Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Women were built to endure the rules men make.”

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

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I would think it a real challenge to make a story about women suffering under abusive husbands and the difficulties of living in the caste system in India incredibly funny, but this book managed to do that. The humor is dark, but the characters (mostly women) are authentic, interesting and very relatable as they try to navigate the world of men while finding ways to advocate for themselves in a world that doesn’t want them to do much at all. Geeta’s awful husband disappeared 5 […]

Pierce absolutely sticks the landing

Shatterglass by Tamora Pierce

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So concludes The Circle Opens Series, and a what a way to finish the series! Tris Chandler and her teacher Niko Goldeye are travelling just like the rest of the young yet extraordinarily powerful mages from Winding Circle. They make their way to the South to a Tharios. Tharios is a Greek/Mediterranean inspired town with a horrible and dehumanizing caste system added on. In Tharios, Niko attends a conference on vision magic, and Tris stumbles upon an immigrant glass blower, Keth, who isn’t in control […]

My enemies are too great. Too many. And I too weak.

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When I hit the top of the wait-list and was notified by the library that this book was finally available, I was so excited that I actually took a screengrab and texted it to a friend. And it doesn’t disappoint. I will admit that I was vaguely disappointed, but really only because this series has only ever broken new ground in my brain the once, and that was with the first book. A little disappointing, but totally understandable. And come on, if it had changed […]

Trigger Warning: Life can be tragic

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Last month, the New York Times, and subsequently other major news outlets, covered the controversy over trigger warnings in academia, i.e., a growing movement on US college campuses to have professors provide warnings in advance of potentially disturbing topics covered in their syllabi (rape, racism, suicide, etc.). When I saw some of the books listed as requiring trigger warnings (Huck Finn, The Great Gatsby, Things Fall Apart), I was deeply disturbed and I generally agree with those who have spoken out against warnings. And does […]



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