Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Alien Invasion! (Or how I learned how to “wear hat”)

We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang

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The visitors in We Are Definitely Human are odd, but adorable. Okay, maybe not adorable-adorable, but they are really nice and friendly, especially after how the humans, ah…other humans… are so friendly to them when helping them fix their “car.” The act of kindness has never been so humorous!  X. Fang’s story is as clever as it is cute. The idea of just being kind, just because, is not a new story, but one that bears repeating. And of course, if you can add some […]

Say, you’re not around from around here are you?

How to Welcome an Alien by Rebecca Klempner

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This is a picture book that is about welcoming people in the tradition of Jewish hospitality. How to Welcome an Alien is on the surface, just about being kind to your neighbors and visitors; but the deeper meaning is accepting people who are different from you, and helping them in times of need. This can mean not just your new neighbors, but refugees, aliens or even something else. Rebecca Klempner set their book in a way all can relate. It is humorous, but serious as well. […]

Octavia Butler – Adulthood Rites, well this was disappointing

Adulthood Rites by Octavia Butler

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I hate writing negative reviews, especially for authors I love, but this book did not do it for me. Middle parts of a trilogy are difficult, I understand that, but this book just felt repetitive and barely moved the narrative forward. This novel focuses on the first male child born of a human (with genetic input from the Oankali) on earth since humanity was saved from extinction. Lilith, the main character from the first book is the mother but she barely appears as Akin, her […]

Dawn – An intriguing take on human-alien interactions

Dawn by Octavia Butler

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I first read the Xenogenesis saga of Octavia Butler when I was a teenager and it arrived with a ton of other books I ordered from some science fiction book club (I had just gotten a job and was a dumb kid, don’t judge). What I remembered most from the initial read was the use of cancer cells by the alien race, the Oankali, to reshape their own bodies which I thought was a brilliant concept (actually still think it is brilliant). Maybe I did […]

Pass the tacos and hold the screams

Apocalypse Taco by Nathan Hale

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When I first saw the cover of Apocalypse Taco, I was wondered if it was going to be a mystery or a cultural coming of age story. I never expected mutant tacos that replicate cars or a multiple armed and legged person who is besties with a tooth monster. Never having read Nathan Hale, I had no idea what to expect. But then again, I did not expect mutant bee-squid creatures or alien dimensions. But, of course, neither did our main characters, 11-year-old twins Axl […]

Days of Our Trying Not to Get Humanity Blown into Smithereens

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

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By the time I was not even halfway through Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente I thought, “This is one screwed up book.” As one reviewer on Amazon put it, “it is a barrage of fluff” (more later). It is all these strung together words just to put words together. They are not run-on sentences but run-off-the-page-turn-left-at-the-corner-and-keep-going-on sentences. The story, once you get into it, is easy enough to understand: a has been singer (as one of my coworkers put it, “a Meatloaf like performer” […]



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