Cameron Smith just wants to sail through it all- school, work, even family. He has never tried for much nor expected much. But when the hallucinations begin and he is told he is soon to die all those desires go out the window. Cameron is diagnosed with mad-cow disease and soon hospitalized. He then meets Dulcie, a pink-haired fairy with spray painted wings and 100% a vision brought on by hallucinations. Dulcie tells Cameron of a cure and soon he finds himself traveling across America with a death and video games obsessed dwarf and a Norse god trapped in a gnome's body. Cameron eventually earns his cure by defeating a wizard with a trumpet given to him by a jazz musician in New Orleans. WHAT?? More than once reading this book I felt like I was the one with the hallucinations but I can't say it wasn't entertaining! The characters in this book were wild and zany and total unexpected. If presenting a "unique take on the more mundane stories" (Lesesne ch.5) then Going Bovine is a GREAT book. I have yet to find a more unique twist on the mundane topic of overcoming an illness. I could not have predicted any part of this novel and I'm sure the recommended readers of grades 8 and up won't be able to either. Going Bovine was definitely worthy of its Printz Award in 2010 for literary merit.
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