Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

How to handle mental health issues in a novel

The Art of Insanity by Christine Webb

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CBR15passport – a new to me author My Cannonball15 is off to a great start; I’m three for three so far. This book, The Art of Insanity by Christine Webb, was an “extra surprise” gift from Black Raven as part of the CBR14 Holiday Book Exchange. It is a wonderful story about a high school senior named Natalie Cordova who has bipolar disorder and who struggles with the illness, its stigma, and her friends’ and family members’ reactions to it. Author Christine Webb tells readers […]

“I’m not holding you against your will; I’m holding you against your car.”

Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard

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CBR15 Passport Challenge: Books recommended by friends #1 When a list of attributes that “Mr. Perfect” must have goes viral, the worst that the four authors think will happen is some unwanted publicity – but they realize that things can get much worse as someone begins picking them off one by one. I picked this book up on a whim – I’d never read this book before, but one of my Goodreads friends reviewed and it seemed like a fun read. Most of the romantic […]

The good ass-kicking shepherd

The Wee Free Men: A Tiffany Aching Adventure by Terry Pratchett

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In a discussion somewhere back in CBR14, someone mentioned Terry Pratchett’s Tiffany Aching series, which sounded fun, and I wish I could remember who brought it up (Narfna? EDIT: Yes! it was Narfna, just found it!) because I’d like to say thanks. This was a delightful read, as Pratchett stories tend to be. I love this one because the protagonist is a nine-year-old girl, a witch in the making, who is smart, practical and no-nonsense but still a child with much to learn. As usual, […]

Art Is Power

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

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I’m not sure I can discuss this book coherently. I’ve started and stopped and rewritten this review so many times I’m starting to feel dizzy. How do I convey the perfect writing, the depth of emotion, the complex characters, the history and meaning and joy and sorrow Grace D. Li has managed? In a freaking heist novel??!? The audacity! Let’s start with the basic plot: steal back the five bronze zodiac animal heads that were looted after the burning of Beijing’s Old Summer Palace and are […]

what IS your deal??

Sugar Street by Jonathan Dee

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I read this book in half a day. I enjoyed the first third or so, then was increasingly frustrated with its lack of focus and definitely unsatisfied by the ending. This (unnamed) guy is on the run. That is interesting – you know, how would you even do that? Turns out it’s pretty difficult. He’s only using cash, has no ID, has fled his home, ditched his car, all of the things, in an effort to disappear. He ends up in an (unnamed) city, and […]

The Dark Carnival

Hide by Kiersten White

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Fourteen people participate in a mysterious competition for a chance to win a life-changing amount of money. The challenge: to hide in a decrepit amusement park, and not get found out. But what the hiders don’t know is the true nature of the seeker… One of the worst ‘hot takes’ I ever read on the Internet was a post positing that there must be a limited number of souls to go around to all the billions of people on Earth, and that most people must […]



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