Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Some interesting bits but overall kind of meh fantasy

Iyanu: Child of Wonder, vol. 1 by Roye Okupe, Godwin Akpan

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It may not be the best sign when the summary of a book on the back cover is more informative about plot and character than what’s in-between the covers. Iyanu has an interesting premise in that it’s based on Yoruba culture and lore; thankfully the story involves some local language (translated), and a small section of notes addressing the historical and mythological basis. Without these, this is a bland fantasy coming of age story. The orphan develops mysterious powers (chosen one, anybody?), a mentor who […]

Four words: Possessed Nun Fights Demons

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

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I picked up Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson sort of by accident. I remember thinking the plot and general world sounded interesting. What I didn’t realise until after the fact was that I had read both of Rogerson’s previous novels and really enjoyed them. Of the three, Vespertine is definitely my favourite. It’s very much a standard YA fantasy plot, with a late-teens Chosen One discovering world-saving powers.  In this case, Artemisia is a seventeen-year-old Gray Sister, an order of nuns who are responsible for laying the dead […]

19th century medicine was unhinged, and this book revels in that.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

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Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn’t affected the content of my review. I did the thing where the beautiful cover lured me in, but this time it wasn’t a disaster! In fact, the book mostly earns it! I was *thisclose* to giving Anatomy: A Love Story five stars, in fact, until the ending. YMMV on this ending, seriously. What happened is something that I have read in YA historical fiction books before, and it bothered me there as well, and […]

Time to Talk About Time

Switch by A.S. King

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We have arrived at a fold in space and time. Nothing moves forward. A scientific dilemma yet to be solved fully. You are probably confused. We are confused, too. Ever since time stopped, Truda’s life has turned upside-down. Her mother left the family. Her brother is keeping secrets. She has discovered that she can throw a javelin further than anyone ever has. And her father is building boxes around a mysterious switch in the house. I have never read a book quite like this. It […]

“We race the cold and night, my wolf and I.”

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long

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I’m a sucker for kid-and-their-dog books, and this is a high-stakes scifi version of that. It’s the perfect book for reading while snowed in and cuddling your own dog. “No wolves. No sleds. No racing.” I say it automatically despite the lump in my throat. “Foolish rule for life on a planet that revolves around those three things,” she quips.” Tundar, an Edge World, that has near constant electrical storms and a frigid climate. Corpos – giant corporations – attempted to terraform the world once, […]

“I keep to a strict diet of ill-advised enthusiasm and heartfelt regret.”

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

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Before I started watching the Shadow and Bone Netflix series, I knew I wanted to read Leigh Bardugo’s books. They were on my radar when they came out but by then I was kind of burned out on YA fantasy (perish the thought!) Then over the summer, I started reading Sarah J. Maas’s fairy catnip situation (A Court of Thorns and Roses book series aka ACOTAR) which jumpstarted my dormant magical world-loving heart again. So I picked up the first Shadow and Bone book at the library and began plowing through […]



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