Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Going from “talk the whiskers off a catfish” to silent as a mouse

Catching a Storyfish by Janice N. Harrington

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I did it again. I was emailed “the book is here, please pick it up” and I said, “What book?” “Why this book? How did it get on my radar? Who was I when I thought this sounded interesting? When was this request done?  Where was I sitting when I thought to request?” Okay, not that one. But the other questions (maybe) happened. But regardless of the who, what, when, where, why and how of it all, I am glad I did request Catching a […]

The Witch and the Boy

Witch of Mine Vol 1 Autumn Song by Haeyoon

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Oh, that Witch of Mine! The things she knows, does, and teaches us and the characters of the first volume of the Haeyoon and Mas manga graphic novel. You learn she is a witch, do not know she is the sister of the scape goat of the village (until later, then in the “all witches are sisters” way), pretends she is the mother of a younger boy and her familiar (a girl child in their cat-human form), and later she becomes the lover of that […]

Well-behaved women seldom make history

Rima's Rebellion: Courage in a Time of Tyranny by Margarita Engle

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CBR15Passport Book I own Rima’s Rebellion: Courage in a Time of Tyranny is an interesting book. First, it is prose poetry and while that is usually a good thing for me, I am not sure this was the best format for the subject. Second, it is confusing what age(s) it is aimed for. The tone of the book is for a middle-grade reader (at least aged 10 and up), but the subject matter is more mature. If this was Margarita Engle’s first novel, that bump […]

I want to do a clever/funny title but that just does not really fit the seriousness of the story

Something Happened to My Dad: A Story about Immigration and Family Separation by Ann Hazzard and Vivianne Aponte Rivera

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CBR15Passport due to father being born in another countryI have been surprised by several of the books I have read recently. I think it will be about one thing, or will go a particular way, but it tosses all assumptions to the side and reminds me why one should never assume they know anything about something they know nothing about. Something Happened to My Dad: A Story about Immigration and Family Separation fits that bill. I thought it would be about the death of a […]

Mangonificent tale

Farah Loves Mangos by Sarthak Sinha

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CBR15Passport Different Countries (author is from India & his travels have taken him “from the tropical rainforests to the high Himalayas where he makes children’s books from his tiny studio.”) This book, Farah Loves Mangos, has multiple feelings, but in the end, it becomes a little bittersweet. At first it seems like a lovely story of a young girl, her mangos, and her grandfather. I assumed we would have a symbolism story where the mango tree represents the grandfather, or how the tree is the […]

“I didn’t smuggle the dog into the country; I merely caused him to be smuggled out of Baluchistan.”

Frederica by Georgette Heyer

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CBR15 Passport Challenge: Different (sub)genres #2 The Marquis of Alverstoke, wealthy, vain, and immensely bored, sees no reason why he must put himself to any trouble for anyone at all. But when he agrees to sponsor a beautiful young woman’s debut in society, he can’t help but become tangled up with her managing older sister. I read Georgette Heyer’s romances sparingly. Not because I dislike them, but indeed the opposite – I adore their sharp humor, hijinks, and immersive historical setting – and I don’t […]



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