Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“They’re the ones who’ll hate you / When you think you’ve got the world all sussed out”

Assassin's Apprentice (1995) by Robin Hobb

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He goes by ‘Boy’ for his first years, then ‘Fitz’ and ‘Bastard’, then FitzChivalry Farseer, illegitimate son of Chivalry Farseer, son of the enigmatic King Shrewd. This is for the Bingo Family square; Fitz has a family, a name, a legacy–but he never knew his own father, his grandfather buys his loyalty rather than offering him affection, and one of his uncles wants him humiliated at best and dead at worst. I read Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy when I was a teen with the time […]

“I’m not living with you. We occupy the same cage.”

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams

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Bingo: Play I have always loved Tennessee Williams, and his play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof did not diminish that love. A somewhat short play in three acts, the story revolves around a Southern family marked by repression, thwarted love, and the ties that bind. The play opens in the bedroom of Brick and Maggie, a couple in a sexless marriage. Brick is a member of the wealthy Southern family that owns the house. He is an alcoholic who represses his feelings and communication […]

She loves moths, people!

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter

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As a kid, I hated bugs. I feared many of them. But for some reason, in junior high, I fell in love with Gene Stratton-Porter’s A Girl of the Limberlost. I recently remembered how I’d re-read my favorite scenes aloud, imagining myself as the lead girl. But for the life of me I couldn’t remember anything else about it, so I decided a re-read was in order. The book was written in 1909, and is a companion to Freckles, which I have not read. This caused some […]

Burn Baby Burn

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

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At the outset: this book is not for the faint of heart. If you’ve read any prior S.A. Cosby novels, you know that violence–gritty, ugly, cruel, unvarnished–is an integral part of his characters’ worlds. These characters are usually trying to escape violence, but it comes for them due to fate, personal choice, or some combination of both. One of my favorite aspects of Cosby’s oeuvre is that blodshed is never pretty or glorified. The main characters, because they are essentially human, despise the carnage that […]

Surviving is an act of resistance!

Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo

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This book fulfills the “border” square on CBR17 bingo; Sofia exists on the border of conquered and conqueror, and explores the complexities of her mixed heritage. As soon as I saw the cover for Beasts of Carnaval, I knew I wanted to read it, and the synopsis just cemented it for me. I love stories that are about resistance and revolution and proving that the colonizers and oppressors won’t be the last ones standing. And this delivers so beautifully! Sofia’s twin brother, Sol, vanished to […]

Works of Pimienta

Twin Cities by Jose Pimienta

Stars, Hide Your Fire by Kel McDonald

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Somewhere I have a copy of the book, Twin Cities by Joe Pimienta. Do I know where it is? Not a chance! Books have a habit of finding safe spots that are so safe even I don’t know where they are! Therefore, thank goodness for my local library.  I’m thinking that two readings for adults would be a good idea. First, read the text then second, read the illustrations. Trying to do both at the same time is a little hard. You see, this might […]



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