Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Journey of Survival and Self-Discovery With A Complex Character

The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem

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This is not a hero’s story. Author Sara Hashem says in a video that Sylvia is going to be a divisive character because she makes terrible choices, but I’m not sure I agree with that. She makes human choices. She makes selfish choices informed by her trauma. Her choices aren’t that of a hero but that of someone trying to survive. No, I didn’t always like her choices and how at times they convey a lack of empathy or connection to others, but I also […]

There’s a Girl in a Tower, But This Isn’t Her Story

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

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If you know me, you know that a good fairytale retelling or interpretation is totally my jam. Robin McKinley had me by the throat for years thanks to Beauty, Deerskin, Spindle’s End, etc. So when I learned that T. Kingfisher, an author whose books I’ve previously enjoyed (and who is a delightful follow on used-to-be-Twitter), had a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, I was more than down. Thornhedge is the story of Toadling, who was stolen by the faeries as a newborn babe, adopted by a […]

Sometimes you just need to read a gay fish isekai comedy novel

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish (Volume 1) by Xue Shan Fei Hu

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This was such a fun treat! I saw this on TikTok and then looked at it a couple of times at the bookstore until I couldn’t resist anymore and gave in. I’m glad I did because I really did enjoy this and am looking forward to the next three volumes. I like a complete series and this one is done and just needs to be translated and published over here. This was the first danmei novel I’ve read, but I knew about some of the […]

Intriguing Beginning, Lukewarm Follow-Through

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg

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I don’t have much to say about this book. It was fine. I liked it enough to finish reading it but probably not enough to bother with the sequels, especially since it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. The pacing is too slow and there isn’t enough character development to justify that pace. Spoilers ahead. We follow Ceony, a new graduate of a magic school. Magicians bond to specific man-made elements and she wanted metal, but due to a lack of paper magicians, that’s what she […]

A sudden sound of wings and screech sends our hero on an adventure of his life time

Orris and Timble: The Beginning by Kate DiCamillo

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Orris and Timble: The Beginning is pure Kate DiCamillo. Part Romeo and Juliet (enemies to friends), part the Lion and the Mouse (a rat saves an owl) and part a grandparent/grandchild relationship (even though there is a grumpy older rat and a young owl). This story is sweet, funny, and a little bit tense (after all, even if an owl says it is too scared to eat you, can you really believe it? Especially with those large and dangerous talons?). When Orris, the rat, hears […]

The Picture Book Graphic Novel Read

Author vs. Illustrator by Bob Lentz and Donald Lemke

The Unlucky Kid by Bob Holt

Like Lava in My Veins by Derrick Barnes

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There is a new genre, (or at least newish to me) that I call “Picture Book Graphic Novel.”  I am sure there are others out there, but I have recently found three within a few weeks of each other. This means that the graphic novel panel format is done in the larger, traditional sized picture book and aimed at the picture book crowd, but can allow the older reader access as well. The first two were read via online reader’s copies and the last in […]



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