Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“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 […]

Three Books I Read in March

To Name the Bigger Lie by Sarah Viren

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

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Oh, is it already May? I have … too many books that I didn’t review in March and April, but I’m going to try sharing a few at a time. The school year is almost done, and among book people I think it’s fairly common that many of us still live our lives by both the calendar AND the school year. Here we have: a fascinating literary memoir, a decent family saga, and one of those strange gems that make reading widely so enjoyable. To […]

More books I read this summer and am only reviewing now to make it to 104

Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey

Codename Charming by Lucy Parker

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Sleep No More by Seanan McGuire

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Cassiel’s Servant – Jacqueline Carey Rating: 3.5 stars Kushiel’s Dart is one of my favourite fantasy books, and books in general, of all time. It stands up, I re-read it this summer in preparation for the release of this. Has Jacqueline Carey done exactly the same thing as Stephenie Meyer and E.L James did, and retold her already existing novel from the POV of another central character? Yes, she has. Was I pretty sure that this was going to be a lot more worthwhile and […]

Catching Up On Some Reviews

Still Life by Louise Penny

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

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Still Life by Louise Penny Back when I was hoping to complete a Cannonball Bingo, Still Life was my choice for the North America square. The first novel in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache mystery series, it’s set in the little town of Three Pines in Canada and follows the search for the murderer of 76-year-old Jane Neal. I don’t often read mysteries, so I was surprised at how Penny approached the mystery. We spend a lot of time with other characters in the town […]

“Sometimes it seems like writing is the only way I keep from hurting.”

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

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CBR14 Bingo: Verse (the whole book is written as poems) Xiomara and her brother Xavier (who Xiomara mostly refers to as Twin) are miracle babies, born late in life to their parents, who never believed they would have children. Growing up in Harlem, New York, they’re nevertheless part of the Dominican culture of their immigrant parents. Their mother is deeply religious and was possibly going to be a nun before she met their dad, whose wandering eye meant he got around plenty before marrying. While […]

Ranging from Excellent to Mediocre

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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None of these books fit into my reviewing theme this year (revisiting series I’d never finished), but I wanted to review Clap When You Land anyway because it is excellent, and I decided to throw the other three in as a bonus. Clap When You Land: 5 stars. Plot: Camino lives in the Dominican Republic with her Tia and sees her father every summer, when he comes back from New York City to visit. When his plan tragically crashes and everyone aboard dies, she discovers […]



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