Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The Companion

The Companion by Katie Alender

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The Companion is the conclusion of my October Spoopy Reads. It starts with a car accident that kills Margot’s parents and sisters. While she was fighting for her life in the hospital, all of her parents’ assets were sold and he possessions were donated. Margot is sent to an orphanage to while away her time until she turns 18, but her fortune changes when a friend of her father’s sends for her. Her father once saved his life, and the Suttons plan to return for […]

There’s Someone Inside Your House

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

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I continued my October Spoopy Reads with There’s Someone Inside Your House. What I will say about these horror books is that I really wish there were more of a supernatural element to them, because it’s just normal people murdering and it’s kind of a bummer. Serial killers really ruin my vibe. It seems so innocent, an object in a place you didn’t expect, an open door that you swore was closed, some mysterious footprints…but it could mean a killer is in the house. In […]

Clown in a Cornfield…who will he kill?

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

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Kettle Springs, Minnesota seems like your average Midwest town. It’s very rural, surrounded by a lot of corn fields and farms. The town is small and dying after the local corn syrup factory, Baypen, closed its doors. A lot of residents blame the problems on one thing: teenagers. These kids these days are always filming crazy pranks on their phones, disrespecting elders and traditions, commiting arson (Okay, that one actually is bad). Certain members of the community have had enough, but they came up with […]

Not my “best of” but YMMV.

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Memorial by Bryan Washington

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In which it becomes clear to me that a “best of” list means next to nothing. I’m trying (and doubt I will make it) to catch up with my long backlog list from 2020 and to actually reach my goal of 52 reviews. Putting together mini-groups to review together has made this somewhat easier, and yes, I know that some of my groupings are probably random. Here we have two books that I thought were fine. I probably wouldn’t recommend them to friends, but if […]

Some light can only be seen in the dark

Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o and Vashti Harrison

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Sulwe is the colour of midnight. Her mama is the colour of dawn, her father the colour of dusk and her little sister is the colour of high noon. Sulwe has darker skin than anyone in her family and pretty much everyone at school. While her little sister is given positive nicknames like ‘ray’ and ‘sunshine’, Sulwe is called ‘darkie’ and ‘night’. This is obviously deeply hurtful to the little girl, who remains withdrawn and friendless. Sulwe tries a number of things to lighten her […]

A first impression can often be misleading

Her Pretend Christmas Date by Jackie Lau

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Disclaimer! I was given an ARC of this book by the author. That has in no way influenced my review. Julie Tam’s sister Charlotte is an engineer and has an outgoing and charming boyfriend, the guy who lived next door when they were young. She is everything their parents could want. Meanwhile, Julie works as a waitress in a Cider Bar and designs her own jewelry. She goes on a blind date with Tom Yeung, which starts out badly and ends even worse. Tom is a […]



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