Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Well, this one made me cry.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

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One of my new year’s resolutions was to be more intentional about reading chapter books to my kids (ages 7 and 9) on a regular basis – with the goal being a book a month, say, or a big book that we have started but never finished (looking at you, The Hobbit) I hope to incorporate my thoughts on how read-aloud-able these books are in my CBR reviews – maybe it will help fellow parents on similar reading journeys! Anyway, we started the year off […]

“Never be afraid to be honest and stand up for what is right…. Just remember to balance your courage with wisdom.”

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M Draper

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Stella by Starlight is a work of youth lit by Sharon M Draper, who also wrote Out of My Mind (now a Disney+ movie). Draper has a knack for writing from the perspective of young girls on the outside. In Out of My Mind, the main character has a disability that affects her mobility and her ability to speak, but it doesn’t stop her from pushing forward for herself and her community. In Stella by Starlight, Stella is a Black 5th grader in rural 1932 […]

Enemies to lovers at a performing arts summer camp

Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday

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Why: Learning that I adore Jenny Holiday’s Christmas in Eldovia trilogy, Emmalita recommended that I should read Into the Woods and I’m glad I did! What: Into the Woods is a contemporary romance.  Wild Arts summer camp is in last minute need of two artists in residence for the July and August sessions.  Through acquaintances Gretchen Miller and Teddy Knight end up filling in for the dance and instrumental music programs respectively.  After an initial round of wrong impressions and then bonding through camp experiences, Gretchen and Teddy […]

“To peel back the carpeting of the world and tumble into the stars.”

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

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I read Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries in two days.  Since I didn’t want to start a new book until I caught up on reviews, I decided to read it again. It took only two days to read it a second time.  What I’m saying is that I enjoyed this book so much I read it twice in four days.  Written in the style of a personal journal, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries is an engaging fantasy set in an alternative 1909 where fae, fairies, Fair […]

“I am forty four and I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.”

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

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When Sally catapults to national attention for putting her adoptive father’s body out with the trash, little does she know that this is not the first time she’s been in the headlines. I don’t read a lot of suspense, but after seeing this book all over my Goodreads feed the last couple of years I was sufficiently intrigued. That’s a pretty startling image to start off with, one’s father in the trash! Nugent creates a fascinating dual character study following Sally and Peter, and I […]

For Everything There is a Season

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

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Hounded by fairweather friends after winning the lottery, Opal impulsively buys a flower farm amid cottagecore visions of opening her own studio. But there is already someone living at the Thistle and Bloom – thorny farmer Pepper, who has no clue that her home has been sold out from under her, and is certainly not happy to learn about it. Firstly, take a good look at that cover. It is so pretty that I returned to it multiple times over the course of reading this […]



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