Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

I found a new place to dwell

Heartbreak Hotel by Micol Arianna Beltramini

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Several books on my recent HBR (Have Been Read) list have had similar feelings and/or themes. And yet, each one is its own unique read. Heartbreak Hotel by Micol Arianna Beltramini and illustrator Agnese Innocente falls into this “alike but not alike” category. This coming of age story is similar to the stories The History of Everything: A Graphic Novel by Victoria Evans, Raging Clouds by Yudori, and The Flip Side by Jason Walz. Yet, it is also its own work and has its own […]

A Very Satisfying Conclusion

The Crimson Crown by Cinda Williams Chima

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Raisa takes the throne as Queen, but there is still much work to be done as well as the threat of invasion.  Someone is murdering wizards, political machinations abound, and pressure for Raisa to marry.  Raisa and Han are struggling both with the fact that almost everyone seems to be against Han in general and their relationship isn’t officially allowed.  Plus between each of their duties, they don’t see each other much and are not sharing all of their plans with each other.  As the […]

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), […]

“I guess we’re almost friends now, or as friendly as you can get when you’re not one hundred percent sure the other person isn’t framing you for murder.” (Blackout Bingo Card)

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

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4.5 stars CBR17 Bingo: School (The Breakfast Club with murder. So much high school drama) On a Monday afternoon, five high schoolers find themselves in detention after someone planted phones in their bags. They all claim the phones are not theirs, but the teacher is not listening. There is Cooper, the star athlete, with a promising career in baseball ahead of him. There is Addy, always perfectly put together and the homecoming princess. There is Nate, the school’s bad boy, who is on probation for […]

“One’s your fault. The other one, you just happened to be there when it happens. Like, when you kiss him, POW, he gets hit by a bear. Totally not your fault. You shouldn’t feel bad about that. It’s not your bear.”

The Dream Thieves: Book II of The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

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I suppose I’ll get at least the next book in the series; I’m not particularly in love with it, but I don’t hate it (at least at this point) to stop reading. But I’m going to not make any decisions on buying the last book until I’ve read the third. My opinions of the characters have not really changed all that much; Ronan, Noah and Gainsey are my three favorites. Noah is weird bit likable in a harmless kind of way, Ronan is the poster […]

The review I date myself by my pop culture references or Scooby Doo and the Not so Masked Villains

Toxic Summer by Derek Charm

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The cover of Toxic Summer by Derek Charm looks like it would be a fun, summer romance romp. Maybe it would have some misadventures or possibly a monster that is a masked one, or even one that has a “is it or isn’t it?” thought. But instead, it turned out to be a bit cartoonish and not always in a fun way.  Still, if you like over-the-top antics, a bit of humor, and somewhat queer romance, this is the book for you. Of course, you […]



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