Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Origin story for human civilization

The Children of the Sun: An Inca Legend by Micaela Chirif

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The Children of the Sun: An Inca Legend is based on the original mythology of the Incan people. Author Micaela Chirif created this book so it is able to be adapted to allow multiple ages to relate to it, but it does lean towards an older reader or listener as its audience. It can be intense in the way it talks about the god-like children (who are fully grown) who wander to find the first home (or make the first city)  for the humans. It […]

Big Brother is watching Part Two

1984: The Graphic Novel by George Orwell and Fido Nesti

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When I saw the cover for 1984: The Graphic Novel adapted by Fido Nesti, I thought I would enjoy reading George Orwell’s book this way. I requested it via interlibrary loan. I did mention that there was another one done by  Matyás  Namai,, but I would prefer Nesti. So, what did I get? Both! I started with Namai’s just because it was due first. After reading it, I was not impressed by the style. It was too busy. Yet, it was an experience I was […]

Big Brother is watching Part One

George Orwell's 1984: The Graphic Novel by George Orwell and Matyas Namai

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Even though I was an English major in college, my contemporary classic reading was minimal. Going to a small school meant I repeated professors and they repeated the authors and texts they liked, therefore I did not always get the most expansive exposure to a variety of classics. Because of this 1984 missed my radar. When I found free time for reading, the classics never appealed to me for two reasons. The first, the language was not contemporary and therefore was lofty. It was not […]

Topsy turvy and then some

The Flip Side: A Graphic Novel by Jason Walz

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The Flip Side: A Graphic Novel is an unusual book that has all the feelings, but not the ones you might think of at first. They are the ones that we can share simultaneously, but at the same time, each of us have our own way of dealing with them. The first is grief and the second fear. Jason Walz shows us this through the eyes of two main characters. One, a boy who lost his best friend to (assuming) cancer (or other similar illness), […]

More Kevin Henkes…The Year of Billy Miller–Worthy of a Newbery Honor?

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

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After reading Newbery-Honor recipient The Year of Billy Miller, I wondered if it was similar to the actress who finally gets her coveted Oscar for what feels like her  body of work than the film itself? I did enjoy the book, but I don’t know if it’s worthy of this special award.. I thought that The Year of Billy Miller was probably for the 3rd/4th grade learner, but after reading it, I think it’s more of a second-grade reading level (perhaps even later first grade).  […]

Kind of like Jane Eyre but not really

The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden

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I needed a book to listen to for my commute, and I needed it immediately. Somehow, The Wife Upstairs (2020) by Freida McFadden grabbed my eye when I searched available audio books at my library. I was not familiar with McFadden, but she has written a large number of successful thrillers, and she seems to have quite a following. Sylvia Robinson is not in a good place in her life when the book begins. She has just lost her job after being unfairly accused of stealing, she […]



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