Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Women Will Do What They Need to Survive

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

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Best for: Those who enjoy a bit of mystery, a bit of revenge, and some history. In a nutshell: Two parallel stories: In the late 1700s, Nella runs a secret apothecary in London to assist women who need freeing from abusive men. In the current day, Caroline has come to London to celebrate her 10th anniversary, only just before leaving the US for the trip, she found out her husband had been having an affair. Worth quoting: N/A – Audio book Why I chose it: […]

Unraveling the mystery of Rachel Riley

What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski

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Claire Swinarski’s “What Happened to Rachel Riley?” is an interesting & engaging middle-grade novel that delves into the complexities of middle school friendships, social dynamics, and the power of truth. The story follows Anna Hunt, a new student at East Middle School, as she becomes intrigued by the mysterious transformation of Rachel Riley, once one of the most popular girls in school, into a social outcast. Anna, a budding podcaster, sees an opportunity to investigate Rachel’s situation, create a compelling narrative and, maybe, win herself […]

Minnesota Mean

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

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When Jimmy Quinn’s body is discovered in a local river with a huge shotgun blast in his chest on Memorial Day 1958, there’s certainly no shortage of suspects. Sheriff Brody Dean is sorely tempted to write the whole thing off as a hunting accident, but fate intervenes. Local gossip soon coalesces into one persistent rumor, that Quinn’s Dakota Sioux farmhand, Noah Bluestone, is the man responsible for his death. A town pariah for both his own status as a Native American and for his interracial […]

A haunting and memorable journey

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

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Lincoln in the Bardo is a story that you chew on. You can’t just sip it and multitask and hope to passively absorb it. You have to pay attention and actively read (or listen, in my case). But it’s so rewarding when you finish it, and worth the extra mental effort. If you’re like me and thinking a Bardo is something like a bar, you are completely wrong my friend. In buddhism, a bardo is a liminal space between death and rebirth. So we are […]

Another okay book in a series I keep going back to

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

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This is book nine in the Wayward Children Series, a series of books about children who have found portals into alternate worlds that can be the stuff of nightmares or dreams, depending on the child. A good thing about this series is that you could probably read the books out of order, since they deal with different children and worlds. But there are recurring characters and themes throughout, which might be lost by going out of order. This book is about Antsy, who has a […]

A dog is a dog

My Name is Jem: a tale of a guide dog superstar by Olivia Muscat

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My Name is Jem: a tale of a guide dog superstar is a delightful introduction to the subject of a guide/service dog. In a child friendly (but slightly “talk down” to adults at times), and through the eyes of Jem themselves, we see the things a guide/service dog does. Such as how they help their handler or how they became a guide dog and so forth. We also learn that a dog, regardless of their job, is a dog and likes downtime, playtime, pets and […]



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