Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“What I was feeling, I now recognize, was the desire to be one of these people. To be proud and to beam and to look good.”

Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs by Dave Holmes

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When I was putting together my TBR pile for this year I specifically went back to lists of much older cannonballs for books I didn’t get to and was bummed about having not read and added a handful of them to this year. I’m having mixed results with that plan, though, although Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs by Dave Holmes got three stars from me which is better than the other so far, French Milk (incidentally I added them both in 2016 […]

The Stake of love

Bloody Mary by Nick Winn

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Silver Sprocket publishers had a sale. I looked up titles, found a few I wanted, and signed up for their monthly subscription for books. One of the books that came out of that mish-mash was called Bloody Mary by Nick Winn. It is a smidgen longer than a usual Zine, but it is more zine than what I consider a full-on graphic novel.  The first issue I had with it was that there are several moments where I felt like I started in the middle […]

Enemies to lovers at a performing arts summer camp

Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday

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Why: Learning that I adore Jenny Holiday’s Christmas in Eldovia trilogy, Emmalita recommended that I should read Into the Woods and I’m glad I did! What: Into the Woods is a contemporary romance.  Wild Arts summer camp is in last minute need of two artists in residence for the July and August sessions.  Through acquaintances Gretchen Miller and Teddy Knight end up filling in for the dance and instrumental music programs respectively.  After an initial round of wrong impressions and then bonding through camp experiences, Gretchen and Teddy […]

Self discovery and gender with a little musical accompaniment

A Song for You and I by K. O'Neill

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I always enjoy K. O’Neill’s writing, however, I found A Song for You and I a smidgen not as strong as usual. I think the issue was I was reading via an online reader copy and there were black and white images and not the full color illustrations of the final product. And since the book relies on the illustrations for most of the story, it was not what I needed. However, the story of being “other” and the fear and confusion that produces is […]

She took a real trip

Scout Is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong

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As I have read a lot of middle and young adult reads, the graphic novel Scout Is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong, was not a new theme. Scout is a kid who is trying to get to meet their favorite author. There is a lot of hyperbole (Scout’s “reasons” are honestly above ridiculous and seem to be untrue: “She’s 100 years old!” “She’s going to die soon!” “I’ll never meet her any other way!”) surrounding her scheme to actually meet this author. Plus, […]

Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts

The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World (A Picture Book Biography) by James Howe

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The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World (A Picture Book Biography) by James Howe and illustrated by Jack Wong might be one of my favorite new picture biographies. Read via an online reader copy, however, you’ll have to wait until early June 2025 for your chance to read it.  We hit the highlights of the life and times of this cellist. There are several facts in the text itself, along with extras as well. This lets the book grow with […]



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