business as the Newbery or the Caldecott (both of which went to the favorites this year, in another interesting twist), so when a book is awarded the Printz it means something to a lot of people.

Going Bovine is a weird book, no questions asked. It was from the beginning. Libba Bray, a New York Times bestselling author, became famous for her first three books, referred to as the Gemma Doyle trilogy, about a wealthy teenage girl living in the Victorian era who discovers that she has the power of a second sight and crosses over into other, more spiritual realms like people who live on Long Island day trip into the city. I've only read the first one, but I didn't enjoy it at all and I quickly wrote Bray off as a Writer Of Things I Have No Interest In Reading, since I'm not a paranormal fan to begin with.

Going Bovine, however, is an entirely different animal, if you'll pardon the pun. Even though I knew it was way different from the Gemma books, I wasn't planning to ever read it, because of the aforementioned designation I gave to Bray after A Great and Terrible Beauty. But if you have anything to do with YA, you can't ignore a Printz winner, and here we are.

The protagonist of Going Bovine is Cameron Smith, a smart, friendless slacker/pothead who spends most of his time behaving like a little shit. Then he starts having strange physical attacks and seeing things that aren't there, and when his parents take him to the doctor they discover that he has Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease, a neurodegenerative disease that causes spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. I was introduced to Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease via an episode of The X-Files in which a town full of weirdos cannibalize outsiders and, eventually, each other. But most people know it by its more popular name--mad cow.

Yes, the kid has mad cow disease, hence the title. In the hospital, he speaks for the first time to a girl who's been following him around for weeks, a pink-haired, fishnet-tights-and-combat-boots wearing angel named Dulcie. Yes, an angel, wings and all. She gives him a Disney World E-ticket bracelet and tells him to find a mysterious Dr. X who will cure his disease. The only catch is that Dr. X found this cure during his travels through space and time, and because of all of this dimension hopping has opened a wormhole that brought dark energy in the form of giants made of fire and the metal-helmeted Wizard of Reckoning, who are going to destroy the world. Just your typical road trip, basically.

Maybe that synopsis turns you on. Frankly, it seemed way to far-fetched to work for me. But actually, what hurt the book more than the ridiculousness of its plot--because ridiculous always gets less ridiculous the more you get used to it--was the tone in which it was written. It's clear from the writing that Bray thinks she's funny and clever, which is a huge pet peeve of mine. Anything that smacks of authorial self-satisfaction makes me want to throw down the book in disgust. But I persisted, and happily the book becomes too busy being funny and clever to tell you how funny and clever it is, like Bray got swept along in the action right along with her characters. As a result, Cameron becomes, in trickles, a person worth caring about, and the reader is taken on a crazy ride that reminded me of The Phantom Tollbooth, but with more erections.

So for the most part I thought Going Bovine was great, but it was way too long. It could've had probably seventy-five less pages and I don't think anything would've lost--the detour in Daytona wore very thin on me. But eventually, the book arrives at its final destination with a kind of smart thoughtfulness and quiet joy that I found at once sad and comforting.

Drawing with Sean: John Locke

Fan Mail!

Hello readers,

I think it's about time that I take a look into my fan mail bag and answer some of your letters. Here's one from Stephanie K. of Richmond, VA. Stephanie writes:

Dear Brigitte,
Hi! Long time reader, first time writer. I love your reviews of MTV reality shows, and I especially loved your write up of 16 and Pregnant. I was just wondering--have you been watching the follow up show, Teen Mom? They just had their season finale special last night with Dr. Drew (I love him!). I've been reading every week and I keep waiting for you to blog about this series, but I haven't seen anything in your blog posts about Teen Mom (at least not for a long time) and I was just wondering: do you watch the show? What's your take on it? Do you think it's really helping any kids by showing the grim reality of raising a baby as a teenager, or do you think it's in some ways glamorizing teenage pregnancy? Or is it just exploitative of these young girls? Personally I'm a fan, but I'd love to hear your take.
Sincerely,
Stephanie

Thanks for the letter Stephanie. Yes, I do watch Teen Mom--in fact it's one of the few shows that I've been watching regularly as it airs each week. I know, it's been awhile since I've written about this series, and I apologize. I've been so absorbed in my Avatar craze that I haven't had time for much of anything in my life. In fact, I've recently sunk into a deep depression because I will never experience living in Pandora. It's so beautiful...why was I created never to experience such beauty! Damn you, James Cameron. I've only recently stopped attending the "It's OK that I'll never experience the Titanic's maiden voyage and tragic shipwreck" support group, and now this! I was depressed enough when the I came down from the high of watching Titanic and settled back into my own bleak, pointless reality.

After first seeing Titanic back in 1997, I knew that my day to day life would never be as compelling or as tragically romantic as the love that existed between Rose and Jack. I knew that I would never face something as historically significant as those passengers aboard the Titanic did that cold, dark night. I knew I'd never feel the icy water surrounding an iceburg. The only thing that made me feel again was watching Titanic, over and over. I began to neglect my family, friends, school...and after awhile, even watching the movie wasn't enough. I would take pour bags of ice into my parents bathtub and sit in the icy cold water until my mom wondered what was taking me so long in the bathroom and I ended up in the emergency room. I would dress in turn of the century clothes and a life vest, but still it wasn't enough. I never thought I'd be able to experience beauty in my own life after viewing something as awesome as Titanic. But time passed, I got involved in a good support group and started seeing a therapist twice a week, and slowly, things got better. Little by little, the world around me began to come alive once again. I began to date real men instead of just writing letter after old fashioned letter to Jack, assuring him in each that I would never let go. I did let go, however, and I was making real progress. And then Avatar came along.

I knew I shouldn't go see it. I didn't want to. I figured that I already knew the plot, the characters would be one-dimensional and predictable, and really, 3+ hours seemed like a long time to sit in a movie theater.

Oh, how wrong I was.

I could have sat in that theater for 33 hours, until I finally lept from my seat into the magical world of Pandora. And now I find myself in a predicament very similar to the one I was left in so many years ago. Why, James Cameron, Why?! I was just moving on with my life!

I'm sorry...what was the question? Oh yes, Teen Mom. Well, I don't think it's necessarily making teenage pregnancy seem glamorous. I think that the series certainly tries to show how difficult being a teen mom really is, and how many sacrifices these young people have had to make. As to whether or not this series is making any strides in preventing teenage pregnancy...who knows. Probably not. Is the show exploitative? Does a Na'vi average three meters in hight and chose a mate for life? I think that answers your question.

Stay tuned for more fan fiction next week. I was just too depressed to write any this week, but I promise that my next post will be entirely devoted to my fan fiction...one of the few things that gets me out of bed in the morning.

[Ed. note -- the pseudo-exploitation will continue next Summer, as MTV has announced Teen Mom has been renewed for a second season! Also, Bentley is the cutest baby ever.]