Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Delightful Medley of the Finest New Middle Grade Graphic Novels

Freestyle by Gale Galligan

Growing Pains by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks

The Baby-Sitters Club #12: Jessi's Secret Language by Chan Chau

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra

Tidesong by Wendy Xu

The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

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My love of middle grade graphic novels continues to deepen as more and more great books come out. Over the past week I read these six, which almost all came out recently (Tidesong came out in 2021). What really struck me about most of them is the wonderful diversity of viewpoints and experiences, which makes for a varied and rewarding reading experience. Hopefully as the generation of kids reading these grows up, we will see a similar boom in YA and adult graphic novels. Freestyle […]

Is that ALL there is?

The All Of It by Jeanette Haien

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I believe I picked this up because Modern Mrs. Darcy recommended it in a list of books that could be read in an afternoon. It is, indeed, a very short novel, so on that score it was worth that particular recommendation. However, it was not my cup of tea. I’m honestly a bit baffled as to why so many people love this book so much? I cannot understand how so many people find this to be charming. A bumbling and horny old priest visits with […]

Good Book / Poor Reading Experience Frustration

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

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This is one of those novels in which two things are true, for me: I recognize how great the writing is, and the elegance of the story – it’s objectively a really great book. And, also, for me, this was not really a story that I felt interested in consistently. I think that it was the war stories that made me less interested in this story overall – I’m not really interested in reading about men’s experiences in a war, even when written by someone […]

How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

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How High We Go In the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu is a novel that depicts a global pandemic that is unleashed when an ancient virus is released from permafrost that is melting due to climate change. Most descriptions of this book that I’ve seen note that the novel had been mostly written before our current pandemic arose, and I feel somewhat compelled to say that as well. The novel wasn’t inspired by the Covid pandemic, but reading this book very much made me grapple with […]

“Can I still listen to BTS if I’m a lesbian?”

Ti kniver i hjertet (Ten knives in the heart) by Nora Dåsnes

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3.5 stars Tuva is about to start seventh grade (age 11-12 here in Norway) and is very much looking forward to seeing her best friends Linnea and Bao and catching up after a long summer apart. She shares all of her hopes and fears writing and drawing in her diary. When she gets back to school, however, nothing is as she was expecting. Linnea has a boyfriend now, and doesn’t really want to hang out, playing in their secret treehouse in the woods. She just […]

Nothing ever changes at the convenience store.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

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There is almost a sinister undertone to this brief, interesting novel. Keiko is a young woman working at the Hiiromachi branch of the Smile Mart, a convenience store – which sounds much cleaner, brighter, and customer-focused than any convenience store I’ve visited in the US. She sees herself as essentially reborn from the moment she takes this job. Early in the novel you know that Keiko is a little different – her flat affect in the narration and veneration of rules makes it immediately clear […]



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