Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Cheese don’t stink

Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar (Book 1): Attack of the Snack by Kevin Alvir

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Lisa Cheese and Ghost Guitar (Book 1): Attack of the Snack by Kevin Alvir is a lot of things. I was about half way through when I realized it probably was mostly a commentary on capitalism, mom & pop stores vs. the big man and the greed of “bigger and better” and addiction to that (via fast food joints).  It is a story of love and friendship and demon possession. If a humanoid-unicorn had a superhero origin story this would be it. There was more […]

Not so picture-perfect

Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid by Ngozi Ukazu

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I looked at the cover and said to myself that I knew exactly what this book was about. Well, I wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t right.  I guess I was on a superhero kick at the time as I felt it would have more of that element. I also thought she would have to struggle to paint/do art. And instead, she isn’t a “real magical power superhero” but our gal does perform a pretty neat trick: Getting Art Students to do the dreaded Group Project […]

When there is trouble, call for these cousins

Blue Stars Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem by Kekla Magoon, Cynthia Leitich Smith

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Blue Stars Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem is about two cousins, Riley and Maya, who are radically different, but must stop the evil Vice Principal Balderdash (whose name rhymes with Baldera$$ and matches his personality) from taking away all the fun and only have Detention! Of course, the cousins have a rocky start, but with gadgets and a distraction that would make James Bond jealous, they will best their archnemesis! The two girls are different not just because of personalities (Riley is bubbly, artistic, […]

Family History and Mysteries

Tangleroot by Kalela Williams

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Gosh, where to start with this book. Tangleroot opens with Noni being forced to give an opening speech to introduce her mother, Radiance, as the new president of Stonepost college, but the speech has been edited because Radiance is pushing to have the college renamed after their ancestor, Cuffee Fortune, who built and opened the college. Noni isn’t able to finish the speech and accidentally hot mics her mom when she reiterates that she didn’t want to the speech. Radiance is a force, and she’s […]

Magical Teens on a Quest

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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Although it follows the beats of typical quest novel, I really enjoyed reading Children of Blood and Bone. The story is set in the country of Orïsha and told from the POVs of 3 characters, but the one who gets the most attention is Zélie. Her maji mother was killed when Zélie was a child after King Saran decided to eliminate magic from the land. Saran now oppresses people known as divîners, meaning they would have eventually become maji if he hadn’t ended magic. One […]

The Song that Never Ends

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel by Suzanne Collins

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I read the original Hunger Games trilogy around the time the movies were coming out, because sometimes I like to keep an eye on what’s popular. I remember enjoying the first book, then enjoying the second book less, and then not enjoying the third book at all. The third book was tedious, repetitive and dull, in my opinion. Unfortunately, that downward trend has only continued into Suzanne Collins’s prequel novel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Set decades before the events of the original trilogy, […]



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