Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Charm, Shame, Desire, Justice, Pride, and Pain

The Bone Orchard by Sara A Mueller

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Charm is a bone witch, a prisoner, and a whore. Alongside the boneghosts that she grew in her laboratory, she runs a brothel at Orchard House. When her keeper the old emperor lies dying, poisoned, he charges her with safeguarding the empire and finding out which of his sons was his killer. Firstly, that cover is utterly beautiful. Now that this important matter is acknowledged, let us go on into the story. I saw a lot of complaints that it was difficult to understand, for […]

Dystopian Cinderella Story

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

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Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron is a dystopian take on the classic fairy tale. Set 200 years after the fairy tale happened, sixteen-year-old girls are now required to go to an annual ball, where a suitor will select a girl to marry. If after three balls, a girl isn’t selected they are never heard from again. The main character, Sophia, would much rather marry her childhood best friend Erin than some random man that chooses her, attempts to flee the ball. She manages to […]

Old Story, New Take

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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One of my students suggested this book a few weeks ago, and I always try to take their recommendations seriously. Most of the time I’m disappointed, or their tastes just aren’t mine, but this one was an absolute winner. The Song of Achilles is one of the most poignant and beautiful novels I’ve read in a long time. Miller’s adaption of the Illiad is told from Patroclus’ point-of-view, and follows his relationship with Achilles from their boyhood meeting when Patroclus is banished to Phthia for accidentally killing […]

“They say the storm has come, but to me, it feels like it’s only beginning.”

Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse

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Black Sun (and its cover) was one of my favorite books of 2020. It’s no surprise that I’ve been eagerly anticipating the next book in the trilogy, though the lackluster cover definitely gave me pause. Luckily, the book itself, while most certainly a middle book, met my expectations. As you’d expect, this review contains spoilers for Black Sun. After the events at Convergence, the Watchers are dead and Tova remains in a twilight, liminal state. For Serapio, Naranpa, Xiala and Okoa, it’s not only their […]

“He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.”

Songs of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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This is the love story of Achilles, the fighting demigod, and Patroclus, the exiled, his confidant, lover, and closest companion. Patroclus is our narrator, and through his eyes, we see Achilles grow from a smirking boy to the greatest warrior the Greeks have ever seen. It’s equal parts classic mythology with a Romeo and Juliet twist as we watch these star-crossed lovers march to the beat of destiny. Taking on the Iliad is a bold move, and Miller really gives it her all. This one […]

“Children long to be eaten. Everyone knows that.”

XO Orpheus: 50 New Myths by Kate Bernheimer (editor)

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Am I typing this up while wearing a tee featuring the cover of the d’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths? YOU KNOW IT! That strange tome of simplified myth and ultra-bright illustration cracked open a need in me when I was very young. I re-read that book countless times, and used it as the entry point into the larger world of mythology. Combined with a Catholic upbringing that was far more focused on the deaths of the saints than on anything else, you could saw I […]



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