Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Nobody asked Cinderella if she felt lucky

The Lucky Poor by Mazie Lovie

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The Lucky Poor by Mazie Lovie was read via an online reader copy, even though it has been out since mid-March. It is an introduction to several years of the author’s life with moving a few times, living with her grandparents and finally in a house made especially for them, as we see what it really means to be part of the oxymoron term, “the lucky poor.” We watch as Lovie goes from a five-year-old kid to a young woman going off to college. We […]

“What I say is that I am innocent… I am suffering because I am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I was an Italian, and indeed I am an Italian…”

Doomed: Sacco, Vanzetti, & the End of the American Dream by John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro

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The Read Harder Challenge strikes again. Task 15 for this year was to read a YA non-fiction work, and that is an area of my to read list that is stunningly small. I thought I had a book picked out, but it turned out to not be YA (but, The Art and Life of HIlma af Klint was still an enjoyable read).  I went back to the Arlington, VA Public library list of books you might have missed in 2023 to produce some additional ideas […]

Fantastic witchy YA!

How to Succeed in Witchcraft by Aislinn Brophy

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I got an arc of Aislinn Brophy’s upcoming <u>Spells to Forget Us</u> so being me, I decided to read her debut first, and this was phenomenal. Shay is in her junior year and burning the candle at both ends in the hopes of wining the Brockton scholarship, a scholarship for her school that would pay for college tuition and basically ensures she’d be able to go to a licensing college. There is so much good commentary on access and privilege and the American dream through […]

Remember, It’s YOUR prom; make it one to remember always!

Carrie by Stephen King

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

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I thought my prom was “bad” in that it all felt overhyped, my feet hurt the whole evening, I swear my hair ended up hurting from all the pins I had stuck in it, and I got into a fight with my friends at Safe Grad and ended up walking home from the high school carrying my prom dress in a backpack (I was supposed to get a ride home with said friends).  However, it didn’t end in flames or death so you know what?  […]

The WOW factor 2

In My Dreams by Effie Lada

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The only real thing that makes In My Dreams a rating of 4.6 and not a true 5 is the physical size of the actual book. It is a bit too large for my personal comfort. However, the illustrations makeup for that. They are amazing! The colors punch you in the nose! They are minimal so their impact is beyond strong. The story itself is poetic (not poetry in the “stereotypical thought”) and a bit weighty. Take your time and read multiple times. Effie Lada […]

The WOW factor

The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley

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OMG! Times Ten!  That is how I felt after I read The Crane Girl by Curtis Manley and illustrated by Lin Wang. Though available, I read via an online reader copy and I plan on finding a finished copy as you need to hold this book, I think, to get the entire picture. The story is dense and deep. We find Manley adapted the Crane Girl/Wife story to fit their needed goals. Still, it feels as if this was a true interpretation of the legend. […]



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