Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Funny, Sweet, Escapist Delight

Hand Picked by May Archer

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Hand Picked is a breezy, sweet Hallmark movie of a romance novel. You know the kind I’m talking about: an idyllic small town, adorably over-invested and wacky townsfolks, from first kiss to marriage in a matter of weeks. It’s all formulaic and absurdist, but somehow manages to work.  Luke, a first grade teacher with nipple rings under his sweatervest and an inability to swear like an adult (Oh, sugar!) has moved to Little Pippen Hollow, Vermont after winning his dream house in a fiber magazine […]

You put a spell on me

Back in a Spell by Lana Harper

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I’m officially obsessed with this series. I loved the first book so much; a queer revenge story where contemporary witches plot to get the best of their sketchy ex and overthrow a family with too much power? Yes please. The second book was solid and enjoyable, but not queer, so it didn’t stand out as much in my mind. This book though? Super queer with a main character who isn’t always the most likable, but is trying to be better for the people she loves […]

The Serial Killer Book I’ve Been Waiting For

Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka

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I went in to this book so wary! I’m not a huge fan of serial killers or the true crime mania that glorifies men who murder (mostly) women. So even though I’d seen glowing review after breathless recommendation of Notes On an Execution, I doubted I’d get past 20%. I am never so pleased to be wrong than when it comes to loving an unexpected book. The premise of this one is simple, it is the day of Ansel Power’s execution. There are brief chapters […]

“Robert Isaksson from the next village over was a reindeer killer.”

Stolen: A Novel by Ann-Helen Laestadius, trans. Rachel Willson-Broyles

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CBR15passport books from different countries (Sweden/Sapmi) Stolen, by Ann-Helen Laestadius, is a novel that is dark, disturbing and based in reality. It is the fictional story of Elsa, a 9-year-old Sami girl, who witnesses the brutal killing of her reindeer calf and is then threatened with death by the man who did it. But Stolen is also the real story of the Sami, an indigenous minority whose lives, culture and history are tied to herding reindeer and who have been persecuted by their neighbors for […]

“Stranger, whoever you are, open this to learn what will amaze you.”

CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by ANTHONY DOERR

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The book begins: “Stranger, whoever you are, open this to learn what will amaze you.” Consider me amazed. The review excerpts in the front of the book gush with praise: “sings with beauty,” “sweeping and atmospheric,” “beautiful and enthralling. . . “ Yep. Anthony Doerr has said Cloud Cuckoo Land is a paean to books, but it is also a paean to great stories passed on through generations. Parts of the narrative may get lost, or changed by the teller, but a good story remains. […]

“Like any dealer he was watching for the card that is so high and wild”

Every Gift a Curse (2023) by Caroline O'Donoghue

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“I can feel our bravery fall away as we journey into the wood. We are not built for this. We are not the folksy teenagers you see in adventure stories. There is no one who’s a dab hand at archery, or who can chart our journey by looking at the last few visible stars.” (371-372) Every Gift a Curse is the third and final in Irish author Caroline O’Donoghue’s YA ‘Gifts’ trilogy, following All Our Hidden Gifts (2021) and The Gifts That Bind Us (2022). […]



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