Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Sixteen Going on Seventeen

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

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This was never going to be an easy sell for me, and at the end of the day this book gets knocked down for similar reasons that 1Q84 was ultimately frustrating (talk about genre agnostic comparisons): too many threads at the end of the novel hastily tied up. Normal comparisons will of course be to Thomas’ debut novel, The Hate U Give. They all fall into this liminal audience space, where I’m not sure if she’s writing “for” me (the non-BPOC audience working out their […]

I finally read it: The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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As everyone knows, this book (deservedly) got a lot of praise when it came out, so I put it on my list, where it sat for a while.  I didn’t pick it up because I don’t usually go for YA.  It’s just not my cup of tea.  Even YA books that I recognize are very good usually leave me feeling a bit dissatisfied at the end, either because the plot/style was too simplistic, or because I feel like the author pulled too many punches.  Anyway, […]

The Hate U Give

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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As always, I’m three years late to the party with this one. Mostly, I loved it. I’m on book #7 for the year, but this is the first I’m reviewing after dropping out early last year when becoming a foster parent ate my life, and I’m still getting in the swing of how to structure reviews so for this one I’m going to just do liked and disliked lists. Liked: I’m a sucker for a book with a large cast of characters who all feel […]

Their Own Voices

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

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If anyone needs a book for the Own Voices Bingo square next year, these would all make excellent choices! (4 stars) Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha I was certain I’d added this to my TBR after reading a Cannonball review on it, but I can’t find one so maybe not. Maybe it came from Goodreads best of list for 2019? Regardless, it’s a relatively new book but I’m betting we’ll start seeing it everywhere. Your House Will Pay starts out in L.A. in the […]

CBRBingo – Banned Books. THUG Life = Real life

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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The fact this is a banned book makes me annoyed. Banning it for language, for violence because you don’t think youth should be exposed to that? Okaaaay. I mean, the world is violent but I am aware and intentional of what media and entertainment I let my kid consume, so fine. But banning it for BEING ANTI-COP??? THAT IS MISSING THE ENTIRE POINT OF THOMAS’ BOOK, and SIDING WITH RACISM. So, when I saw the Banned Book square in CBR Bingo, I knew just what […]

Absolute perfection

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

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CBR11 Bingo: Own Voices. This is the best book I’ve read all year. And considering that it’s been read by 28 other Cannonballers, that shouldn’t be too surprising. Starr Carter goes to a largely white private school, but lives in the poor, largely black, community of Garden Heights. While at a friend’s party, she runs into childhood friend (and first boyfriend), Khalil. He’s selling drugs now, a fact which disappoints and confuses her because of how drugs have ravaged his mother. The party is broken […]



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