Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

How a victim is made a villain

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

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Three years ago, I reviewed Tiffany D. Jackson’s YA novel Monday’s Not Coming. It’s one of those novels that stays with you long after you’ve read it due to the tragic subject matter and Jackson’s excellent writing. Grown, published in 2020, is another powerful YA novel that tackles disturbing subject matter taken from today’s headlines. This time, Jackson writes a story inspired by R. Kelly and the abuse of young Black girls at the hands of a powerful and famous man. This is not an […]

What Happens After We Win?

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

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I’ve come to love reading the author’s pages in books. If ever a new writer felt that they were the only one struggling with their manuscript, all they have to do is read the author’s note of their current favorite book to find out everyone struggles from the same issues. Sanderson, for all his prolific publishing, is not immune from writing troubles, as he plainly says in his author’s note from The Well of Ascension. The Mistborn books were his first series, and the issues […]

Death in Paradise

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

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On the Caribbean island of Saint X, a wealthy family from upstate New York vacations: a father, a mother, and their two daughters, eighteen year old Alison and seven year old Claire. They are nice enough, if oblivious. The father asks the waiter for good local restaurants so he can sample a ‘real’ dish. They tip well, give friendly smiles, try to make awkward conversation. Claire, an awkward, gangly child, quietly builds sandcastles and hopes her sister will help her. Alison, meanwhile, sneaks off behind […]

Sort of sexy, not really addictive

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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I’ve come to realize that most of my reviews start with “this book is a best-seller” or “this book was on a top fantasy/YA/scifi list” etc… The words that kept coming up for this series were sexy and addictive. Yes, and yes. So I went ahead and bought the four book series knowing that if it really was as addictive as everyone said it was, I would plow through the entire series in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I got bored with book one and […]

Not sure if it sparked joy, but it did provide me with some handy tips

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

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About seven months ago, my husband and I moved temporarily into a small apartment while our home undergoes major renovations. Most of our “stuff” is in boxes in our garage awaiting the day we move back in and unpack. I’ve been looking forward to that event with a mixture of excitement and horror. Remodeling presents us with a clean slate–a chance to organize ourselves and our belongings in a way that will be efficient and aesthetically pleasing. To be frank, I’m worried I’m gonna fuck […]

“The things my brother and I don’t say could pave over the Atlantic Ocean.”

Seven For a Secret (Timothy Wilde, #2) by Lyndsay Faye

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See, this is why I was asking how many five-star reviews in a month is too many, because I kind of want to give this one five stars, too! Great mystery, great character work (brothers! <3 <3), great second book in a trilogy (a rare thing!), impeccable historical fiction. This is the main book I read while on vacation last week, and because I was distracted by friends and food and reality TV (they made me watch Love is Blind!!! ilikedit), I read it over […]



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