Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Yaay! The blog got a makeover! What do you think of the new look? Good? Bad? Just tell me if it burns your retinas or something and I'll change it. Annywaaay...
All sixteen-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 Gonzo, a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf, and a yard gnome who just might be the Viking god Balder, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America of smoothie-drinking happiness cults, parallel-universe-hopping physicists, mythic New Orleans jazz musicians, whacked-out television game shows, snow-globe vigilantes, and disenfranchised, fame-hungry teens into the heart of what matters most.
From New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray comes a dark comedic journey that poses the questions: Why are we here? What is real? What makes microwave popcorn so good? Why must we die? And how do we really learn to live?
So, yeah. It's about a guy who gets mad cow disease, and goes on this adventure to find a cure. Let me first start off by saying something: this book is unlike any I've ever read. Which is a good thing (I think). I kind of had to stop periodically and think "What the hell am I reading?" (excuse the mild language). That said, though, I quite enjoyed it. The weird, crazy, and twisted plotline and characters made me wonder about the mental health of the author, while making me laugh all the way through. It would be easy to write it off as just some crazy book, but submerged in the off-the-wall story were some thought-inducing questions. It was a little bit touching sometimes, in its own strange way. Anyway, I think Going Bovine works best if you've got an open mind, and don't mind a little craziness. This book definitely isn't for the faint of heart (or mind). Now, if you fit that description, I suggest you go try it out. (And remember, I'm not responsible for any damage to your sanity that may occur). It's over at Mt. Edgecumbe and Kettleson, and it also comes in audio form. Fancy.