Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


About stegolily

CBR17 Participant
CBR18 Participant
CBR18 Levels

Stego Lily is a mom, educator, and sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast. When she isn't reading, she enjoys playing the piano, gardening, and chasing after her two chaos gremlins.

stegolily's Reviews:

Two different stories pretending to be one novel

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

by Leave a Comment

The 19th Wife tells the story of two young people from different time periods, each dealing with the repercussions of growing up in a polygamous society. In 1875, Ann Eliza Young, the titular “19th wife” of Mormon leader Brigham Young, has recently left her husband, her religion, and her community, embarking on a crusade to end the practice of polygamy. In 2007, a young man named Jordan Scott must return to the polygamous Mormon sect that disowned him years ago, in order to investigate his […]

A charming book about a literal killing machine

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

by 1 Comment

“Artificial Condition” is the second book in Martha Wells’ acclaimed series, The Murderbot Diaries. I read the first book, “All Systems Red,” a few years ago, and while I liked the premise, I had a hard time getting into it and didn’t continue with the series. I picked up “Artificial Condition” on a whim this month, and this time, I was hooked. Maybe it’s actually better than the first book, or maybe I’m just in a different headspace now. Either way, I found this book […]

“Both repetitive and unprecedented”…and absolutely beautiful

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

by 3 Comments

“Our lives here are inexpressibly trivial and momentous at once, it seems he’s about to wake up and say. Both repetitive and unprecedented. We matter greatly and not at all.” “Trivial and momentous at once” feels like an appropriate descriptor for Samantha Harvey’s “Orbital.” The book details a single day in the lives of four astronauts and two cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. Over the course of 24 hours, the characters orbit the Earth sixteen times, witnessing sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets. Most of […]

Cute enough, but not what I was looking for

Dragon Dancing by Carole Lexa Schaefer and Pierr Morgan

by Leave a Comment

I picked this up from my school library’s weeding pile, thinking it might be good for a Lunar New Year lesson. Given the title, I assumed it would be a story about the traditional dragon dance performed during Chinese New Year celebrations. Unfortunately, the book didn’t mention China or Chinese New Year at all, nor did it contain any information about traditional celebrations. The actual story is…fine. A group of kids are creating decorations for their friend Mei Lin’s birthday (am I imagining things or […]

Two Cozy Books for Winter

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson

by Leave a Comment

After a December that felt more like early autumn, winter weather has finally arrived at my house. So it’s time to break out some cozy winter books. This week in my classroom, we read “The Snowy Day,” and “Bear Snores On.” “The Snowy Day” is a classic for a reason. It tells the story of a little boy named Peter, and the day he spends playing in the snow. Peter makes footprints, knocks piles of snow off a tree, slides down snow piles and every […]

The book that saved my family’s sleep

Grandmother's Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McCain and Stacey Schuett

by 1 Comment

A couple of months ago my 6 year-old had a nightmare. He’s usually a pretty good sleeper, so this was unusual for him. Ever since, he has been obsessing about this dream. He’s been nervous about going to bed in case it comes back, and talks about it almost daily. In his words, “That dream changed my life, in a bad way.” My husband and I have tried special lullabies, piles of stuffies on his bed, journaling. Nothing seemed to help until my husband brought […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo