Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Describe in two words: FREAKING WOW

Chance: Escape from the Holocaust by Uri Shulevitz

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The book: Chance: Escape from the Holocaust by Uri Shulevitz One word: WOW. Okay two words. FREAKING WOW I cannot tell you how fantastic this book is. Just read. It is not easy, it is sad, heartbreaking, scary, beautiful, hopeful and more. It covers all the emotions. It shows you a piece of World War II that we don’t know about. Again, WOW and go read. For mature readers at least 12-13 and up, but I would recommend older. But if you read with them, […]

This Week, In Irish Trauma Porn…

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

The Gathering by Anne Enright

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To be fair, only half of this is Catholic trauma porn. One may wonder why Ireland, of all places, has spawned such a fabled literary heritage. Personally I think it’s their sly sense of humour, finely tuned after years of British occupation. Perhaps it’s the potatoes. Both of these books abundantly feature potatoes.  Small Things Like These (Claire Keegan) *** Bill Furlong is a coal merchant in a small town in Ireland in 1986. It’s nearly Christmas; the busiest time of the year for him. […]

Magic and Anxiety

Secret Passages 1985-1986 by Axelle Lenoir

The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor

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Secret Passages 1985-1986 by Axelle Lenoir – 3 stars In an effort to untangle her complicated feelings about the loss of her cosmic twin, author Axelle decides to unspool her life in an off-kilter autobiographical comic. This is a surreal and funny graphic novel which depicts a year in young Axelle’s life as she starts going to school, forms a strange connection with the forest by her home, and begins to suffer in the grip of acute anxiety. The art is both atmospheric and humorous, […]

“Clean hearts and clean minds, cleanliness at all times! Nothing dirty, nothing bad, always happy, never sad!”

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

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Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the mysterious children’s program Mister Magic, the five remaining cast members are brought back together in a strange house in the desert, where they begin to realize their childhood is not exactly how they remembered it to be. Sometimes it’s fun to write one star reviews, because the story is not at all what was said on the tin and then I’m annoyed to have spent time with it. Other times, it’s tough to write […]

Don’t Let Your Midlife Crisis Ruin Your Children’s Lives

Wavewalker by Suzanne Heywood

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When Suzanne’s parents tell her that their family is going to live on a boat and sail around the world, they sell it to her and everyone as the adventure of a lifetime. But the reality of it is much more grim, with constant instability and little care for the children’s education or futures. Talk about making your midlife crisis your children’s problem! Having seen an uptick of chatter online about parents gaming the homeschooling system to let their kids run wild, it was interesting […]

“Me! But nobody likes me best!”

A Vicarage Family by Noel Streatfeid

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CBR14Bingo: Holiday (lots of holidays in this book) Another clearly beloved British children’s classic that I missed as a kid. A Vicarage Family is about (shockingly) a vicar’s family. More specifically it follows Vicky, the stand-in for Streatfeild, as she grows up during the Edwardian era. Isobel is artistic, Louise is pretty, Dick is the baby, and their cousin John is smart, but Vicky is always getting in trouble and doesn’t excel at anything. Her own strong sense of being wronged lead to her constantly […]



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