Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“you can play as a dog, a boot, or a trebuchet”

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

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Man, I really wish Monopoly (oh wait- World Domination) had a trebuchet. I’m usually the shoe, but I would LOVE to be a trebuchet. It has been perpetually gray here in New Hampshire for the last…oh jeez, three weeks? I needed something familiar to hunker down with while waiting for the sun to return, and while shuffling around my house I remembered LittlePlat‘s recent Nimona review. A great review about a great book? Just the spark I needed! Thank you, LittlePlat, and thank you to […]

An assassin is the murder solver; he didn’t do this one

The Perfect Assassin by K. A. Doore

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So imagine that you’re a scholarly sort whose day job is being a historian, but you’ve also just passed your final test to join a professional family for assassins; you’ve done this both to learn but also for the sense of belonging. You’re actually kind of ok with the fact that your society has banned assassination contracts. Except that suddenly people are being murdered, your family will take the fall, unless you solve the murder. You’re probably going to have to kill someone along the […]

Mexican Gods in Wonderland

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Maybe she was not a hero with a shield and a divine provenance, but it’s the symbolism that matters. Casiopea Tun and her mother work as servants in her grandfather’s house in a small town in the Yucatan Peninsula after Casiopea’s father died. 18-year-old Casiopea dreams of escape and is captivated by the wonders of the world outside of her small town. But in 1927 her avenues to freedom are limited and so Casiopea and her mother serve her wealthier family members with the hope […]

What’s Your Flavor of Ice Cream?

Bones of the Past by Drew Hayes

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Villain’s Code 1 may have been the first thing by Drew Hayes that I read. Now that it was finally time for a sequel, I was kind of excited to see that world again. Villain’s Code 2 is titled Bones of the Past and that’s pretty much an accurate description on a couple of levels. First, the main focus of book 1, Tori, who is now a new villain starting to find her place in the world, is not as much the focus; but she’s […]

Earth Girl Reads About Earth Boy

Earth Boy by Paul Tobin

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While I would have liked a little more action in this graphic novel with the name, Earth Boy, this was a fun book that has an overall story that is packed with just enough to keep me reading. In fact, I just might reread it at some point and that is something I rarely do. Now, granted, there are several plot point or story arc holes, but that did not take away from the fact it was just (as said above) a fun story. Paul […]

I see your “Snake Jazz” and Raise You LIZARD MUSIC!

Lizard Music by Daniel Pinkwater

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I found a new favorite author back in April of this year when I FINALLY read Kelly Link’s Magic For Beginners. The titular novella (within a collection of stories) immediately reminded me of, to plagiarize myself, “two of my all-time ‘is this really happening’ favorites: Daniel Pinkwater’s Lizard Music and Nickelodeon’s Pete and Pete.” While I have not watched any Pete and Pete recently (although I really should), I did impulse buy a fun new paperback edition of Lizard Music back in October. Instead of giving in to my […]



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