Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Look, I read a non-smutty book!

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

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Briseis is a black teenage girl who can control and grow plants, often unintentionally. She is also invulnerable to poisons. She can roll around in Poison Ivy and not break out in a rash or even itch. She can drink straight poison or inject it into her veins and not be harmed. She is adopted, and her moms run a struggling flower shop in New York City. One day, Briseis receives a letter that her only surviving natural relative, an aunt, has died and left […]

When the everyday is not so everyday

The Other Ones by Jamesie Fournier

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CBR15Passport own I started Jamesie Fournier’s book, The Other Ones, a few times, and it finally stuck a few weeks ago. It took me that long to figure out what I wanted to say about it. I think that while this is a good book, it is not easy, and can be a bit slow at times. And the illustrations that Toma Feizo Gas created are nice, but they are not for everyone and can be a smidgen off putting if you are not in […]

The girl who won’t quit

Asadora! V06 by Naoki Urasawa

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CBR15Passport country (Japan)   Manga and I have an interesting relationship. I appreciate it, and it does its own thing. But occasionally that thing has me going along for the ride.  And the series by Naoki Urasawa, Asadora! has me riding (so far) all six volumes. (This volume is translated by John Werry) While slower than the others, this is a good build-up for volume 7 (planned for October 2023). And while these “in-between novels” are a nice way to give you more information about […]

What really happened after the ball

Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred by Deborah Hopkinson

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I like fairy tales, and while I do enjoy them classically done, I like them with a fun twist, too. We start out Cinderella and a Mouse Called Fred with the usual Cinderella basics. One grumpy fairy godmother, one pumpkin, some sisters, a stepmother, a royal party. However, there are a few differences such as Fred tells the story (he’s a mouse, if you couldn’t tell by the title) that somewhat befriends Cindy (no sewing of clothing, but there is some pumpkin protecting, squeaks and […]

I’m so curious what Jemisin will do next.

The World We Make (Great Cities, #2) by N.K. Jemisin

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This was a good ending to this series. It’s still not my favorite thing from N.K. Jemisin, but I very much enjoyed reading it (and it’s a fast read). I’m also glad that we didn’t get the original story or ending that Jemisin had planned (she talks about it in her author’s note); it sounded much bleaker and the series was originally going to be a trilogy instead of a duology. We’ve done the bleak N.K. Jemisin trilogy before. I appreciate that this ended on […]

I’m so sad about it, but this was so flawed.

The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology, #1) by Aiden Thomas

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This was fine. But “fine,” after reading this author’s wonderful debut, Cemetery Boys, is not enough. I feel like there were so many flaws baked in to this book before the author even started writing it, and they didn’t do enough to overcome them. The worldbuilding choices made in this book baffled me, and it read like a middle grade novel with f-bombs thrown in. (Not good when you’re aiming for upper YA.) Gonna bullet point this one to sort out my thoughts. *This was pitched […]



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