Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I'm a librarian, a singer, a cosplayer, an overachiever... @cosbrarian on most platforms. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Cosbrarian's Quick Questions interview.)

cosbrarian's Reviews:

Radicalize your reading through fairy tales

The Castle of Truth and Other Revolutionary Tales by Hermynia Zur Mühlen, Jack Zipes

Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men: Political Fairy Tales of Édouard Laboulaye by Édouard Laboulaye, Jack Zipes

The Dragon Daughter and Other Lin Lan Fairy Tales by Juwen Zhang

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If you ask me “What’s the best thing about fairy tales?” my brain will combust. But in this very moment, I’ll say one of the best things is that there are so many forgotten or “undiscovered” tales to enjoy. In an effort to bring some forgotten folklorists to the forefront, fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes (my nerdiest old man crush) and Princeton University Press came together for a new-ish series called Oddly Modern Fairy Tales. Each volume concentrates on a writer or movement in fairy […]

Navigating grief and mermaids in the Caribbean

A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow

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Kela and her father have been pretty lost on their Caribbean island of St. Rita since Kela’s mother died. Her father spends his days manning his shop while Kela avoids friends, collecting sea glass for her jewelry projects. One day, she finds a mysterious looking antique comb in a coral reef. She is drawn to it. What she doesn’t realize is that she has stolen a mermaid’s comb, and its owner Ophidia is crushed by its loss. Her grudge against humans doesn’t leave Ophidia feeling […]

Napoleonic Europe Weren’t No Fairy Tale

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

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The Wild Girl is a fictionalized narrative of the life-long relationship between Dortchen Wild and the Brothers Grimm.  Kate Forsyth has pieced together her version of events from the actual documents of the Grimms and the Wilds, filling in the blanks with inspiration from the Brothers Grimm collection of fairy tales.  We know that the Wilds and the Grimms were neighbors, that Dortchen was the source for many of the Grimm’s most famous fairy tales, and that she and Wilhelm married, but unconventionally late in their […]

Unique takes on age-old tales for a YA audience

At Midnight by Dahlia Adler

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Dahlia Adler has been pumping out YA anthologies based on familiar lore for a while. At MIDNIGHT, twists on popular fairy tales, is her most recent work. It’s also the first I’ve read, though I have her Poe remix on my shelf, and the Shakespeare remix is definitely going on my wishlist. It is a fantastic homage to favorite fairy tales. Almost all of them bring something new to each tale, but here are my favorites: Adler’s Rumpelstiltskin, which turns the gold-making goblin into a […]

Queer as Folk(tales)!

Tales From Beyond the Rainbow by Pete Jordi Wood

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In pursuit of the idea that queer people have always existed (and therefore will persist), Pete Jordi Wood has put together this gorgeous collection of folk and fairy tales that earlier folklorists chose to “clean up” or dismiss. Tales From Beyond the Rainbow: Ten LGBTQ+ Fairy Tales Proudly Reclaimed is a darling little book with big important stories. While earning his folklore degree, Pete found a Danish folktale “The Dog and the Sailor” that felt undeniably queer. He self-published his translation of the tale, and […]

Disney tricked me and I’m not even mad!

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

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I have loudly declared for a long time that we should have a hiatus on all Cinderella remakes. And I have rallied for a shorter time on the sad habit of Disney retreading old IP over and over again. It’s not that I am so mad about them redoing the same fairy tales all the time, but in a world where there are truly hundreds of versions of their Disney Princess tales, why not tell a fresh version of the story? I decided to read […]



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