Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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once again: great book, TERRIBLE cover

The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante

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The cover is even WORSE this time- not only do we have another DIY looking illustration,  but the featured pull quote from The Australian‘s John Freeman is ABYSMAL: “Imagine if Jane Austen got angry and you’ll have some idea of how explosive these works are.” Fuck right off, guy. Emphasis on GUY. Just because Austen characters aren’t slapping and cussing each other out does not mean that they aren’t also filled with the contained rage of being a woman trapped in position- a woman who will do […]

I Disliked This Enough To Not Even Come Up With A Pithy Title

Stars, Hide Your Fire by Kel McDonald and Jose Pimienta

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The best I can say here is that this is perfectly inoffensive teen fantasy. I didn’t hate it but neither will I remember much about it in a few months. It was fine as a palate cleanser book. This YA-aimed graphic novel follows Andrea and Darra, who are high school freshmen feeling trapped in their small town. Apparently that town is in Massachusetts, but I had to check the back of the book because nothing I read made me realize it was set there — […]

This is a journey …..

Steeple by John Allison

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Steeple is a perky journey that John Allison takes us on to find Satan and the good works they do. No, it is a journey that Allison takes us on to find a DILF (or a Priest I would like to friend on Facebook). No, it is a journey of a new Church of England minister, named Billie, who used to dabble in things as a teen, has her car blown up on her way to her new assignment, and who offers her thumb to […]

Nothing to Love Here

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

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This book came highly recommended, but it failed to ignite my interest. I had been looking forward to it for some time: a big-shot political family with black-sheep children who literally catch on fire when upset? Sounds fun! Except…that’s not the story. It’s the story of a fuck-up (her words) obsessed with another fuck-up of great wealth and privilege. It’s an ugly story about ugly people with some children (who do happen to catch fire when upset) caught in the middle. Listening to this book […]

Toni Morrison’s lyrical tale of female friendship

Sula by Toni Morrison

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Sula was the Mocha Girls Read book club selection to celebrate Toni Morrison’s birthday in February. I had read excerpts from some of her other books, but this was my first time reading her cover to cover. The novel tells the story of two black women growing up in a small Ohio town. Through lyrical prose, we are introduced to the families of the area. Nel is a quiet girl but begins to open up when she pairs up with Sula. They become inseparable and […]

“Where is it written that lives should have a meaning?”

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante

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I struggle with how to write this review, not wanting to spoil the three novels that preceded it (which I, incidentally, recommend higher than this last one). The Neapolitan Novels (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of a Lost Child) center around two girls, magnetically close friends (by which I mean they both attract and repel one another), growing up in postwar Naples. Lila (Rafaella) is an object of fascination and (in […]



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