Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

For those with a literary sweet tooth

Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel by Shelby Van Pelt

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Remarkably Bright Creatures is a best selling novel that is apparently being turned into a movie starring Sally Field. I’m sure it will be very sweet because the story is cute/nice/sweet — choose your bland compliment. It was fine and a quick read, but I just didn’t love it. The character development (or lack thereof) was probably the biggest obstacle for me, and that issue contributed to a pretty thin plot in places.  The story is told by three narrators. Cameron Cassmore is a 30-year-old […]

“My mom made it pretty clear that ballet was going to be my thing, whether I liked it or not.” I shrug. “I guess it’s good I liked it.”

Toe to Toe by Falon Ballard

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Before I started reading my advance reader copy of Toe to Toe, a passionate negative review caught my eye. There have been a few times when I’ve been the reviewer deeply offended by something in a book, so I did read with it in mind. In the end, I felt like the reviewer’s complaint is a legitimate criticism, but that the story Falon Ballard is telling, in all its messiness, is worth telling. Most of my knowledge of ballet comes from pop culture with the […]

That is when he puts his arms around me and gathers me into them as though I were his own.

Foster by Claire Keegan

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My heart does not so much feel that it is in my chest as in my hands, and that I am carrying it along swiftly, as though I have become the messenger for what is going on inside of me. ― Claire Keegan, Foster And so the days pass. I keep waiting for something to happen, for the ease I feel to end, but each day follows on much like the one before. ― Claire Keegan, Foster In Foster, a young girl is sent to […]

Come Out, Come Out…Wherever You Are!

Hide by Kiersten White

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14 down on their luck strangers get chosen to participate in a reality show where all they have to do is play hide and seek for 7 days. They are “minnows” who must hide from the “sharks” during the day in an abandoned amusement park. At night, they can return to the camp, wash up, eat and rest. Each day, two contestants will be eliminated–however, the terms of elimination are a little vague. But no matter, the prize is $50,000 and each of the contestants […]

After an empire fails

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia

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In an effort to meet people after moving to a new town, I have joined an abundance of book clubs. This novel was for the second one that I’m doing through the local independent bookstore, the Queer Lit book club. We met last week and it was such a fun time; I even ended up staying an hour past the meeting talking to some other participants about books and video games (the games was more of a “listening” section for me), especially Dragon Age, since […]

They did the monster mash

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

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I kept looking at this one last year since it would come up on various lists and then finally picked up a copy. It also ended up being announced as the February choice for the Buffering podcast book club which worked out perfect – always great when book club just helps you prioritize a book you already have. This novel was just pulpy, campy fun, combining classic horror creatures with AIs (the good fictional kind that make you discover things about humanity) and space travel. […]



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