Review Detail
4.0 3
Young Adult Fiction
385
Going Bovine - hilarious tale mirroring Don Quixote
(Updated: July 12, 2026)
Overall rating
3.0
Plot
3.0
Characters
N/A
Writing Style
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
N/A
Reader reviewed by Okapi
Mirroring the Spanish tale of Don Quixote, Going Bovine by Libba Bray is the wildly funny, outrageous to the point of unbelievable tale that involves a midget, a garden gnome, and a slew of physicists. Sixteen year old Cameron is an unpopular, slacker teenager, who doesn't do anything more in life than smoke in the bathroom with the potheads. After a series of hallucinations, Cameron is diagnosed with Mad Cow disease, which means he's going to die soon. A mysterious angel and possible hallucination named Dulcie sends him on a quest with Gonzo, dwarf, throughout the United States so they can find Cameron's cure and save the universe.
After many escapades that range from parallel world travel to stealing a garden gnome who's actually a Viking god in disguise, Cameron discovers the meaning of living opposed to merely existing. One of the central themes in this book is how everything is connected. This is one of my favorite of the book's aspects, because seemingly random things all seem to relate. Pay attention to some of the 'out of the blue' things mentioned in the beginning of the book, since they'll probably play an important role later on.
This book was very well written, though if you know the ending, the plot collapses. I knew what would happen with 300 pages still left to go, so the plot became sort of an unrealistic drag. If you read this book, DO NOT READ THE ENDING FIRST, since it will ruin the book for you!
Mirroring the Spanish tale of Don Quixote, Going Bovine by Libba Bray is the wildly funny, outrageous to the point of unbelievable tale that involves a midget, a garden gnome, and a slew of physicists. Sixteen year old Cameron is an unpopular, slacker teenager, who doesn't do anything more in life than smoke in the bathroom with the potheads. After a series of hallucinations, Cameron is diagnosed with Mad Cow disease, which means he's going to die soon. A mysterious angel and possible hallucination named Dulcie sends him on a quest with Gonzo, dwarf, throughout the United States so they can find Cameron's cure and save the universe.
After many escapades that range from parallel world travel to stealing a garden gnome who's actually a Viking god in disguise, Cameron discovers the meaning of living opposed to merely existing. One of the central themes in this book is how everything is connected. This is one of my favorite of the book's aspects, because seemingly random things all seem to relate. Pay attention to some of the 'out of the blue' things mentioned in the beginning of the book, since they'll probably play an important role later on.
This book was very well written, though if you know the ending, the plot collapses. I knew what would happen with 300 pages still left to go, so the plot became sort of an unrealistic drag. If you read this book, DO NOT READ THE ENDING FIRST, since it will ruin the book for you!
Reprinted here with permission of reviewer @ thesmartyowl.blogspot.com
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