Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“You won’t necessarily win against fate, but you should at least put up a fight.”

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

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On a flight from Hobart to Sydney, a strange woman goes up the aisle delivers unnerving predictions to the passengers about when and how they will die. At first the passengers dismiss it as some kind of stunt, try to put it out of their minds – until the first deaths begin. When I reveal that I enjoy reading tarot cards, people inevitably ask if I actually think I can predict the future with them. Actually I am not really sure if one can, but […]

Family History and Mysteries

Tangleroot by Kalela Williams

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Gosh, where to start with this book. Tangleroot opens with Noni being forced to give an opening speech to introduce her mother, Radiance, as the new president of Stonepost college, but the speech has been edited because Radiance is pushing to have the college renamed after their ancestor, Cuffee Fortune, who built and opened the college. Noni isn’t able to finish the speech and accidentally hot mics her mom when she reiterates that she didn’t want to the speech. Radiance is a force, and she’s […]

“A queen offers her hand to be kissed; can form it into a fist while smiling the whole damn time.”

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

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One of the unexpected benefits of parenting my stepson is the introduction to books I wouldn’t know anything about. He’s a reluctant (but consistent) reader and I adore reading along with what he has for school, especially know that he’s at a high school level. Do we talk about the books? Absolutely not. But maybe someday he’ll take me up on the offer. (Fingers crossed). This was the summer reading book for sophomore honor’s English and neither of us started eagerly. I don’t read a […]

A Great Series Starter

Hell & High Water by Charlie Cochet

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Charlie Cochet is currently running a kickstart to fund special 10th anniversary editions of her THIRDS series, and in my excitement and anticipation I’ve decided to do a whole series re-read. Hell & High Water is the first book and introduces Dexter J. Daley as a detective working for the Human Police Force (HPF) who recently turned his partner in after he shot an unarmed Therian in the back. There is a lot of social conflict between Humans and Therians, and this translates to prejudice […]

“Who cared about sex, really? When what you needed was someone to talk to in the dark.” CBR BINGO – Smash (Cannonball!)

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

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“There is a desperation to a novel that is unsettling. The world so painstakingly re-created in miniature; this tiny diorama made of words. Why go to all this trouble, to create me, to seduce you, to enumerate so many different breakfast cereals? To make the cunning tiny apartment, the itsy-bitsy Jinx? It’s like going to meet your new boyfriend’s family for the first time and discovering they are all paid actors. It’s almost easier to believe I’m real than to understand what’s actually going on. […]

“There’s a whole universe in her and I would be so lucky to live in it, explore it. Over and over.”

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

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The voice in this was fantastic. Also terrific? The plotting, the emotional arcs of these characters, the way she develops the main characters’ relationship with scene after scene of conversation. Not to mention the great side characters, the effortless queer rep, the handling of black culture on an overwhelmingly white liberal arts college in England, the radio element, and the female friendships. Honey & Spice follows Kiki Banjo (amazing name), a sophomore at a university in England and host of her own radio show, Brown Sugar. […]



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