Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Grown Up and Queer

One Week to Win the Chocolate Maker by Timothy Janovsky

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I tend to prefer Timothy Janovsky’s books that have an element of magic to them. As I read One Week to Win the Chocolate Maker, I realized that Dario’s wealth is essentially a magical power. One Week to Win the Chocolate Maker is a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory retelling with an adult Charlie, the character closest to Willy Wonka’s vibe is a deceased grandfather, and Dario, the chocolate maker, is a pansexual short king. Charlie is in a desperate situation. He lives with his […]

The Sins of Parenting Weigh Heaviest in Everyone ?

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

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I spend a lot of time reflecting in my parenting, a little too much according to my therapist. But as my eldest daughter gently slams into her teenage years, I’m conscious of how my words and actions can impact them. My younger daughter being more emotionally honest and more easily vulnerable with me, while I have to be patient and emotionally open myself to give my eldest her space. Giving emotional space to them and having that honesty and openness with myself has taken time […]

The Bat by Jo Nesbø

The Bat by Jo Nesbø

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Disclaimer: I think this will be the third time I have attempted participating in the Cannonball Read. My failures in the past are so frustrating to me because I easily read at least 50 books each year. It’s the reviews that are my stumbling block. I know it’s because I am intimidated, both by the intelligence of the Pajiba community and by my minimal skills with technology. This year, I’m trying to let that anxiety go. If my reviews sound like they were written by […]

My Year of Dark Academia is Off to an Uneven Start

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

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Lately I’ve been finding myself drawn to dark academia, so I thought this year I might embrace it and go whole hog. I started the year off with two very different dark academia novels–one that I mostly enjoyed, and one that I didn’t really enjoy at all. First up, I read A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid. Effy is an architecture student at a prestigious college, but she wants to be a literature student–only women aren’t allowed to study literature. Her favorite author is Emrys Myrddin, […]

A Jété into Love

Second Night Stand by Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters

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When professional ballerina Lillian has a one night stand with a beautiful stranger in Portland, she does so only because she’s certain she’ll never see her again. But when it turns out that Izzy will be competing in the same dance competition show, their growing connection may get in the way of the win they both desperately need. I really loved Karelia Stetz-Waters’ previous book Behind the Scenes, so even though I haven’t been interested in reality show romances in the past I was excited […]

The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman

The Wolf King by Lauren Palphreyman

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Disclaimer: I think this will be the third time I have attempted participating in the Cannonball Read. My failures in the past are so frustrating to me because I easily read at least 50 books each year. It’s the reviews that are my stumbling block. I know it’s because I am intimidated, both by the intelligence of the Pajiba community and by my minimal skills with technology. This year, I’m trying to let that anxiety go. If my reviews sound like they were written by […]



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