Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“For the falling star and the rising ape to meet, the former must first be debased. No myth can remain terrifying when you’ve seen it broken and beaten, rendered as toothless as an old crone.”

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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He was afraid one way or another of the voice that beats in your lungs. Your hurricane scream. You frightened him, how men fear things that can’t be quieted. I’m sorry this was just a novella, because I want more; this book was written like it’s just waiting for a Guillermo del Toro adaptation. (I will admit this opinion was heavily influenced by my having watched del Toro’s Frankenstein immediately after; still stand by it though.) The story is told in a lovely melange of […]

The One Where the Gang Heads to Scotland

Stone & Sky by Ben Aaronovitch

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I zipped through the Rivers of London series last summer and loved it. Then while browsing through the library I found the newest book 10! A very merry un-birthday to me! Our old friend Peter Grant is no longer the wide-eyed little copper we first met. He’s grown into the Starling, an apprentice of the Nightingale but definitely a power in his own right. He’s still with his lovely wife, the river Beverly, and with the two year time jump since the last novel the […]

Navigating grief and mermaids in the Caribbean

A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow

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Kela and her father have been pretty lost on their Caribbean island of St. Rita since Kela’s mother died. Her father spends his days manning his shop while Kela avoids friends, collecting sea glass for her jewelry projects. One day, she finds a mysterious looking antique comb in a coral reef. She is drawn to it. What she doesn’t realize is that she has stolen a mermaid’s comb, and its owner Ophidia is crushed by its loss. Her grudge against humans doesn’t leave Ophidia feeling […]

What if there was a mermaid who lived in Lake Michigan?

The Lake Michigan Mermaid: A Tale in Poems by Anne-Marie Oomen

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The Lake Michigan Mermaid: A Tale in Poems by Anne-Marie Oomen My rating: 3 of 5 stars Having lived around Lake Michigan for about 15 years now, it’s had an impact on my life, to say the least. If you’ve ever been to the Michigan-side of the lake, you know that there’s nothing better than sitting on a dune overlooking the lake and just relaxing and letting thoughts bubble up. Originally from California, I didn’t think there was another coast to compare, but Lake Michigan […]

a mermaid’s tail made of donkey skin (a dual cbr13bingo and #cannonbookclub adventure!)

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

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well, not exactly. What we have here are two retellings of classic fairy tales: Charles Perrault’s deeply upsetting Donkeyskin (recently reviewed by our very own BlackRaven) and Hans Christian Andersen’s  also unsettling The Little Mermaid. Both of these entries are picks for our upcoming #cannonbookclub event- and I’ll be discussing Deerskin further during our Zoom- but in the meantime, let these two help you choose your pick(s)! Also- both of these tales of girls on the cusp of womanhood have been reclaimed and retold by women. […]

A romance-free twist on The Little Mermaid

Fish Girl by Donna Jo Napoli, David Wiesner

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The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite fairy tales in all its forms. OG Andersen classic, the perfect Disney movie, and other adaptations as well (the musical Once on This Island stands out to me).  I’ve been back on a fairy tale kick these days (I run a series of comedic retellings of the original tales on TikTok) so I picked up this graphic novel for a quick read, and it’s very sweet! If you are unfamiliar with David Wiesner’s work, he is a […]



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