based on true events – Cannonball Read 17

Bright Young Women

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

November 24, 2023 by donttrustthe_bea Leave a Comment

I was hesitant to pick up the new novel from Jessica Knoll as I really didn’t care for Luckiest Girl Alive, one of her previous published works which was turned into a Netflix film starring Mila Kunis. But I was pleasantly surpised by Bright Young Women, as it was a refreshing take on the oft cliched true crime drama narrative. Rather than focusing on the perpetrator, Knoll brings attention and humanity to the victims, their friends and their families. The book follows two women across two different […]

Nothings Need to Be Heard

Real by Carol Cujec & Peyton Goddard

July 13, 2021 by Ale Leave a Comment

It’s not often these days that I read a book and sit with it afterwards wishing there was a way to force every person on the planet to read it, but Real is that book for me. We follow Charity Woods, a non-verbal teenager with Autism who struggles to get people to believe that she is intelligent and can hack it in a mainstream classroom. From the very first paragraph of the book, “My name is Charity. I am thirteen years old. Actually, thirteen years […]

Some places, you never leave the same

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

September 28, 2020 by teresaelectro Leave a Comment

Kicking off my CBR12 Bingo with The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead for the RED book cover square. A beautifully written novel about a segregated Florida reform school during the Jim Crow era. All the boys never left The Nickel Academy the same as when they arrived. The novel flashes between the present and the past through Elwood’s eyes. Each chapter gives you a lyrical moment in time. We learn about the place in pieces, flashing forward to Elwood as an adult. As soon as […]

Better late than never? Maybe not…

December 10, 2017 by crystalclear Leave a Comment

7th Grade Revolution is ‘based on true events.’ The book drops us in the story after the 7th grade has revolted, and the students learn of their success. But I’m left with questions. How did they revolt? Why? And why was it successful? Was it some sort of plan by the staff as a learning exercise? And why did it make national news? (This is about the extent of the ‘true events.’) As I read, there were some questions that did get get answered. I […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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