Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Running straight into the mouth of danger….screaming all the way

Skull Cat (Book One): Skull Cat and the Curious Castle by Norman Shurtliff

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It is Scully the Cat’s first day as the new garden-keeper at a spooky castle. And by his second day, everyone has gone missing. Is it ghosts? Vampires? Goblins? Dark Sorcerers? Something worse?  You now know the tone of Skull Cat (Book One): Skull Cat and the Curious Castle by Norman Shurtliff. It is just off-the-walls bonkers. Scully is a clumsy, loving son, who is not cut out for adventure. But of course, he lands face first into it. And so much more. With his […]

If you can make it with these friends, you’ll make it anywhere

The Makers Club: A Graphic Novel by Reimena Yee

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The Makers Club: A Graphic Novel (due August 2024) was read via an online reader copy, however, I can’t wait for it to be published as I know a few people who need this book. First, you should be able to order the title in paper or hardcover; and I recommend hardcover as you will read again and it will get a little bit beat up! Author Reimena Yee made a nice, sweet, familiar story. The unique quality of this coming of age tale is […]

Rouge: this was a fever dream

Rouge by Mona Awad

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mood music: Possede – emma peters I really enjoyed this book. It was a strange combination of Snow White meets Alice in Wonderland meets Eyes Wide Shut. The nonlinear structure of the story works well due to Awad’s ability to bring the reader into the dream-like experience happening to the protagonist, rather than feeling like an observer of a very confusing situation. Plot synopsis-wise, I’ll be brief because this book is a little hard to describe if you haven’t already read it. The story follows […]

Freaky, Funny, and Frustrating (In a Good Way)

Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi

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Every time I think that I may have Helen Oyeyemi figured out she hits me with another blast of wild magic. She often deals in the inner workings of fairy tales, but this time she has taken on a fairy tale of a city: Prague. We’ve all heard of the (super played out trope) of “New York City IS a character!”, but Prague is in charge here. Prague may be driving the theoretical bus, but Thea, Hero, and a cast of bizarre folks including a […]

Here in the Dark: go to rehab!

Here in the Dark by Alexis Soloski

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mood music: High – tove lo The ending of this book was so annoying. I have made a decision that going forward, any new book I pick up that contains the tropes of a loner female protagonist with substance abuse issues and a dead parent, I am not finishing it. I blame The Girl on the Train. Vivian Perry is a theatre critic in NYC; she’s a failed theatre actress who now reviews the very plays she wanted to be a part of. She survives […]

Napoleonic Europe Weren’t No Fairy Tale

The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth

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The Wild Girl is a fictionalized narrative of the life-long relationship between Dortchen Wild and the Brothers Grimm.  Kate Forsyth has pieced together her version of events from the actual documents of the Grimms and the Wilds, filling in the blanks with inspiration from the Brothers Grimm collection of fairy tales.  We know that the Wilds and the Grimms were neighbors, that Dortchen was the source for many of the Grimm’s most famous fairy tales, and that she and Wilhelm married, but unconventionally late in their […]



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