Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About Carriejay

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Many moons ago I took part in Cannonball Read II, under the name Teabelly. A lot has changed since then, and I now have five year old twin girls. I'm not getting as much reading done, but I'm hoping to make a half Cannonball at least.

Carriejay's Reviews:

A cute but maybe unnecessary standalone

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

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Regan is having a hard time with her friend group. After one of her friends inadvertently makes ‘queen bee’ Laurel mad, Regan chooses the security being close to said popular girl brings, and the other girl is shunned. But when Regan learns something upsetting and confusing about herself, she makes the mistake of confiding in Laurel, who takes it badly and mocks her. Regan runs away from school, but while heading home, she stumbles upon a doorway in the trees that says ‘be sure’. She […]

You Can’t Go Back

Matilda by Roald Dahl

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Matilda Wormwood is a precocious five year old, a word wonder who is reading everything she can get her hands on at an early age. Her parents don’t appreciate any of this and see her as an annoyance. During her first days of school she is introduced to Miss Trunchbull, the awful headmistress at Crunchem Hall. Miss Trunchbull was a hammer thrower in her younger years and a terrifying figure to all the kids at school. She despises children and thinks nothing of launching them […]

Stories Matter

The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

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12 year old Petra Pena wants to be a storyteller like her grandmother, but her scientist parents are pushing her in their direction instead. When Halley’s Comet is knocked into a collision course with Earth, humanity doesn’t have long to scramble and get as many people off the planet as they can. Petra and her family are among those chosen to leave on three ships, heading for an inhabitable planet named Sagan. But she has to leave her beloved grandmother behind. Once on the ship, […]

Our Other Choice is Hope

Etta Invincible by Reese Eschmann

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12 year old Etta Johnson lives in Chicago with her mum and dad. They’re a smidge over protective because Etta can’t always hear that well. She has Quiet Days and Loud Days. But on all days one of her favourite things to do is draw comics of her character Invincible Girl, who always save the day from the evil Petra Fide. But when strange clouds appear in the skies over the city, and people start acting a bit weird, it’s up to Etta to investigate. […]

Wish it was something funner

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren

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Lily Wilder is the daughter of a notorious treasure hunter. But when Duke Wilder died he left her little more than a notebook full of clues and riddles that she has ignored for the last decade. She’s making a living out in the desert, giving guided tours to city folk looking for a bit of adventure, when an old flame walks back into her life. Leo Grady was her big love ten years ago, but circumstances separated them and Lily is still heartbroken about it. […]

A Heart That Hurts Is

A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney

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Comedian and actor Rob Delaney moved from Los Angeles to London with his wife and family to write and star in the tv series Catastrophe. They settle in, but when their youngest child, who had been born in London, is a year old, he is diagnosed with a brain tumour. He dies aged two. The book relates, beautifully, the stages of Henry’s life. The initial culture clashes that come from being Americans in the UK; navigating the intricacies of the NHS for his birth; the […]



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