Going Bovine

Thinking of Going Bovine in terms of the criteria listed on p. 18 of the Donelson text as well as the qualities and characteristics detailed on pages 20 and 26-38 of the text certainly help me to see why the book won the Printz Award. With respect to plot and characterization, the book matches the expectations described in the textbook.

The plot is certainly well beyond a simple chronology and includes time shifts to such an extent that we, as readers, have to stop and think about what time itself really is. There is certainly tension in the plot and plenty of surprises. Libba Bray does an excellent job of Characteristic 2: “Please, Mother, I Want the Credit.” The parents are essentially out of the power structure since Cameron’s journey is taken in his mind. They aren’t completely out of the picture, but they certainly aren’t calling the shots. The plot is also fast-paced once Cameron’s journey begins and we are taken back and forth between Cameron’s set of realities: the hospital and the adventure. And while some may disagree with me on this point, I also find the book to be basically optimistic. Yes, we understand that Cameron dies at the end, but what we see is another beginning. So the structure of the plot, from a beginning to an end that is only another beginning, is an optimistic structure. Cameron faces himself as the Wizard and finds that he calls his own shots. He doesn’t buy that there is nothing else and, in choosing not to believe that there is nothing else, he is reunited with Dulcie. The plot itself reminded me of Don Quixote, obviously, with fire giants instead of windmills and Gonzo instead of Sancho. But it also reminds me of The Wizard of Oz. Once I finished the book, I found myself going back to the very early chapters to match the people, things, and places from the “real world” to their representations on Cameron’s adventure.

Bray’s methods of characterization lend themselves well to the intended young adult reader. Cameron’s first-person narration gives us insight into who he is and who he is becoming. We learn so much about Gonzo, or at least the Gonzo that Cameron populates his adventure with, through Gonzo’s descriptions of himself and his feelings. We see the characters’ reactions to themselves, each other, and their situations in very real terms: they seem like things teenagers would do and say. While the experiences in the book are, in many ways, far from typical teen experiences, they are presented in such a way as to allow the reader to create parallels to real occurrences. None of us has ever waited with a yard gnome for a Norse ship to arrive, but we have probably had to choose between helping out a friend or going to do whatever it was that was important to us at the time.