Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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:

“If Thunderclan is to survive, we must have new warriors” — Great Graphic Novel Adaptation of the Classic Series!

Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin #1 by Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter

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I’ve already written at length here before how much I enjoy Natalie Riess and Sara Goetter’s work, so it’s no surprise that I was thrilled to see this at the bookstore. I was even more thrilled to realize this is the first of three planned books, so I have two more to look forward to when they publish! Any time artists I’ve been following for a while get a multi book deal, especially to work on a famous media property, I am hopeful this means […]

“Thirty years ago, I lay in the room of a woman, conceived in a sexual act of rape, being carried during the prenatal period by an unwilling and rebellious mother, finally bursting from the womb only to be tormented in a family whose members I despised or pitied, and brought into association with people whom I never should have chosen.”

My First Thirty Years by Gertrude Beasley

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What a read. My First Thirty Years is the unvarnished and enraged truth of Gertrude Beasley’s life, and it deserves to be read. From the first line, which I’ve used as the title above, she is telling us to listen and to understand. In a country where a large chunk of the population is trying to revert us back to an idealized past, this is the actual truth of so much of that past. There is no magical historical moment where the nuclear family bubbled […]

“I’m fine with being a half kid, but now I don’t even know which half I’m supposed to be.”

The Squad by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

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The Squad is a sequel to The Tryout, which dealt with Christina trying out for the cheerleading squad in her small Texas town. Her mother is white and her father is Thai, and Christina is one of the few Asian American people in the town, which leads to bullying and a persistent sense of being different. She struggles with being mixed race and the idea that she’s just half of As The Squad opens, Christina is starting eighth grade and is feeling confident and good about […]

“All of a sudden, I became half-human!” — Human/Cat Boy Romance Manga

A Lovestruck Cat Wants to be Petted by Nira Kaneyuki

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I really enjoyed A Lovestruck Cat Wants to be Petted. It did exactly what it says in the title and hit the right sweet spot of minimal conflict and a cute developing relationship between the two main characters. Kotetsu is a cat who has been turned into a human through some unknown force and still has cat ears and tail that he has to hide. He can also talk to cats and has a cat friend that knew him before his transformation. He goes to […]

“Once upon a time long ago I lay in my crib at Sandy Point Farm while my father lay in the next room dying.”

Once Upon a Time: A True Story by Gloria Vanderbilt

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I had read about the custody case over Gloria Vanderbilt in the past, but it was long enough ago that I forgot most of the fine details and felt that I was entering the book with no real allegiances or opinions beyond feeling bad for a child caught up in it. I purchased this copy a while ago and then it sat on my shelf until my recent reading spree focused on mid century society gossip. Once Upon A Time: A True Story is a […]

“I don’t know what to do. I’d normally never go for a guy like him.”

White Liar by Tomo Serizawa

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Kei Shiraishi is a hair stylist (and also maybe a makeup artist? But they never really show that in the book — the back cover describes him as a “beautician,” but I never saw him doing anything but hair) who gets picked to cut the hair of a famous up and coming actor. Taiga Jinnouchi is super handsome and an amazing actor, but he gets deep into his characters and it’s stressful on his system. After Kei cuts Taiga’s hair, they have dinner together and […]



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