Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Don’t worry about a thing because every little thing is going to be alright

The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization by Daniel Pinkwater

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I picked up The Neddiad from the used book shelf at the local bookstore just because I loved the cover. It’s a charming, humorous story, full of fascinating facts and eccentric characters. Written for 10-12 year olds, The Neddiad is the story of a kid named Neddie Wentworthstein in post-WWII America as he journeys across the country and acquires a small object of great value. The significance of the object is revealed to Neddie and his friends as they are pursued by some bad guys. […]

A May-December Hockey Romance

Common Goal by Rachel Reid

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Why yes, I am still channeling my obsession with Heated Rivalry into reading the entire Game Changers series, why do you ask? Eric Bennett is the All-Star goalie for the New York Admirals, but he’s tired. He’s been playing hockey for more than 20 years, and he knows that this season is probably going to be his last. Along with big career changes, he’s ready to make big changes in his personal life, too – like dating men for the first time. Eric has known […]

Once upon a time, there was a seemingly ugly cygnet (of sorts) and a probably utterly doomed prince

The Swan's Daughter by Roshani Chokshi

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4.5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. My opinions are my own. Demelza is the seventh and youngest daughter of Araminta, a legendary veritas swan (extremely beautiful women who have the power to turn into swans, and whose voices compel anyone who hears it to tell the truth) and Prava, a centuries-old, very ambitious, and some would say, evil wizard. However, when veritas swans fall in love, the person they love gains control over them through a magical necklace […]

Or, why I don’t have children

Otherworld Barbara by Hagio Moto

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First, I have a bias towards Fantagraphics books. Their publications feel good in the hand and I sometimes pause my reading to inspect the binding and imagine the books I’d want them to do. The volumes of Otherworld Barbara by Hagio Moto that I read were from them, so I may have enjoyed them more than I would if they were published by someone else. There’s a lot going on in this story. There’s time travel and doppelgangers and identity switching, and it’s all dreamy. […]

Conflicted About the Trainwreck

6:40 to Montreal by Eva Jurczyk

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To be honest, I’m not sure whether 6:40 to Montreal is a bad book, or if I’m just deeply annoyed with the ending. Multiple things can be true at the same time, of course, but I like to go into a review with a clear head and pure motives. Writing fiction is hard, and I myself can’t do it. Trust me, I’ve tried. There will be no snarking here for the sake of scoring points or looking clever. Just sound advice on whether or not you […]

No Sir, I Just Didn’t Like It

Flesh by David Szalay

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More often than I’d like to admit, on a Friday night, I’ll turn on the Sportsball, and enjoy some bubbles and a packet of potato chips for dinner.  Compelling eating – once you pop, and all that – but ultimately nutritionless, completely bad for me. I consumed Flesh over the course of a late afternoon, all in one sitting, not unlike those potato chips.  I walked away feeling the same dearth of depth and sustenance.  I’m struggling with how to approach reviewing it, because I […]



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