Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

She has a secret

Ellie Has a Secret by Amelia Bothe

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While I enjoyed Amelia Bothe’s Ellie Has a Secret, (due mid-August 2025) for the story, I mostly enjoyed the illustrations. The story itself is not new (which is about a child having a secret that makes the “tummy wobbles” happen), but the illustrations really grabbed my attention. They are not overly colorful, but do not lack in that area either. They are detailed, but not overly so. Sometimes they can be a bit busy, but it does not distract or take away from the experience. […]

“When history fails to shed light on the truth, myth creates its own.”

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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No woman should be made to fear that she was not enough. This book is described as “Saint George and the Dragon but make it lesbian”;  I can somewhat see that. It does have basically the myth of Saint George and the Dragon at the heart of it; the Kingdom of Inys, one of the two main locales for the action, is basically founded on a variation of it, and it does certainly have lesbians in it. The basic story is that in the Kingdom […]

Houyhnhnms and Dragons

Moonbound by Robin Sloan

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I’ve had Moonbound on my TBR shelf physically for a while. It’s also been long enough that I don’t remember hardly anything about Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (first big hit, by this author). I remember that I really enjoyed both Mr. Penumbra and the follow-up, but not direct sequel, Sourdough. I vaguely remember both of the earlier books as vaguely magical realism, and overall entertaining but Moonbound seems to be something a little different. The power of story and narrative is major theme, and it […]

Honey I Shrunk the Sleepover and found a magical artifact

Forsynthia V02: The Shrink Ray Sleepover by Rachel DiNunzio

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A while back, I found Forsynthia V01: Rise of the Cupcakes  by Rachel DiNunzio in an online reader copy. I was blown away. I thought it was one of the most fun, cute, silly, adorable, graphic novels I had seen. It was “spooky” as we had to fight attacking cupcakes, but it was sweet (not just because of the cupcakes) but because it was funny, clever and the family dynamic was perfect. The sisters get along. The parents are modern and caring (if maybe a […]

Behaving like a princess is work. It’s not just about looking beautiful or wearing a crown. It’s more about how you are inside

The Paper Bag Princess by Story by Robert Munsch, Art by Michael Martchenko

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I absolutely loved this book growing up, and I make sure to look at it again at least once a year. The art alone would have me coming back, never mind the ending. The book starts out with the title Princess Elizabeth and her Prince Ronald, dressed in their best gown and hybrid tennis/medieval ensemble respectively. Which is when the dragon bursts onto the scene, kidnapping the prince and burning everything the princess has, including the clothing on her back. (I do have to give […]

A very sweet adventure story, gorgeously packaged

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

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4.5 stars Buzzword Cover Challenge 25: Celestial (there is a big moon and several stars on the cover) What if in The Princess Bride, Buttercup didn’t sit at home and mourn for Westley when he was captured by pirates, but instead went off to try to rescue him? Of course, that would mean Buttercup had any agency at all in either the novel or the film, and she really doesn’t. But if Buttercup was a young woman named Tress, from a barren and fairly desolate […]



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