Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Not all heroes wear capes, but some do!

Cape by Kate Hannigan

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I picked this up mainly for the cover.  It is bright and makes me think the story inside is going to be exciting.  And it is! Our story follows Josie O’Malley, an Irish-American (I think she’s an immigrant, but she might be first-generation.)  She spends her time working at a diner to help out with the household expenses, which is a big help since her father is fighting in WWII.  She is also trying to control her temper while trying to fight the injustices she […]

One of my top recommendations right now!

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

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This is a Cinderella retelling focusing on one of the ugly stepsisters.  There is magic in this story, but also a lot of realism. We start with Isabelle, the younger of the stepsisters, getting ready to reluctantly cut off her toes to fit into the glass slipper.  Her older sister, Octavia, has already cut off her heel and was caught out, so now it’s Isabelle’s turn to try to secure their future. As expected, it doesn’t turn out well. The tale of Cinderella has a […]

A Joy to listen to!

Jukebox Joyride by Jacob Stein, Jason Rabinowitz

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This was an Audible Originals pick for I think June, and I’m glad I picked it up. George and Jules are 11-year-old twins, and they love music.  George plays the guitar and Jules plays the drums, and they’re pretty good musicians.  They’re also pretty good kids, as evidenced by their interactions with their absent-minded mom.  Their love of music comes from their Uncle Bob, who is a top-notch ethnomusicologist. But Uncle Bob has disappeared.  Not just, left for work one day and was never heard […]

Familiar and Strange

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Messenger by Lois Lowry

Son by Lois Lowry

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I was 11 when The Giver was published, and I remember my 7th grade English teacher, the next year, reading it aloud to my class. It was my first exposure to dystopian fiction and I ate it up. Everyone in my class had their own copy so we could follow along, and within a few years my copy was completely dog-eared and tattered, as I read and reread. At some point, having moved on to more sophisticated dystopias as I got older, it ended up […]

In which I get my husband to co-review this bit of fluff with me

Rumpole and the Reign of Terror by John Mortimer

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CBR11bingo: Two heads are better than one Allow me to introduce my husband, Peter! He is an avid reader but isn’t part of this community (yet). I’m working on him. A little background about the book: You may have heard of a British TV show called Rumpole of the Bailey, about a barrister named Horace Rumpole who defends various clients (the Old Bailey being the main criminal court in London). The creator is one John Mortimer, also a British barrister. I had never seen the […]

A lovely middle grade fantasy inspired by Chinese folklore

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

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#CBR11 Bingo: Far and Away (book set in fantasy version of historical China) Official book description: In the valley of Fruitless mountain, a young girl named Minli lives in a ramshackle hut with her parents. In the evenings, her father regales her with old folktales of the Jade Dragon and the Old Man on the Moon, who knows the answers to all of life’s questions. Inspired by these stories, Minli sets off on an extraordinary journey to find the Old Man on the Moon to ask […]



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