Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Verona Comics

Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan

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Verona Comics is yet another modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. The two star-crossed kiddos in this story meet at a comic convention prom. Jubilee is dressed as a peacock character from her step-mother’s indie comic when she encounters a young man in a button down shirt wearing a Batman mask. Jubilee was tasked with leaving her comfort zone to add some life experience to her cello playing, so she spends the evening talking with Office Batman. Afterwards, even though it was supposed to be […]

“Mama always knew the wrong thing to say.”

Beauty Mark: a Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe by Carole Boston Weatherford

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In this slim volume, Weatherford imagines a memoir written by Monroe, chronicling her life from her tumultuous childhood in foster care to her troubled final days in her L.A. home.  It includes both personal, introspective pieces about Monroe’s internal struggles as well as pieces that catalog her film career and persona, and the public response to it. I devour any biographical media of Monroe’s as she is my number one icon. As a teen, I stole a poster of her from a neighboring school’s production […]

Not an actual Guidebook

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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As somone who grew up reading Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie, I love a good mystery.  If I had it to do again, I would definitely have chosen the audiobook for this since it has such strong Serial podcast vibes. In Fairview a beautiful and popular senior, Andie Bell, was murdered five years ago by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself.  The tragedy has haunted this small town and the people who knew the families involved.  Now five years later, 17 year old Pip […]

Do Ice Skaters Make Good Goalies?

In the Penalty Box by Lynn Rush & Kelly Anne Blount

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After being injured, Willow’s back home from her Olympic training program to finish her rehab as quickly as possible, even if that means sometimes sharing ice with the local high school hockey puckheads. When a goalie injury – and a stray puck – bring her to the hockey team captain’s attention, Willow suddenly finds herself spending time with Brodie and agreeing to act as his team’s goalie – just until she recovers enough to go back to training, of course. But as she spends more […]

“Bind your fate to mine”

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

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Official book description: Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.   Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of […]

Do the Hustle

Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe

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When I started this book I wasn’t sure how long I would continue reading. A teenage guy with a lot of swagger talking about “the hustle” and “the hunger” for making it – not really what I’m into. However, Ben Philippe’s charming novel and character are not what they seem on the surface – that’s the whole point of this enjoyable read. Charming as a Verb is about first-generation Haitian-American Henry Haltiwanger. He lives on the Upper West side of NYC where his dad is […]



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