Going Bovine Review

Author: Libba Bray

Release Date: September 22, 2009

Pages: 380

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Most Appropriate For Ages: 14+
Where I Got It: For review

Can Cameron find what he’s looking for? 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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
You know that a book is going to be funny when you begin laughing somewhere in the first six pages. Going Bovine was definitely that type of book.

The plot was original, hilarious, and weird. It did seem to slow down a lot at some points, though. It was mostly a realistic fiction, but it definitely had a good amount of fantasy elements thrown in. Due to Cameron's mad cow disease, you're never really sure what's real, and what isn't. But as long as you don't dwell on that, I think you'll probably enjoying Going Bovine.

You meet a lot of characters throughout Going Bovine, each one unique and interesting. The main characters all grow a lot. Cameron starts out selfish, boring, and friend-less, and those are three terms that couldn't describe him by the end of his epic journey. My favorite character was definitely Balder, the yard gnome/viking god. He was hilarious! And Dulcie was great too. The book was full of awesome characters.

The writing was, you know, it was Libba Bray's writing. Brilliant, beautiful, and amazing. She tells a great story and is a great writer.

The ending didn't live up to my expectations that the book had set. It ended very abruptly and didn't satisfy me. Overall, though, a good read. Definitely one to check out!

A Great And Terrible Beauty Review

Release Date: December 9, 2003
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age Group: 14+
Pages: 416 (Hardcover)

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I really enjoyed this book. I think I'm going to have a hard time reviewing this, just to let you know in advance. I'm not sure why, though.

The plot is extremely original, and I really enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of it, even though I was worried I wouldn't. The plot was pretty confusing at time, though, and I'd have to go back and reread something.

Gemma Doyle is 16 in 1895, but she manages to, somehow, have a modern personality. There are times where you loves her friends, and times where you hate them. They all did stuff that really annoyed me, though. There are, however, awesome supporting characters like the coolest school teacher in the world, Miss Moore.

Libba Bray's writing was outstanding! Very crisp and vivid descriptions that make you feel like you're really seeing it all. I would've liked for her to use more of this writing to describe the characters, but sadly she didn't.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable, but not perfect read. I'll definitely be reading Rebel Angels, the next in the series.


(I've changed my review system, if you look at the sidebar.)

Judging A Book By It's Cover:

This time, I'm judging a the book A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, which I have from the library. I think I'm the last teen in the world to read it, and all I've heard is how amazing it is, so I'm really looking forward to it. Anyways, here's the cover:






It's a very beautiful cover. The corset, the pose, the back-round colors. I only have one complaint: the font of the authors name. It just doesn't fit with the rest of the cover, but the color of Libba Bray's name does. It's not something that would draw a paranormal/fantasy fan like me to the book, unless I read the back of the book. What do you think?