Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

D is for Disappointing

D (A Tale of Two Worlds) by Michel Faber

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Here’s the thing, I read a lot of books! I read a lot of genre fiction in particular, the sort that has set tropes and predictable story beats. The joy in reading a book whose overall plot I can guess based on the cover is the ways the author takes those expectations and subverts or enhances them. I love “through the door” stories!! I love how we get to explore our own worlds and beliefs when confronted with a topsy-turvy dimension. Which is why I […]

Golden Shower

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

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**Trigger and Spoiler Warning** Do you like to read about dysfunctional mother/daughter relationships? How about childhood sexual abuse and rape? Parental neglect? Uncomfortable visits to the gynocologist? Spousal cheating and lying by the bucketload? Death by cancer? Ruthlessly rude and disrespectful teenagers? Marriage breakdowns? Drowning? Not just once, but twice? Lazy unresolved endings? How about 500 unnecessary references to urination – both public and private? Then BOY do I have the book for you! The Paper Palace tells the story of Elle and opens with […]

An adventure for some, but I’m not one

Super Space Weekend: Adventures in Astronomy (Science Adventure Club) by Gaelle Almeras

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I am not sure if Super Space Weekend: Adventures in Astronomy (Science Adventure Club) is a second (or at least not the first in a series) of titles, but there was some missing information for me. The book starts off with three friends who seem to have been introduced to us before. But I know I have not previously met Squeak, Orni, and Castor. Despite this “in the middle” feeling, I was getting a good feeling about Gaelle Almeras’ graphic novel. I was excited to learn […]

Strong in many forms

Brave Mrs. Sato by Lori Matsukawa

I Think I Think a Lot by Jessica Whipple

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A few days ago, I read a book, but was unable to write a long review of it. And today I read another book I could have but did not want to weaken it. The issue with Brave Mrs. Sato was not that it is a bad book, far from it, but that is simple and doing over 250 words for a review can overwhelm the reader. Therefore, this is a shorter review than the second one, I Think I Think a Lot. This book […]

A cup of potato

Luli and the Language of Tea by Marie Aang

The Pet Potato by Josh Lacey

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In a recent picture book reading marathon I came out with four books under my belt. Since there was a lot to say about each one, I split the reviews into two. This is officially the second, but you can read them either way. Now, I was trying to come up with a theme for the two books I am currently writing about, Luli and the Language of Tea by Marie Aang and illustrated by Hyewon Yum, and The Pet Potato by Josh Lacey and […]

Little people doing big things

Me and the Boss: A Story About Mending and Love. by Michele Edwards

Dragon Bones: The Fantastic Fossil Discoveries of Mary Anning by Sarah Glen Marsh

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I have not done a picture book marathon in a bit, and the most recent netted four books. Two of them have a lose theme of siblings. The Michele Edwards is an obvious sibling dynamic, where as the book about Mary Anning mentions her brother, and what he did to assist her, but the focus is on her. However, the other theme is that of you may be small, and you will need to take your time, but you can get the job done. I […]



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