Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

That disappointment when combining 2 great things makes them less good

Breath of the Dragon by Fonda Lee

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I really liked Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga – there was a lot going on so it took a second to get into them but once I was hooked, I couldn’t stop being impressed by what she did: it was an Asian influenced fantasy in a modern day setting with Mafia vibes, and felt very much like The Godfather movies as far as the span of the story. The series starts at a time where old and new are colliding and ends in a world […]

When your dream turns to a nightmare

Dreamover by Dani Diaz

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Dreamover by Dani Diaz was another book won in a galley grab I entered. I had seen a few things about it, but wasn’t really sure what it was about.  It sounded a little more realistic than it turned out to be. But  I guess you cannot have a “Dream World” where you don’t have at least a little fantasy to it.   When all was said and read, this was a coming of age story where “true love” finds you, but the dream starts becoming […]

Self discovery and gender with a little musical accompaniment

A Song for You and I by K. O'Neill

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I always enjoy K. O’Neill’s writing, however, I found A Song for You and I a smidgen not as strong as usual. I think the issue was I was reading via an online reader copy and there were black and white images and not the full color illustrations of the final product. And since the book relies on the illustrations for most of the story, it was not what I needed. However, the story of being “other” and the fear and confusion that produces is […]

Two girls, couple mysteries and basketball.

Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer by Gillian Goerz

Shirley and Jamila's Big Fall by Gillian Goerz

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When ten-year-olds Shirley and (new girl) Jamila meet accidentally at a local tag sale, their summer takes an interesting turn, one that neither expected it to take. They not only find a way to not go to the summer camps their mothers have signed them up for and find a bit of freedom, they also solve a case of stolen property and a missing gecko, not to mention they become friends. All of this and a bit more happens in Shirley and Jamila Save Their […]

When the clock doesn’t tick

Hourglass by Barbara Mazzi

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Twenty is just a cog in the wheel of the utopian society in Hourglass by Barbara Mazzi. Or at least for  the privileged.  Twenty is trying for one of the coveted positions on the team of engineers. If you make it to the top the reward is everything. But until then, they help keep the Hour Glass running so the privileged few can reap the reward of immortality. But when a real piece of the machine goes missing, more than the Hour Glass will fall […]

American Royals 2: Electric Boogaloo

American Royals Majesty by Katharine McGee

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I often like to think of books like tv shows. I read books like I watch a show, and there are a lot of parallels between the narrative structure. You have your ‘monster of the week’ chapters that go over something benign, say, throwing a party while mom’s away. You have your dark hidden past that you as the readwatcher get fed drip, say, how you drugged your best friend and she went into a coma as a result, and she’s woken up and you […]



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