Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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The museum adventure I always wanted as a child (bonus review from Ysakitty)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

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From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was a favorite book of mine as a child.  But as I grew older I slowly forgot about the message of the story and only remembered the adventure.  When I saw that it could be ordered for only a dollar as part of a larger Scholastic book order, I knew I had to get it for my 11 year old.  It was delightful to find that she was as enchanted with the story as I was. […]

New generation of Avengers, with Kamala Khan’s Ms.Marvel and Miles Morale’s Spider-man (bonus review from Ysakitty)

All-New, All-Different Avengers Vol. 1: The Magnificent Seven by Mark Waid (author), Adam Kubert (illustrator), Mahmud Asrar (illustrator)

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Teenage, Pakistani American Kamala Khan’s turn as Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl drew us into the Marvel comic books.  Previously we were primarily familiar with the Marvel movies.  Then Into the Spider-verse came out and we went to find the Miles Morales comics that inspired the animated movie.  In our last trip to the library we came across the All-New, All-Different Avengers which features both Ms. Marvel and Mile’s Spider-man.  This graphic novel starts with a standalone comic featuring Scarlet Witch and Vision and then issues one […]

A girl, her ghost friend, and adventure in Edinburgh (bonus review from Ysakitty)

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

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Previous novels by Victoria (V.E.) Schwab were intended for adults and teens, City of Ghosts was written for a middle grade audience.  I give it a three stars for being a solid book but no higher as it shared several concepts with her “Monsters of Verity” duology, which were the most recent books of Ms. Schwab’s that I’ve read. As a result, City of Ghosts didn’t feel very fresh to me,  especially when you take into account the variety of her collected works. In City of Ghosts, as in “Monsters […]

Marvel Female Super Heroes: a primer

Marvel: Fearless and Fantastic - Female Super Heroes Save the World by Sam Maggs, Emma Grange, and Ruth Amos

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Our household is deep in super hero fandom but our actual knowledge is kind of sketchy, as it’s a mismash of cartoons from different eras and the various movies.  Because of this we are more familiar with DC female super heroes (Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, etc.) and knew only a few Marvel female supers.  But that has been changing as we have found Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl comics and now the Captain Marvel movie.  We’re excited to learn about more female supers that fight […]

Gorgeous graphic novel with a dragon, a maiden, a warrior, and kites.

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen (author), Rebecca Guay (art)

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 The Last Dragon is a beautiful book to hold.  Colors are muted and layered, nothing is a single flat shade.  Lighting has been carefully considered, illuminating and glowing as needed each panel.  The “maiden” is an herbalist’s daughter named, Tansy.  She is described as, “no color at all.  She seemed to blend in with her surroundings” and the artist, Rebecca Guay, did an incredible job showing this.  I also love the way Guay drew the dragon, so powerful and ferocious.  It reminds me of a […]

Am I cooling on Scalzi?

The Consuming Fire: Vol. 2 of The Interdependency duology by John Scalzi

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I have long been a Scalzi fan and am always eager for his next book.  Fortunately, he is the type of author that is able to churn out books on a regular basis which has fed my appetite for some time now.  The Consuming Fire is the sequel to The Collapsing Empire (which I really enjoyed and reviewed last year!), together they are The Interdependency duology.   However, I stalled on this book.  Scalzi’s books tends to be easy reads that can be quickly ripped […]



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