Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Bishop might take Knight, but the Queen wins

Elsa's Chessboard by Jenny Andrus

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For the grandmother that wanted to play chess with her granddaughter, author Jenny Andrus wrote Elsa’s Chessboard. She was a child who did not have interest in an “old dusty game,” but now she is giving us a peek at the woman who would change chess in ways unexpected. Based on the life of Elsa Konstandt Weisz, we go from Vienna to San Francisco as a young Jewish woman flees WWII and makes a new home in the United States, all the while keeping her […]

I was just saying I don’t do re-reads usually, but then I went and read this again.

Mage and the Endless Unknown by S.J. Miller

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In October 2023 I read Mage and the Endless Unknown by S.J. Miller. I thought I had read it before when I saw it on the (sadly) to be returned cart at work in May 2025. But I figured even if I had read it, I didn’t remember when and a second reading wouldn’t hurt. Fairly quickly I remembered a lot of it, but then there were places that I did not remember at all (I am looking at you the pretty-not-so-nice ghosts) and wondered […]

From Yehiel to Henri

The Sky Was My Blanket: A Young Man's Journey Across Wartime Europe by Uri Shulevitz

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Uri Shulevitz can spin a yarn.  And when it is based in/about real events they hit even harder. One of the last writings of Shulevitz, The Sky Was My Blanket: A Young Man’s Journey Across Wartime Europe (due in August 2025, read via an online reader copy), takes another true World War II story and brings it to life in emotional text.  This time, instead of following Uri’s story during the war, we follow one of his fathers younger brothers, Yehiel’s parallel journey during the […]

Quest for courage

Hupo and the Wonder Thief by Billy Partridge

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I enjoyed the book Hupo and the Wonder Thief by Billy Partridge. There is something about this dog-like critter (they say they are a dog-rabbit combo) and his quirky personality. Now, to boil it down, he is a lot. And I mean a lot. He might be physically smaller in size, but there is a big amount of wonder that fills him. He loves learning, exploring, being himself and sharing that with others. However, the city he lives in is not the most open to […]

Finding Home

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

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If you want a really tough read, and not just because of the theme, then pick up As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. None of the difficulties I had with this book comes from the story or even technically the writing itself. However, my issues were that the beginning is slow. There is a lot of build up, taking what feels like forever to “get to the point.” The author, like her main characters, are terrible flirts (as in they like […]

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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This took a little bit to get going, but once it did, I was not able to put it down until I finished it. I loved this book from beginning to end and I just didn’t want it to end. I thought Bardugo’s writing and just lyricism with certain words was fantastic. And this book did a great job of blending history, fantasy, and religion together. “The Familiar” follows Luzia Cotado, a scullion living in Madrid during Spain’s “Golden Age.” Luzia has dreams though she […]



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