Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

My love/hate relationship with surprises and how it lead me to finding a book to recommend

Dear Duck, Please Come! by Sarah MacKenzie

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I have a “Love/Hate” relationship with surprises. Especially if I expected to read something and something else pops up entirely!  I was going to read Because Barbara: Barbara Cooney Paints Her World  by Sarah Mackenzie and illustrated by Eileen Ryan Ewen, but when I clicked on the button to do so, Dear Duck, Please Come! by Sarah MacKenzie and illustrated by Charles  Santoso came up instead. So, me being me, I took it as a sign to read it. And actually, I’m glad I did. […]

“Actually though, uh…. I do need to use the bathroom after all.” 

Orchard of the Tame by Marlo Meekins

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The title of my review of Orchard of the Tame by Marlo Meekins and Nick Cross is that line from the book because it is funny and a counter to the rest of the book. There are several good one-liners here and there, but overall, the story is dark. Even sometimes physically, as the illustrations are all black with just some white spots. Or this could be because it was an online reader copy (by the time I publish this review, it should be available). […]

Dogs slobber! They smell! They POOP! And they bark!

Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner

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Dog Trouble by Kristin Varner came up in my older online reader copies. I was at first not thinking I would read as I am a cat, not dog person, and the cover made me think I knew what was going to happen (a lot of chasing rowdy dogs that really aren’t cute but annoying and a kid who doesn’t “get” the seriousness of things). But it was more than that. At first things felt like “all the other books” about separated and/or divorced families […]

She ain’t no Nancy Drew

Casey's Cases: The Mysterious New Girl by Kay Healy

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Casey’s Cases: The Mysterious New Girl by Kay Healy was read via an online reader’s copy, but I will not be reading it or getting copies of it in as a finished copy, as it just did not “click” for me. First, Casey is around 11-years-old. And while I know that is still a young age, she acts much younger than that. In fact, I would not be surprised if it was revealed that she was also neurodivergent as what she does “get” is literal […]

Don’t Bring Helen! (Or Please Do)

The Expectant Detectives by Kat Ailes

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CBR16 Bingo: Games – Alice and her friends take up the murder investigation as diversion more than anything else while waiting to give birth, though things aren’t all fun and games for very long. Alice and her partner Joe move to the countryside hoping to raise their soon-to-be born son in a peaceful environment, but that peace is shattered when a local store owner is found murdered during the course of an eventful antenatal class. I’ve read plenty of flavors of cozy mystery, but a […]

Where is the win for Winifred?

The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

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The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle has been on my TBR for ages. And while I am giving the book a four (due to averaging out all the pieces), I was not loving it as much as I hoped. You see, I built it up a bit too much and therefore, of course it couldn’t live up to my expectations. Still, if I had come at it fresh or as a teen (at least a strong 10 and up, but more likely 12/13 and […]



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