Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Bark once for yes, wag twice for no

The Dog Diaries: Ginger by Kate Klimo

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The Dog Diaries follow the lives of different breeds throughout their lives. With the first book (though I am assuming you do not have to read in any order), Ginger, we see a Golden Retriever narrating her life from her puppy mill birth to her various homes. The modern language shows how some people act/feel/treat pets. The use of “Rainbow Bridge” for the death of dogs was a bit heavy-handed for this reader, but most people should be fine. The other part was the reference […]

A wholly satisfying ending to a great fantasy trilogy

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

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Spoiler warning! This is the third and final volume in the trilogy, and the action starts immediately after the second book. This is not the place to start. If you are not caught up, drop everything and start from the beginning with The Bear and the Nightingale.  Vasilisa “Vasya” Petrovna managed to defeat one enemy, but at a great cost. Releasing the legendary firebird has caused much of Moscow to catch fire and the citizens, spurred on by the vengeful and jealous Father Konstantin are looking for […]

Whelp, at least I know what I don’t like

A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley

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I thought I liked Robin McKinley.  I remember reading Deerskin and thinking it was really weird, but I thought I read other stuff by her that I liked.  I wonder if it’s a case of seeing her stuff around for a long time and assuming that I had read and liked it.  Well, I can now say I’ve read it, can’t say I’ve liked it. “The Healer” Lily is born mute, but with the gift of healing.  She can communicate some things by whistling, but […]

You think you know a guy…

Second Hand Curses by Drew Hayes

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Once again, Drew Hayes has come up with something completely different from his previous work.  This has more of a detective story, well, detective vignettes that come together. So kind of like his Fred, The Vampire Accountant set up.  But we’re in the realms of fairy tales this time.  And it feels a lot darker than his other stuff. The writing brings to mind the old noir detective stories, you know, the ones where you see the silhouette of the guy smoking a cigarette and […]

Did his nose twitch?

The Little Rabbi by Nicola Killen

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The Little Rabbit is another story of a little girl using her imagination. Been there, done that before. I did not find anything really new in Nicola Killen’s picture book. However, their illustrations are nicely done. The minimal colors make this different from a story that is “in your face” text and “in your face” bold illustrations. But at the same time, this too has been done before. I probably would have enjoyed this a lot more if I had read it before reading a […]

This egg is a little rotten

The Good Egg by Jory John

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Sadly, The Good Egg by Jory John and illustrations by Pete Oswald, is a preachy story about being the “good egg” but then learning to “take care of yourself” and it is okay to “not be perfect.” It is a very modern story that you are going to love or hate. It is in the same vein as the authors other book, The Bad Seed. There is not a lot to say about this book, except the negatives. I am not a fan of the art […]



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