Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

More Nick and Charlie, just in time for Christmas

Heartstopper volume 5 by Alice Oseman

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Nick and Charlie are closer than ever, but despite what their friends think, they still haven’t done THAT. Lately, it’s probably all either can think about, but it’s a big step and neither wants to pressure the other. Nick is also a year older than Charlie, and is having to consider which Universities he’s going to apply to next year. His first inclination is living at home and going to his local Uni, so he’ll be close to Charlie, but he goes on a road […]

I am the tree and you are the bird. Fly off as you please, you will always come back to sit on my branches.

A Long Way from Douala by Max Lobe

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Pa had brought out our entire stock of beer. Simon, Roger and I had the job of serving. We ran to and fro between the kitchen, the living room and the porch. Our hi-fi pumped out old Makossa hits: our parents’ favorites. A few women neighbors of their generation, also wearing kaba ngondos, had begun shimmying in the empty space at the center of the room. They looked like they were showing off: you can’t dance the Makossa without showing off.” ― Max Lobe, A […]

Funny and poignant just like her podcasts

Raw Dog by Jamie Loftus

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I’m a big fan of Jamie Loftus’s work in the podcast sphere, so I’ve had a hold on the audio of RAW DOG since it came out. Finally it was my turn! Tragically, I had a weird download and some of the book was clipped out in the beginning. But I was too impatient to re-download and felt guilty hanging onto such a popular book for a long time. So I didn’t reread – it’s possible I missed some stuff. The book starts out with […]

CBR15 Bingo: Bodies Bodies

Three Little Words by Jenny Holiday

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3.5 stars CBR15 Bingo: Bodies Bodies (self-esteem issues, eating disorder) 15-word review: International supermodel Gia has an eating disorder, but eats when restaurant owner Bennet feeds her. Longer review: Gia Gallo is used to travelling in her job as a globe-trotting fashion model. Recently, she struggles with the fact that she doesn’t fit into the teeny tiny sizes of the clothes she’s supposed to model, and she’s not really sure if she’s not outgrown the whole industry, both in body size and motivation-wise. Having never […]

Now only the really tragic sections of the story are left

Sandman, Act III by Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs

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4.5 stars Act III of the full-cast audio adaptation of The Sandman was suddenly released with what felt like absolutely no fanfare or previous advertising. Suddenly, one day, it was just there on Audible. This installment covers the two collections Brief Lives and World’s End, as well as some of the stories collected in the anthology volume Fables and Reflections (the very first volume I ever read). It means we finally get the full and tragic story of Dream’s son Orpheus and his beloved Euridyce, […]

“…for a while I needed to believe that my mother was not dead and that she would come back.”

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

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Somehow I never read this as a kid and had always wondered if was any good. I finally picked this up on vacation in August (only £3, bless used bookstores) and it turns out that this is a classic and won the Newbery Medal for a reason. Often when you read a children’s/middle grade book, there’s a preachy tone or a sense they’re trying hard to impart a lesson, and that lack of authentic voice makes the book feel boring and irritating. Walk Two Moons […]



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