Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Cover for the book Prairie Fire by E. K. Johnston

A Sequel That Doesn’t Quite Match the First Book

Prairie Fire by E. K. Johnston

June 30, 2024 by Kit Moonstar Leave a Comment

Having survived high school, Siobhan and Owen are off to fulfill Owen’s obligation to serve in the Oil Watch.  This means leaving Trondheim and what they’ve build there for whatever assignment Owen is handed.  It quickly becomes clear that Owen and Siobhan are going to have to prove themselves all over again, and this time, the stakes are even higher. There’s a lot to like about this book.  I appreciated the fact that both Owen and Siobhan are dealing with the fallout of the last […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Young Adult Tagged With: E.K. Johnston

Kit Moonstar's CBR16 Review No:26 · Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult · Tags: E.K. Johnston ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
Cover for the book The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

Modern Day Teen Dragon Slayer in Rural Canada

The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

June 30, 2024 by Kit Moonstar Leave a Comment

Like everyone else in her rural community Siobhan is excited when it’s announced that Lottie Thorskard would be moving her family to area to take up residence as dragon slayers.  She just never thought it would have much to do with her own life, except hopefully mean less things on fire.  However, helping Owen Thorskard find his way to English class on his first day of school changes things.  Soon Siobhan has agreed to become Owen’s bard and is learning all sorts of interesting things […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Young Adult Tagged With: E.K. Johnston

Kit Moonstar's CBR16 Review No:25 · Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult · Tags: E.K. Johnston ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Not on par with her best, but even at her worst she’s a good read

Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston

June 21, 2021 by wicherwill Leave a Comment

cw: food deprivation (nothing that turns into starvation, but it’s pretty close) Johnston, as an author, oscillates between great and meh for me. That averages out to above average, so I’ll continue reading her books as they come out, but it does make for a lot of heightened expectations which don’t always bear fruit. This book, unfortunately, falls into that latter camp–I jumped it to the top of my TBR list but don’t think it necessarily deserved the treatment. Exit, Pursued by a Bear is one […]

Filed Under: Science Fiction Tagged With: E.K. Johnston

wicherwill's CBR13 Review No:97 · Genres: Science Fiction · Tags: E.K. Johnston ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“I hate to be sanctimonious about it, but it turns out that good conversation solves a great many problems.”

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston

December 30, 2019 by faintingviolet 3 Comments

I don’t read all that much alternative history, so it took a bit of digging through my to read list in order to find something to read for Read Harder’s Task 2. But, sure enough I had one and while I let it sit to very late (although not the latest on my to read list for this year’s challenges) it was an enjoyable, if slightly unexpected, read. For plot summary purposes I’m going to borrow from Goodreads, since I’m not sure I could do […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: alternate history, Canada, E.K. Johnston, faintingviolet, read harder challenge, reading women, That Inevitable Victorian Thing

faintingviolet's CBR11 Review No:64 · Genres: Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: alternate history, Canada, E.K. Johnston, faintingviolet, read harder challenge, reading women, That Inevitable Victorian Thing ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

Every time I see you falling, I get down on my knees and pray

January 5, 2018 by Jenny S 2 Comments

I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did.  On paper, there’s lots to love. It’s an alternate history set in present day Canada (or maybe a notch in the future) where the British Empire didn’t fall and instead the monarchy made much more humane and multicultural decisions about how to incorporate the subjects of their colonies into the Empire as a whole.  There’s still a royal family but over the years the royals have made strategic marriage alliances with their […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: alternate history, E.K. Johnston, That Inevitable Victorian Thing

Jenny S's CBR10 Review No:3 · Genres: Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: alternate history, E.K. Johnston, That Inevitable Victorian Thing ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

What a strange, lovely little book.

January 5, 2018 by narfna 4 Comments

I’m a little torn on this one, honestly! I thought it was a bit slow for my tastes, mostly at the beginning, and I would have appreciated a bit more wallowing in emotions, but I also understand this is a book designed in part to ape Victorian conventions and mores, so perhaps I was never going to get the version of this book that would have pleased me best. And what a strange little book it was! This is an alternate history/speculative take on quite […]

Filed Under: Young Adult Tagged With: alternate history, Canadian Lit, E.K. Johnston, intersex, LGBTQIA, narfna, romance, speculative, Victorian, YA, Young Adult

narfna's CBR10 Review No:2 · Genres: Young Adult · Tags: alternate history, Canadian Lit, E.K. Johnston, intersex, LGBTQIA, narfna, romance, speculative, Victorian, YA, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • elderberrywine
    on Early Jazz 101
    Yeah, it’s a great look at early jazz. Poor guy, but he was definitely not the only one.
  • Halbs
    on Early Jazz 101
    Oh, I can't wait to read this one! I love good music writing.
  • Eric
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  • Liz
    on Oh God, I’m Discoursing (Mac Barnett’s MAKE BELIEVE)
    Hmmm, I think it depends? If you're in children's literacy work, writing for children, or have children you read to,...
  • Terrence Dunlop
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    So is it a must-read? A should-read? Or a meh. I liked your discoursing!
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