Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Come with me, quickly. There isn’t much time left and I want to show you something beautiful.”

Radiant Fugitives by Nawaaz Ahmed

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This is a beautiful novel about adjusting our expectations. Sometimes, things are more or less as we think they will be  – but there is beauty and tragedy in the MORE and LESS of that. Imagine that sentiment said far more lyrically. Radiant Fugitives is the story of a family from Chennai. The family consists of a mother and father and their two daughters – we zoom into their lives in 2010, when both daughters are living in the United States. The story is narrated […]

Surprisingly Enjoyable

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

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For as often as I read mystery thrillers like this, I so rarely enjoy them. And there are so many reasons I shouldn’t have enjoyed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, but I still did, in spite of all of them. The main character, Jess, is an overachiever preparing to go back to her 10 year college reunion at Duquette, a college which is “just a step below the Ivy League.” In college she was part of a golden group called the East House Seven […]

So Lovely

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

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The Magic Fish is an absolutely beautiful graphic novel–both the pictures and the story itself. It’s the story of a boy, Tiến, whose been keeping a secret from his friends and family. Tiến’s parents emigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam. His parents are working on improving their English, and so every night he reads fairy tales with his mother. Meanwhile, he tries to figure out how to cross the language barrier to tell his parents that he’s gay. To help his mother with her English, she […]

“If you see something, say something.”

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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I cannot remember where I first saw The House in the Cerulean Sea (2021) by TJ Klune, but I may have been looking for available audiobooks at the library. It has primarily positive reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, and I thought it might be a fun listen during my commute. In the end, I thought it was all right. I liked some parts, but on the whole it felt too long and I was not fully invested in the characters. My favorite part of the book was […]

Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the ghosts….

Skeletina and the In-Between World by Susie Jaramillo

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Skeletina likes living in the In-Between world where she is the queen of her castle and can play with her friends who live there. And her favorite friends are the ones who are still living. You see, the living can enter this other realm in their sleep. And Skeletina has taken it upon herself to help those who come over. She tries and capture the critters who help create nightmares. She talks and listens. She learns and plays. It is a happily ever after. And […]

Father and son doing art

Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son by John Parra

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Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son by John Parra is a neat book. I was not sure what to expect, but it was not what I got. I really liked this book. It is sentimental and inspiring. And has lovely illustrations that are fun, cozy, and active. Parra’s story is based on his growing up in California and helping his father in his landscaping business. Parra’s young boy of the story observes the things around him. He notices people his […]



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