Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“All of Life Was Only Moments, After All”

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

by Leave a Comment

Uprooted and Spinning Silver are a pair of standalone novels by Naomi Novik, though they share some similarities in that they both seem to be set in a medieval version of eastern Europe and were inspired by fairy tales, though I would say that the fairy tale inspiration is much stronger and clearer in Spinning Silver. Uprooted is about Agnieszka, a 17-year-old girl who is chosen by a wizard named the Dragon to serve him for 10 years. He chooses a new girl every 10 […]

“…it is a painful thing to tell unhappy truths, even from behind a shield of honesty.”

Brothers of the Wind by Tad Williams

by Leave a Comment

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is probably my all-time favorite fantasy series and I’ve wanted to read Tad Williams’ more recent novels returning to Osten Ard, but I’ve been a little daunted by having to read through the series again. Brothers of the Wind felt like a good first step in that direction, as it’s a stand-alone prequel set 1,000 years before the novels. I did pay full price for this at the bookstore due to finishing Dune earlier than I thought and foolishly not bringing […]

Fantastic premise; so-so execution

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

by Leave a Comment

Amina Al-Sirafi is not just a pirate. She’s a female pirate. She’s a female Muslim pirate. Hell yeah, I can get on board with this book, whose premise promises to deliver adventure with an under-represented perspective. And in that regard, I was satisfied. In the introductory pages, we’re told what to expect–the story of an older woman who continues to defy convention. “Ah yes, a certain degree of rebelliousness is expected from youth. It is why we have stories of treasure-seeking princesses and warrior women […]

The struggles, tragedies, and triumphs of three women in three time periods

Weyward by Emilia Hart

by Leave a Comment

My book club knocked it out of the park this month with Weyward.  Coincidentally,  Barnes and Noble chose it as this month’s speculative fiction pick.  Clearly we have excellent taste.  Emilia Hart has crafted a moving narrative across time by telling us the story of Altha Weyward in 1619, Violet Aryes in 1942, and Kate Aryes in 2019.  Altha, Violet, and Kate are Weyward women.  Born with the gift of being in tune with and connected to nature. For Altha, raised by her mother, another Weyward […]

Unicorns and cats and other stuff

Unicorn Crush: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure by Dana Simpson

The First Cat in Space and the Soup of Doom by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris

by Leave a Comment

I like the series Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson. Now, I don’t like every book or even every “joke” but I like how Phoebe is a loveable (frankly) dork, that is way relatable, even as an adult. When I found an online reader copy for book 19, Unicorn Crush: Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure I was intrigued. It had been awhile since I had read one, so figured it was time. Now, there isn’t anything really “new” to talk about, Phoebe is […]

Different person, same love

Every Day: The Graphic Novel by David Levithan

by Leave a Comment

When you’ve worked in kids and young adult books as long as I have, you learn some “big names” of the biz. One I knew I never had to read (but probably should because they were good) was David Levithan. I recommended them on repetition alone. Therefore, when the opportunity came to read Every Day: The Graphic Novel I knew the Reading Gods were telling me to go for it. First, a graphic novel (a favorite reading genre for several years now) and second, David […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo