Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Pride, Prejudice and Social Justice

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

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During my high school years, I was introduced to Jane Austen and the Brontes but for some reason never Elizabeth Gaskell. She was a contemporary of the Brontes, friend to and biographer of Charlotte, and in her novel North and South she channels both the dark undercurrents of the Brontes and the romance of Austen. Over the years, on social media, I’ve seen references to “ThorntonThursdays” with pictures and video clips but I only recently discovered that they came from the 2004 BBC series North […]

This was just such a fun ride

Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik

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I received this book from the marvelous @teresaelectro as part of the 2022 Cannonball Read Book Exchange. Let me start by saying this book was simply a ton of fun. Captain Tavi Zarola is a former military captain who runs a small bounty-hunting crew. Though the massive inter-galactic war between the humans and the Valovians is over, tensions are still high. There’s peace in the galaxy, but it is precarious. Maintaining that peace is what is on Tavi’s mind when she is approached by the […]

Many great elements, doesn’t QUITE stick the landing

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

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Bird Gardner is the son of an Asian woman, Margaret Miu, and a white father, Ethan. The first part of the novel is an explanation of how Bird’s mother, Margaret, separated from their family. Margaret made an intentional decision to leave Ethan and Bird, rather than face forced separation. The concept of forced separation is at the heart of this story – much like The Handmaid’s Tale, this is a dystopian near-future United States in which actual horrors of our past are enacted upon citizens in […]

A Little Women “Re-miss”

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow

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  My YA book group selection for February is So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix by Bethany C. Morrow.  It is a take off of Little Women where the family is recently freed slaves and the time period is the civil war.  I assume it was selected for Black History Month. The March family in this book are Mammie and her 4 girls: Meg a teacher, Jo a writer, Beth a seamstress, and Amy a dancer (although these nicknames are based on different names […]

Our Other Choice is Hope

Etta Invincible by Reese Eschmann

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12 year old Etta Johnson lives in Chicago with her mum and dad. They’re a smidge over protective because Etta can’t always hear that well. She has Quiet Days and Loud Days. But on all days one of her favourite things to do is draw comics of her character Invincible Girl, who always save the day from the evil Petra Fide. But when strange clouds appear in the skies over the city, and people start acting a bit weird, it’s up to Etta to investigate. […]



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