Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

It was super weird finally continuing this series.

Song of the Wanderer (The Unicorn Chronicles, #2) by Bruce Coville

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I didn’t have the experience of reading this first as a kid, so my reactions are entirely coming from adult Ashley on this one. I mentioned this in a GR status update, but having initially read that first book back in 1994, it felt incredibly strange to finally be picking up the thread of the story again after 28 years. First, my main complaint on this one, and the reason it’s getting 3.5 stars (rounded up): I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing itself, […]

Revisiting a childhood favorite so I can finally finish the series, twenty-eight years later.

Into the Land of the Unicorns (The Unicorn Chronicles, #1) by Bruce Coville

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Let’s step in to the Wayback Machine for this one. 1994! Bruce Coville was very in at the time, at least in my circles. You know, the ones featuring nine-year olds. We all coveted those books that implied our teachers were aliens, or whatever. But Coville didn’t just do wacky, humorous sff, he could also do straight epic fantasy. Enter this book, which I read approximately ten thousand times (though I settled on marking that as 10 in Goodreads). Twelve year old Cara is pulled […]

“There’s always a story. It’s all stories, really. The sun coming up every day is a story. Everything’s got a story in it. Change the story, change the world.”

A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld, #32; Tiffany Aching, #2) by Terry Pratchett

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Terry Pratchett was so good. With this review, I shall continue my biannual tradition of being unable to write coherently about a five-star Discworld book. This is the second Tiffany Aching book, which is set in the Discworld with his adult books, but this is technically middle grade, verging on YA. I say technically because any adult who wouldn’t enjoy this has a piece of coal for a heart and loops of iron chain for intestines. I really liked the first Tiffany Aching book, but […]

Little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Well, not this one.

The Beast and the Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips and Isabelle Folath

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Ebenezer Tweezer is 511 years old, but you’d never know it to look at him. He lives in a great big house, surrounded by exciting treasures and artifacts and all of this is possible because of the hideous beast he keep in his attic. In return for Ebenezer feading it interesting things, the Beast gives him potions once a year that keep Ebenezer young and beautiful. It’s also given him all the special things in his house. However, the Beast is greedy and grows more […]

Jules Verne for the Zoomers.

Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

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30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 2 Book 27/30 So I read another Rick Riordan book after I said I was going to stop, but I just get so curious! And this is the first Middle Grade book he’s written in FOREVER that isn’t about demigods, and it’s a play on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, which I used to love when I was a kid. And it was good! I didn’t love it, because it’s not for me, but I did like it, and […]

Two books that I think would be great for young readers but I have personal mixed feelings about

Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley

Apple Crush by Lucy Knisley

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Stepping Stones and Apple Crush are middle-grade graphic novels that follow Jen, a city girl whose parents have gotten divorced. Stepping Stones covers the immediate aftermath of Jen’s mom moving them to a farm in the country with her new boyfriend Walter. Jen has to learn how to get along with her new step-sisters, especially Andy, who is bossy and a know-it-all. The conflict between Jen, who is struggling with math, and Jen, who is using her good grades to try to be perfect for her dad, […]



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