Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Some Fencing but More Personal Stuff

Fence Volume Four Rivals by C.S. Pascat, Johanna the Mad

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So there was a YA novel that kind of tells the same story as volume 4 of the graphic novel Fence Volume 4 Rivals; one the one hand, few surprises, on the other, it wasn’t the EXACT same story, just the same kind with similar character development (at least for some characters). I’m reasonably sure the comic series was first, and that the novelization might be by another author. The basic premise is reasonably common: sports story (high school fencing team) + hate/rival to friend/something […]

I want follow through, at least once

Lumberjanes 16 Mind over Mettle by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, AnneMarie Rogers

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I’m starting to get a little bored with this current Lumberjanes pattern: focus on a specific scout who has a personal issue, adventure ensues, friendship lesson is acquired and possibly some personal growth. This time it’s Mal who feels like she’s the scaredy-cat of the group and wants to be braver; the thing I don’t get is why she goes to Ripley the team goof for help. Ripley is totally carefree and runs into everything without thinking; I wouldn’t call that brave, I’d be calling […]

She Grows On You

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

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More comfort reads! More comfort reads! Nimona is a real favourite of mine. Before Noelle Stevenson saw success with the She-Ra series, she was writing Nimona—an absolutely glorious webcomic-turned actual-comic. The setting of Nimona isn’t actually too far divorced from what we see in She-Ra: rather high fantasy on the surface, with a lot of nerdy science and magi-tech elements scattered throughout. We have heroic and villainous knights in shining armour with jousting sticks but said knights also have high-tech research labs where they develop […]

Magical Friendship: cbr12bingo – “Friendship”

Phoebe and Her Unicorn in The Magic Storm by Dana Simpson

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“Phoebe and Her Unicorn” began as a web comic by Dana Simpson in 2012 and then a few years later became a syndicated comic strip in newspapers, that is still in active publication.  The first five books in the series are compilations of those comics.  Phoebe and Her Unicorn in The Magic Storm is the first standalone graphic novel. Phoebe is an average girl who befriends a unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils.  Together they tackle the mundane, school, to adventure, like when they solve mysteries as the […]

Exhibit A of the Self-Fulfilling Title

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

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I could only praise this book is the way I would a bowl of Kraft dinner (or boxed mac and cheese for anyone that didn’t grow up with Canadians). If I really want cheesy noodles and Kraft is available, I’ll eat it. If the other options for a meal were meatloaf or fruitcake I would choose Kraft dinner, just like how I would definitely re-read The Okay Witch over other particular books. But here’s the deal: Do I actively crave or recommend Kraft dinner? NOPE. […]

Two Stories, Rethought

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Thor Vol 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron

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  I’m a big Jane Austen fan and Pride and Prejudice is my favorite of her works. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is a modern-day retelling of this classic story that stays pretty faithful to the spirit of the original. Elizabeth Bennet is here re-imagined as a writer for a women’s magazine. She is 38 and living in New York City. She and her elder sister, Jane, unexpectedly return to Cincinnati after their father has a heart attack. They find their family and their childhood home […]



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