Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Featured Review Archive

These reviews, which were promoted in CBR social media, on our homepage, and in Pajiba Love, appear below by review publication date, not by date featured.

 

The Girl, The Bully and what happens next

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

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I read the graphic novel Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. I had wanted to read the novel first, but never got around to it. But I found the graphic novel, read it and then found the novel version. And having read the graphic novel first, it was hard not to compare the two, but I tried not to. However, there is a large difference between the two.  While the graphic novel has a “today” feeling (21st century) there is a less modern feeling […]

Fun Middle Grade Medieval Action Adventure

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

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I’ve been eyeing this book since it came out when I was probably 12 years old but it had never really clicked for me although I have enjoyed all the Avi I’ve read. The time somehow was right this month and I churned through this in short order. I think it was partially because all I was able to read for about two and a half months was reading for grad school and my brain was desperate for something adventurous and straight forward. Crispin: The […]

‘Aint no chocolates here

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

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“Buy my step-father’s ghost.” You’d think this was a novel idea, but it is something you can find on ebay today. I was going to link something here but got the heebie jeebies just searching for haunted items and don’t need the bad vibes right now. Although I have to wonder, does it increase the value of an item to describe it as haunted? In either case, buyer beware! Heart Shaped Box is Hill’s first full-length novel, published in 2007 (he also published a collection […]

Highly intelligent cats and smack-talking dolphins. What’s not to love?

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

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Many people fantasize about an estranged relative dying and leaving them a fortune or a thriving business. Few people would indulge in this fantasy if the estranged relative’s business were villainy, and if, in addition to the job, they inherited a long list of enemies. This is the situation Charlie Fitzer finds himself in when his Uncle Jake dies and he’s visited by his uncle’s second-in-command, Mathilda Morrison. Even before Morrison shows up, Charlie has problems. Once a successful journalist, he’s now an underemployed substitute […]

“California, here we come, right back where we started from…”

Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History by Alan Sepinwall

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I picked the lyric above from Phantom Planet’s “California” (The O.C.’s theme song) because it nails how I feel about reconnecting with The O.C., a show that holds a curiously large place in my heart. I’ve visited the show at various life stages, from being a teenage college student all the way through being a grown family man with kids of my own. Life changes, but my love for The O.C. stays the same. Why? What keeps me coming back? I picked up Alan Sepinwall’s […]

Sensible, Humane Advice

Mini Habits for Weight Loss by Stephen Guise

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Normally I avoid books like Mini Habits for Weight Loss like the plague. I had an eating disorder many years ago and dieting is an anathema to me. However, I was diagnosed with Stage 3 kidney disease recently and have to change my lifestyle in an attempt to stop further deterioration. It’s a tricky spot. Luckily I like all kinds of food and I can cook, so that will help. But there’s no getting around that it would help to lose some weight and increase […]



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