Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“The world is a dangerous place, full of people who don’t trust each other. This is why I am staying up in this tree.”

Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link

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Stranger Things Happen is Kelly Link’s first collection of short fiction, but- PLOT TWIST: it was the only book of hers that I had yet to read. Oops! I suppose….stranger things HAVE happened. Link writes like the  girl in the back of homeroom who is weird, yes, but also cool and intimidating. She’s probably wearing black and writing allover her arms with a ballpoint pen. She knows a lot and she is not afraid to drop reference after reference and allusion after allusion- she doesn’t care […]

“But How Do You Poop?”

Words of Radiance: Book 2 of the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson

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While a book titled Words of Radiance feels like its review title should be something much more lofty, “But how do you poop?” was one of my favorite lines in this book because it was so awesome and unexpected. Sanderson’s greatest feat in a series like this is that he and the characters don’t take themselves too seriously. Yes, there are gut-wrenching, serious, dark moments, but Sanderson balances that with a bouncy levity that’s borderline Pratchett in its honesty. At one point, Shallan asks one of the […]

Her Heart Was an Overfilled Inkwell

The Kraken King by Meljean Brook

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I loved The Kraken King so much. I have resisted reading Meljean Brook’s book because I knew from reading the books she has written as Milla Vane that I would love them. All I want to do now is read nothing but the Iron Seas series. Since I currently have 18 advance reader copies waiting for me to read and review, that won’t be happening. So I will attempt to be unlike myself and read them at a decorous pace over several months. (I’ll probably […]

Magic and Alchemy at School

The Ancient Magus' Bride vol 13 by Kore Yamazaki

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The Ancient Magus’ Bride might be one of my favorite anime/manga series that’s currently running. I like the basis in Celtic folklore and mythology with the addition of alchemy, a Japanese main character, and now a little more importance for a character who has had probably about 5 panels total in the previous 12 volumes. Volume 13 of the manga has some movement in both plot and world building for this newish College arc, where Chise is basically going to alchemist school, even though she’s […]

Something Old, Something New

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso

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There are a lot of familiar things in The Obsidian Tower; it’s set in the same world as the author’s previous trilogy, but focuses on a completely different part of it; there’s a strong-willed female lead who is something of an outsider but has considerable power and ability from the start, but she’s got a much better sense of the world(s) around her than her counterpart in the previous series; there’s hints at various alliances, betrayals expected and not, possible friendship and romance, the possible […]

“We’re not in Ghost Busters! This is real life!”

Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega

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I did not read Ghost Squad when I was young, as it did not yet exist! This is a 2020 release, and I feel that I would have liked it very much when I in third/fourth grade. There’s magic, monsters, hijinks, and plenty of cat-content that would have kept me giddy throughout. I worried at first that this tale might be “heavy” for a middle-grade reader; it starts with some genuine adult anxieties and perils. We open with the financial woes of Lucely’s father- the bank is […]



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