Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Any mom who misses a chance to dress her kid up like a hotdog sounds like a psychopath to me.

Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid

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He’s looking to validate himself through someone else. She hasn’t caught on because she doesn’t know who she is. ― Kiley Reid, Such a Fun Age CBR17 Bingo: TBR For the past week, I’ve tried to think of an appropriate metaphor for what this reading experience was like for me. In terms of amusement park metaphors, it was like a rollercoaster with the slow climb to the top, each click of the chain ramping up the tension until you’re yanked up and over, all of […]

“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”

I Would be Doing this Anyway by Jia Tolentino

Rewards by Emma Cline

Crewelwork by Justin Torres

The Tomorrow Box by Curtis Sittenfeld

If You Are Lonely and You Know It by Yiyun Li

The Summer House by Cristina Henriquez

Me and Carlos by Tom Perrotta

Simplexity by Kiley Reid

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Ahh, Lester Bangs. Or at least, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs via Cameron Crowe in Almost Famous. Did I just grab this quote because it features the word “currency”? Well…yes and no. Currency, my latest dive into Amazon Original Stories (but not the latest collection released) describes itself as being about “friends, trends, and dividends”. The link between these eight stories is the currency between people; social, professional, and personal transactions made when money is too much to offer or not enough to cover. The players […]

Financial Instability Really Puts a Damper on Fun

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

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This book literally looks like a number of other books–namely Little Fires Everywhere, which has a similar-ish vibe. I don’t know why I didn’t pick it up before, but it might actually be because of Little Fires Everywhere, which completely and utterly lost me at the end (Spoiler:[when we learn that Mia stole someone else’s child and ran away.]) Instead, I read this on the recommendation of a friend who mentioned that Reid used to be a receptionist at his company, a job she took (presumably) after […]

I couldn’t put it down

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

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This book was a wonderful surprise. I don’t know why I thought this was going to be a YA novel before I picked it up. It might have to do with the fact that the main character is a babysitter but if anyone is under the same misconception as me, be aware this is not YA. It is actually one of the most interesting fiction books I’ve ever read which discuss the different ways racism manifests in people who consider themselves allies. Such a Fun […]

Such a Fun Age

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

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I really enjoyed this book!  It is a page-turner, the characters are well-developed, and the conflict feels real and contemporary.  I also really like the title. Here’s the Goodreads summary: “In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix’s efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly […]

Are we having fun yet

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

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Discomfort should be examined, and I find books where well-meaning people go too far in “helping” incredibly uncomfortable, I’m sure due to my anxiety and desire to help wherever possible. I would sincerely hope that I’m not Alix, the white woman employing our protagonist Emira as a nanny to her child, and would never presume that I know better than another adult what is best for her, or Kelley, the boyfriend who does the same from another angle. But this book was uncomfortable to read […]



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