Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About GentleRain

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Your jack of all trades eccentric. Knows a little about a lot and a lot about a little. Tends to mainly read non-fiction (history, true crime, old gossip, etc), SF/F, horror, graphic novels, "genre" books. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: GentleRain's Quick Questions interview.)

GentleRain's Reviews:

“It’s like everyone else got instructions, but we didn’t.”

Tegan and Sara: Junior High by Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, and Tillie Walden

July 6, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

CBR15Bingo: Bodies, Bodies (physically growing up, stressing about getting your period, wanting to differentiate yourself when you’re an identical twin — the first chapter is actually called “Teenage Bodies.”) I read this without ever having listened to any Tegan and Sara music and loved it, so this is clearly a winner. I am a huge Tillie Walden fan, which is why I picked this up in the first place, and I’m really glad I did. I think this book does a great job of being […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: cbr15bingo, family dynamics, female friendship, graphic memoir, Graphic Novel, identical twins, teenage angst, Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, and Tillie Walden

GentleRain's CBR15 Review No:36 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: cbr15bingo, family dynamics, female friendship, graphic memoir, Graphic Novel, identical twins, teenage angst, Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, and Tillie Walden ·
Rating:
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“With the three of us working together…we’ll find Bessie for sure!”

The Bawk-Ness Monster by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter

July 6, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

CBR15Bingo: Queer Lives (one character is trans) I pre-ordered this after enjoying Dungeon Critters so much and I’m glad I did, as The Bawk-Ness Monster was also just up my alley. This book follows Penny and her friends Luc and K on their quest to find the Bawk-Ness Monster, Bessie, before Penny has to move away. She remembers the cryptid saving her when she fell in the lake previously and nearly drowned, and now she wants to find it and thank it before she has […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: cbr15bingo, Graphic Novel, lgbtq characters, middle grade fiction, Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter

GentleRain's CBR15 Review No:35 · Genres: Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: cbr15bingo, Graphic Novel, lgbtq characters, middle grade fiction, Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Magical Reads That I Come Back To Again and Again

The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones

Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones

June 27, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I think I’ve already extolled the virtues of this series at length here before, so I’ll just say that this is one of my favorites of all time and I am completely biased in favor of these books. I am a lifelong Chrestomanci fan and re-read a couple of these about once a year. This year I took on The Magicians of Caprona and Witch Week, which I was less obsessed with as a kid so I don’t remember the plots quite as well, which […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy Tagged With: absolute favorite, chrestomanci, Diana Wynne Jones, magic, middle grade fantasy, middle grade fiction, The Chronicles of Chrestomanci

GentleRain's CBR15 Review No:33 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy · Tags: absolute favorite, chrestomanci, Diana Wynne Jones, magic, middle grade fantasy, middle grade fiction, The Chronicles of Chrestomanci ·
Rating:
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“Now and then the images from those years come into alignment, and I see something…”

Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White by Lila Quintero Weaver

June 27, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I tend to think I have a pretty good handle on the state of the graphic novel/comic scene, which is why when I stumble across a great book like this that I missed, it thrills me and makes me think about what else is out there that I haven’t found yet. This was a random find at a used bookstore, which is often my favorite way to find a book. It’s like a little gift that suddenly pops into your life! I wonder if part […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: Civil Rights Movement, graphic memoir, historical, immigrant experience, Lila Quintero Weaver, Racism

GentleRain's CBR15 Review No:31 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: Civil Rights Movement, graphic memoir, historical, immigrant experience, Lila Quintero Weaver, Racism ·
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· 0 Comments
cover of the book The World Ends in April by stacy mcanulty

“Even though the world is ending in the spring, that’s still two quarters of a school year away. And school years last forever.”

The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty

June 27, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I got this book somewhat randomly (from a box of books to be thrown out) but ended up really enjoying it. I do love a solid middle grade novel where everyone learns a lesson, and this had that in spades. The World Ends In April follows Eleanor, who’s having a hard time in middle school — her mother is dead, she hates everyone at school, and her one best friend Mack might be leaving to go to another school. She deliberately tries not to interact […]

Filed Under: Children's Books Tagged With: Anxiety, asteroid, blindness, Maybe End of the World?, middle school, power of friendship, Stacy McAnulty

GentleRain's CBR15 Review No:30 · Genres: Children's Books · Tags: Anxiety, asteroid, blindness, Maybe End of the World?, middle school, power of friendship, Stacy McAnulty ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A Meh Sci-Fi Thriller That Disappoints

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

June 24, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

The most I can say for this is it’s a fast read. Honestly, I can barely remember anything about the plot beyond me being mad I was continuing to read it because I knew I was close to being done and could just power through. The pull quotes on the back are from such big authors — Harlan Coben, Lee Child, Andy Weir, Justin Cronin — that I was expecting a pretty groundbreaking sci-fi thriller, but I wasn’t impressed. It moves quickly but maybe I’ve […]

Filed Under: Science Fiction, Suspense Tagged With: Blake Crouch, sci-fi thriller

GentleRain's CBR15 Review No:29 · Genres: Science Fiction, Suspense · Tags: Blake Crouch, sci-fi thriller ·
Rating:
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