Freaks and Revelations

I chose the novel Freaks and Revelations by Davida Wills Hurwin for my second outside reading project. This novel takes place in LA and is written about a hate crime that takes place against a gay group of boys by a group of neo-nazis. Since this novel takes place on California I thought it would be more relatable and easier for me to both cast my characters for the film, and also imagine the movie. The novel is based on a true story told by both of the protagonists of the novel on both Oprah and NPR, and since we dicussed those two shows earlier in the year I thought it would be fitting to bring them both back. Also feel very strongly about the hate against homosexuals and I thought that reading this novel would help me understand how horrible the struggle was a couple decades ago.

~~~~~ Nadin
PS: Happy Holidays To EVERYONE!!!!

Madness in Picture Format

Images courtesy of:
*A-S-T-R-A of deviant art: http://a-s-t-r-a.deviantart.com/
BiteTheBullet of deviantart: http://bitethebullet.deviantart.com/
Lilpunkangel of deviantart: http://lilpunkangel.deviantart.com/
FallingToPieces of deviantart: http://fallingtopieces.deviantart.com/
Morphinetears38 of deviantart: http://morphinetears36.deviantart.com/

Ohhh, is that a voice I hear?

The voice in Libba Bray’s novel, (DRUMROLL), Going Bovine is primarily (actually, its completely) dominated by a teenager, Cameron Smith (also could Bray have chosen a MORE generic last name?). Smith has mad cow disease, but he also has the disease that makes teenagers, teenagers, he has an obvious attitude, and thinks of everything in his own way. The following excerpt is from a chapter during which Cameron is in the hospital and an angel that has been tailing, appears to him in her full form, for the first time.



“‘Hi, Cameron.’

The glow dies down, and she’s standing at the end of my bed – the one who’s been following me around leaving feather messages. I take in the torn fishnets, plaid mini-kilt, shiny riveted breastplate with leather straps at the sides and a worn Great Tremolo decal near the left shoulder. Her wings are a crazy black-and-white-checkered pattern, like they’ve been spray painted at a body shop to look like hipster sneakers.

Blink and the hallucination will go away, Cameron. Shut my eyes tight and open them and she’s still there, all bright and shiny and smiling.” (113)



Cameron speaks right to the reader, making it seem as if you are in his weird, scary, teenage-boy-with-terminal-disease mind. Libba Bray uses diction that is both slang, and humorous to entertain the reader, but still keep the book easy to read and comprehend. The tone is very conversational; it describes the clothes of a girl as one would see them, but more especially as someone reading this book would see them, since more than most of the people that read this book will be teenagers when they read it. Bray finds it easy to connect with her audience like this, but also by uses sarcasm, which is a favorite trick of most teens. Cameron’s inner dialogue is also pictured in the text, so the reader is almost looking at the world out of the protagonist’s eyes, without actually having the terminal disease that Cameron has. Mentioning bands and “hipsters” makes the novel seem as if it were written by an EXTREMELY well read, AND talented friend of mine.

The voice is soo unique mostly because when writing from a teenage perspective most authors either over do-it, (too much slang, strange phrases, etc.), or they fear that teenagers will be offended by the way they talk in a novel, so the author makes the teens sound perfectly educated. Libba however (oh yeah, me and her are on a first name basis now), tells it like it is, Cameron sounds ridiculous, like all of us do when we talk, but he makes sense, he isn't a delinquent, and he talks in connected sentences, so even if I had not read the plot, by reading a passage from this book I would know that Cameron is a teenage boy, with some social problems, and a hilarious attitude.

Mad Cows, Oprah and LIBBA BRAY

Oprah Winfrey: Alright we return with Libba Bray the Author of the new novel “Going Bovine”, no for those of you who have read any of Libba’s previous novels you will notice that there is a complete turnaround in her writing. Not only is this book based in the current times, but it is also written about someone that has a very strange Disease, isn’t that right Libba?
Libba BRAY: yes. He is a cow… well not a cow, like in the British sense of the word, he isn’t fat or ugly, he is just you know crazy, he has mad cow disease.
Big O: So the protagonist of your book, Going Bovine, Cameron Smith has the Human version of Mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, and that is the main conflict in your book Libba?
Libba: Well no, really the main conflict is the scientist that Cameron is trying to stop because a fairy he saw told him he would not die in a couple of weeks and be cured of mad cow disease if he stopped the scientist from destroying the world.
Big O: Now what would the readers need to know, how do you think Cameron’s story relates to them , and the world in general?
Libba: Well Cameron is 16, and most of my readers are of that persuasion also, and the book is written as if it is what is going on in his head. Now since he’s sixteen his head is a crazy mess, so the novel is obviously quite like that and makes no sense at all, except when it does make sense.
Big O: Some people say that you wrote your own version of Catcher in the Rye, that this book is how you see the growth from adolescence into adulthood for teenagers now a days.
Libba: Basically Cameron is going through a quite regular change into adulthood from the insane adolescent years, except he is also dying in a couple weeks, saving the world, and the whole time is having hallucinations and falling farther and farther in to the world of dementia. So, yeah, this is what I feel most teenagers have to put up with, plus he speaks in that weird teenager speak with all the slang thrown in, so it makes even less sense then it would if he spoke normal human speech.
Big O: So this book is set through the eyes and thoughts of Cameron, is that right? And Cameron does he speak just in his thoughts or to the readers.
Libba: Yea I’m pretty big on breaking bounds of reality so Cameron speaks in his thoughts and he talks directly to the reader and to others in the book, he’s not afraid to break the rules of being in a books you know.
Big O: So this is a book very different from the norm, how to you prepare for such a feat Libba?
Libba: Oh had to spend some time with the future of the world, learn their ways and the speech of the next generation, and of course, since Cameron is becoming a mad cow I had to spend some time among their people also.
Big O: Yes I believe we have a video of that, can we pull up a video please?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KloEAoKvBqA

Chinese American

When I decided to choose these books I chose them, well one reason was because Connie Huang read American born Chinese before and told me it was good, and I didn't want to be stuck reading crappy books all summer so I trusted her.
The Novels China Boy and American Born Chinese both describe a subject that is closer to me then most may think. As one of the few (I think only) caucausion persons on the list to read this book, I didnt expect to connect with it, even though I never experienced stereotypes as ridiculous as my people eating dogs but I have been faced with the trouble and hatefullness of people who recognize a foreigner in me, or laugh at my speech.
These books represent the feeling of being an outcast that all minorities feel, aqt least at one point in their life, and so I thnk they sould DEFINATELY be included in the AHS 11th grade curiculum, because the level of humour and seriousness that both books balance is just for our age, and the diversity that Albany has will give many people something to feel connected to in thiese books. Even for those that are not immigrants or racially, ethnically or culturally different, these books deal with bullying and hate crimes in sarcstic yet inspiring ways.
And everyone knowsd how much we teenagers LOOOVVVE sarcasm.