Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Jewish, Immigrant(s, they get the job done) (Bingo: Own Voices)

The Fever King by Victoria Lee

by Leave a Comment

The US has been ravaged by war and disease (and war over disease) and Noam Álvaro is sixteen and the child of Atlantean (Georgia, that is, not Atlantis) illegal immigrants to Carolina who is involved in the Atlantean Rights movement — until he, too, falls sick with the Fever. Unlike most of the population, however, Noam survives — and wakes up a technomancer, with the ability to talk to computer systems and all manner of technology. And then things get worse.

Fairies, A Forest, and A Knight

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

by Leave a Comment

Well there was just too much happening in this standalone. I loved the idea of a world where fairies stand alongside humans and magic is real. It was also interesting to hear how our history and music stayed the same so you get some funny pop-culture comments here and there. That said, Hazel and Ben were exhausting. Both of them obsessed with being in love and I just wanted to say good grief none of this is going to matter when you are older. I […]

Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest, Put Our Service to the Test…

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

by 7 Comments

So I really enjoyed “The Little Stranger” and wanted to read more Sarah Waters books. I picked up “The Paying Guests” and found it hard to get into initially. Just like I did with “The Little Stranger.” However, Waters takes her time building up the story and you eventually get into the rhythm of the book. I really liked the main character, Frances Wray, and the setting of the story (1920s England) really works. Frances Wray and her mother end up having to take in […]

Bad blood carries. Bad blood comes out.

by Leave a Comment

CBR10Bingo: The Book Was Better? This was another square I struggled to fill, until a flash of inspiration hit me. I remembered that I had bought Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden on a whim several months ago but never actually watched it, giving me the perfect excuse to buy and read Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and then finally watch the film. Done and done.  Sue was born in a cramped house of thieves and orphaned when her mother was hanged for murder. Mrs. Sucksby has raised […]

40: Ugh. I do not like the “cool, caustic sarcastic girl” trope.

by Leave a Comment

I wasn’t sure I wanted to read Leah on the Offbeat, the Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda sequel. I wasn’t in love with the first book (after really loving the film), so I didn’t know how a different book would change my perception of the world Becky Albertalli created. I really liked the world and the friend group she created, and I was curious about how a Leah-centered novel would work. I did find the representation of Leah in the book to be a […]

38: Another case of “I liked the movie better.”

by Leave a Comment

I don’t see a lot of movies in the theater, partly because our area is kind of expensive, partly because I want to spend quality time with people talking and connecting and not just sitting in front of a screen, partly because I’m picky about what I plunk money down on, and partly because I can’t sit with my pajamas and snacks and play games on my tablet in a movie theater. Our local library book club had planned an outing to see Ready Player […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo