Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Clown in a Cornfield…who will he kill?

Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare

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Kettle Springs, Minnesota seems like your average Midwest town. It’s very rural, surrounded by a lot of corn fields and farms. The town is small and dying after the local corn syrup factory, Baypen, closed its doors. A lot of residents blame the problems on one thing: teenagers. These kids these days are always filming crazy pranks on their phones, disrespecting elders and traditions, commiting arson (Okay, that one actually is bad). Certain members of the community have had enough, but they came up with […]

A book that’s just as good as everyone says it is.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

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This was very well done. I can see why it’s so popular, and how it could easily mean a lot to a lot of people. I’ve actually had this on my TBR for years, but since I was set to read Anderson’s memoir SHOUT for the Read Harder Challenge this year, I figured it would be a good idea to finally pick it up, since the subject matter is closely related. Spoilers for the premise below, if you somehow don’t know it. This was a […]

“There’s nothing quite like the futility of being seventeen in an election year.”

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli/Aisha Saeed

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Official book description: YES Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state senate candidate—as long as he’s behind the scenes. When it comes to speaking to strangers (or, let’s face it, speaking at all to almost anyone), Jamie’s a choke artist. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.   NO Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is canceled, and now […]

What if your school was always trying to kill you?

A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1) by Naomi Novik

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Semi-brief review because I read this back in October, and my memory of it has faded. I remember being engrossed in it. I love the concept of a magic school that runs itself. And I love the horror aspect of this, that all these kids are trapped in this school because it’s too dangerous outside for them, even though it’s dangerous inside the school as well. I really liked the protagonist, El (short for Galadriel). She is so grouchy and anti-social, but as with all […]

In this game of life, your family is the court and your ball is your heart.

Crossover by Kwame Alexander

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This gem was given to me by Black Raven through last year’s CBR holiday book exchange. Most likely, I would have never come across this book on my own, so a big thanks to Black Raven. It took me almost a year to crack it open but it was probably one of the best books that I read all year. Not to continue to beat the same sad drum, but I have had a hard time reading this year. I know that I am not […]

Just look at this beautiful cover. And the book inside is just as lovely.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

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This book was excellent. It fits comfortably in with other YA books in terms of subject matter and content, but it’s so well written it stands out from the pack and feels extremely original, like all things with specificity do. Callender’s protagonist Felix is a trans boy going to a summer art school in NY city, and basically living with his best friend in an apartment his best friend’s wealthy but neglecting parents provide for him. Felix’s mom left when he was little, which is […]



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