Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Returning to Old Friends and Meeting New Ones

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab

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This felt more like the 4th book in the Shades of Magic trilogy than the start of a new series, which is not a complaint. We are given the opportunity to revisit the lives of Kell, Lila, Rhy, and Alucard. The novel is set 7 years after the first trilogy, and Schwab uses flashbacks to fill readers in on what these characters have been doing, which takes up a large chunk of the book. They have evolved in various ways, and I particularly enjoyed seeing […]

Cats don’t really feature prominently in this narrative (Bingo)

Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart

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Nowhere Book Bingo: From the decade I was born (1970s) Smart Bitches Book Bingo: Published in 2000 or earlier (first published 1976) CBR16 Bingo: Vintage (published 48 years ago) Briony Ashley is working in Portugal when she recieves word that her father has died, in what appears to be a hit-and-run accident. Her father didn’t die instantly, but had time to ramble some strange and slightly mysterious things, among them a warning that Briony needs to be careful. She goes home to what is now […]

For a being as sophisticated as you are, it is baffling how little understanding you have of the composition of your own mind

Network Effect by Martha Wells

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CBR16 BINGO: Tech, because Murderbot is a construct of robotic and human parts (Obviously) As my Bingo board can confirm, I’ve been zipping through the Murderbot Diaries this summer and having a good time getting to know SecUnit and its “friends.” Book #5, Network Effect, is the longest entry in the series so far, the first “full-length” novel in a series previously comprising novellas. In Network Effect, Dr. Mensah, SecUnit’s favorite human, sends it on a research mission with a couple of new characters–Mensah’s teenage […]

“I know now that what’s tragic isn’t the moment. It is the memory.”

Another Brooklyn: A Novel by Jacqueline Woodson

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Cbr16bingo Disco, bingo  (1970s New York, marginalized communities) In the author’s notes at the end of this novel, Woodson writes that her inspiration came from her thoughts on “what it means to grow up a girl in this country,” particularly in 1970s Brooklyn. Those familiar with Woodson’s novels — read Brown Girl Dreaming and Red at the Bone, both excellent — know that she has an incredible talent for writing about the experiences of Black girls in specific points in US history such as the […]

Saucy!

The Duke Who Didn’t: Wedgeford Trials Book 1 by Courtney Milan

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cbr16bingo And Also —for the Part 1 square  For CBR15 I read Courtney Milan’s The Brothers Sinister series (based on recommendations from fellow Cannonballers) and loved it. When I initially asked for advice on where to start with Milan’s work, The Duke Who Didn’t came up frequently. While The Brothers’ Sinister series deals a lot with women’s rights and the suffrage movement, this start to the Wedgeford Trials series has a focus on minorities in England, discrimination, and appropriation. Milan, as ever, is careful and […]

I wish this book had accompanying videos with the various dance routines

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria

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3.5 stars Smart Bitches Summer Bingo: Reality TV CBR16 Bingo: Disco (so much dancing in this book) Gina Morales has been a dancer for four seasons of the popular reality dancing show The Dance Off, but she’s never even made it to the finals. She dreams of stardom but doesn’t like the behind-the-scenes machinations on the show. She may be a beautiful Latina woman, but refuses to be roped into any kind of ‘Showmance’. She wants to be taken seriously as a dancer and choreographer. […]



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