Young Adult – Page 502 – Cannonball Read 17

Taking a Trip Down Memory Lane

The Stopping Place by Marden Dahlstedt

April 12, 2017 by MsWas 4 Comments

How many books have you hung on to since childhood? As the daughter of a librarian, my answer is, “not many.” I did hang on to my Scholastic Book Club copy of Marden Dahlstedt’s The Stopping Place, from fifth grade though. I recently came across my slim paperback story of a girl from Brooklyn forced to move to New Jersey’s Pine Barrens when her hippie family relocates. (The horror!) I saved a few books from my childhood, but most of my favorites came from the library. I still […]

The Past Continues to be a Foe in the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, Jim Dale narrator

April 12, 2017 by faintingviolet 5 Comments

*Note: This review was completed in 2017 before the author’s views towards our trans siblings began to be widely known. My reading experience was what it was and these reviews will remain up, but it should be noted that I find her TERF values abhorrent, which have only become more clear over time, and her doubling down in Summer 2020 has made the decision to walk away from her as a creative force the only acceptable choice for me. I will no longer be supporting […]

A long time ago, being crazy meant something. Now everybody is crazy.

April 12, 2017 by Lindzgrl 1 Comment

Okay—here’s the thing: This book won all sorts of awards and I think I put it on my audiobook list because I saw it recommended everywhere. But here’s what bothers me: It’s a fictional portrayal of a fictional girl who was a satellite member of a fictional Manson family, but it borrows almost every detail from the real Manson family so…why bother with the fictional names for everyone and everything? Just make it straight up historical fiction at that point. I don’t know, maybe this […]

Does a unique premise outweigh a flat story?

April 12, 2017 by octothorp Leave a Comment

Of Fire and Stars is the sort of book I wanted to like more than I actually did. An Onion AV Club writer listed it as something she was reading and piqued my interest, as she noted that the story was a typical fantasy tale made more complex by its protagonist falling in love not with the prince she has been promised to in an arranged marriage, but his sister. The book treats the romance between Denna, the princess destined to marry Mare’s brother, and […]

Wonder-filled

April 9, 2017 by Caitlin_D Leave a Comment

“Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.” Wonder is a wonderful story about a boy, August, who was born with severe facial deformities. Numerous surgeries coupled with his parents reservations kept him from being a typical school environment until this year. This year August will attend 5th grade at Beecher Prep. The school principal enlists a few of August’s classmates a few weeks before term starts to show him around. One of those boys, Jack, becomes […]

Harry Potter Goes to Ms Peregrine’s

April 9, 2017 by CoffeeShopReader 2 Comments

I was reminded of a cross between Hogwarts and Miss Peregrine’s schools. After her mother catches her floating in her sleep, Amy is sent to an all-girls boarding school, Drearcliff-Grange, that she discovers is actually intended for girls with special abilities like her, and/or daughters of famous criminals, scientists, and magicians. The school is divided up into houses as in Harry Potter, but unlike Harry Potter, these houses are named for Shakesperean ladies: Viola, Goneril, Desdemona, Tamora, and Ariel (even though Prospero’s spirit is referred […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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