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Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Review:
Cameron is your typical bored with life teenager who indulges in the occassional joint, hates his family and doesn't see the point of anything. After a series of delusional episodes Cameron is diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, or mad-cow disease; a condition that causes the patient to lose grip on reality and slip into their own world. For Cameron, slipping into his own world gives him a chance to learn to enjoy life.
The message in this book is to get out and live your life. Bray uses parallels with Don Quixote as the vehicle to give Cameron a series of adventures to battle evil, solve mysteries of the universe, and get the girl. Throughout the reader is never sure whether the adventure is real or all in Cameron's head. Each adventure seems more outrageous than the last but readers will enjoy watching Cameron shed his determination to be disappointed with everything and find value and meaning in his life. Bray takes a few satirical shots at today's society through the happiness cult, who has rigged the bowling alley to give everyone strikes and the MTV-like television channel that kills brain cells. Overall written with a good balance of humor and meaning, this story is a must read.
Reviews/Awards:
Michael L. Printz Award (WON AWARD) 2010
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books (WON AWARD) 2009
Locus Awards (NOMINATED FOR AN AWARD) 2010
School Library Journal: "It's a trip worth taking, though meandering and message-driven at times."
Voice of Youth Advocates: "The novel is a laugh-out-loud, tear-jerking, fantastical voyage into the meaning of what is real in life and how someone can learn to live."
Booklist: Star Reviewed* "Bray's latest offering is an unforgettable, nearly indefinable fantasy adventure, as immense and sprawling as Cervantes' Don Quixote, on which it's based."
Publisher's Weekly: "what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World."
Library Journal: "Bray has not written a teen problem novel about mad cow disease. She swims in deeper water, defending the importance of friendship, family, and life purpose in the face of mediocrity."
Connections:
*Discuss the actual symptoms of mad-cow disease.
*Point out the parallels with Don Quixote and discuss.
Read Printz nominees for 2010:
Heiligman, Debra. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. ISBN 9780805087215
Yancey, Rick. The Monstrumologist. ISBN 9781416984481
Image credit: www.bookreader4.blogspot.com
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