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:

Two Memoirs of Growing Up During The Troubles

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Seamas O'Reilly

The Troubles With Us by Alix O'Neill

October 24, 2022 by GentleRain 1 Comment

These two memoirs tread a lot of the same ground (Northern Ireland during The Troubles, family drama/grief, all told humorously), but I honestly liked Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? better than The Troubles With Us simply because Séamas O’Reilly is a better writer and I really enjoy his voice. His memoir follows his family in the aftermath of his mother’s death when he’s five. His father is left with eleven children to take care of and the rest of the book is a series of […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir Tagged With: #memoir, Alix O'Neill, family drama, family secrets, grief, growing up/coming of age, Seamas O'Reilly, The Troubles

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:119 · Genres: Biography/Memoir · Tags: #memoir, Alix O'Neill, family drama, family secrets, grief, growing up/coming of age, Seamas O'Reilly, The Troubles ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Two Well-Regarded Children’s Time Travel Novels

Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce

Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer

October 23, 2022 by GentleRain 2 Comments

I was surprised when I visited England at what a popular genre historical children’s time travel novels were, but it’s one I enjoy so I got a couple. Both are apparently much beloved classics that must have missed me when I was a child, and this was a good chance to fill in some gaps of my children’s novel knowledge. Tom’s Midnight Garden has an intimidatingly positive pull quote by Philip Pullman on the cover: “a perfect book.” This made me internally querulous and I […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Mystery, Speculative Fiction Tagged With: boarding school, childhood illnesses, children's fiction, Edwardian England, historical ficiton, Penelope Farmer, Philippa Pearce, time travel, WWI

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:117 · Genres: Children's Books, Mystery, Speculative Fiction · Tags: boarding school, childhood illnesses, children's fiction, Edwardian England, historical ficiton, Penelope Farmer, Philippa Pearce, time travel, WWI ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

“…for a while I needed to believe that my mother was not dead and that she would come back.”

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

October 23, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

Somehow I never read this as a kid and had always wondered if was any good. I finally picked this up on vacation in August (only £3, bless used bookstores) and it turns out that this is a classic and won the Newbery Medal for a reason. Often when you read a children’s/middle grade book, there’s a preachy tone or a sense they’re trying hard to impart a lesson, and that lack of authentic voice makes the book feel boring and irritating. Walk Two Moons […]

Filed Under: Children's Books Tagged With: friendship, grief, growing up/coming of age, road trip, Sharon Creech, young love

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:115 · Genres: Children's Books · Tags: friendship, grief, growing up/coming of age, road trip, Sharon Creech, young love ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“Autism is a fundamentally different way of being, and a fundamentally useful way of being.”

Keep Clear: My Adventures with Asperger's by Tom Cutler

October 23, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I have mixed feelings about this one. There were some good points in here and it shows how positive a diagnosis can be — once Tom realizes what the cause of his life-long struggles is, his depression evaporates and he is able to start taking concrete steps to cope with things. This is a combination autobiography and a series of pocket biographies of famous people he thinks were Autistic. The autobiography bits were the best part, and I found myself getting increasingly agitated every time […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir Tagged With: #memoir, autism, Mental Health, Tom Cutler

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:114 · Genres: Biography/Memoir · Tags: #memoir, autism, Mental Health, Tom Cutler ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

A Delightful Medley of the Finest New Middle Grade Graphic Novels

Freestyle by Gale Galligan

Growing Pains by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks

The Baby-Sitters Club #12: Jessi's Secret Language by Chan Chau

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

October 23, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

My love of middle grade graphic novels continues to deepen as more and more great books come out. Over the past week I read these six, which almost all came out recently (Tidesong came out in 2021). What really struck me about most of them is the wonderful diversity of viewpoints and experiences, which makes for a varied and rewarding reading experience. Hopefully as the generation of kids reading these grows up, we will see a similar boom in YA and adult graphic novels. Freestyle […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: Chan Chau, Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao, Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra, female friendships, friendship, Gale Galligan, graphic novels, growing up/coming of age, Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks, middle grade, Self-acceptance, Self-confidence, Wendy Xu

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:113 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: Chan Chau, Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao, Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra, female friendships, friendship, Gale Galligan, graphic novels, growing up/coming of age, Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks, middle grade, Self-acceptance, Self-confidence, Wendy Xu ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“…if you’re gonna fail anyway, you might as well fail as your true self.”

Improve: How I Discovered Improv and Conquered Social Anxiety by Alex Graudins

October 23, 2022 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I love autobio comics so have been following Alex Graudins’ work for a few years and seeing her work on this book, so it was exciting that it is finally available in the world. I pre-ordered it but it got returned to B&N for some reason by USPS, so I bought it at an indie bookstore randomly yesterday and read it on the train home. I think since I really like her work, the idea of writing this review was hard because this book didn’t […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: Alex Graudins, graphic memoir, growing up/coming of age, social anxiety

GentleRain's CBR14 Review No:107 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: Alex Graudins, graphic memoir, growing up/coming of age, social anxiety ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

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