Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


A Range of Books From Brutal to Cozy

An Ember in The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

James by Percival Everett

The Tea Dragon Society by K. O'Neill

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An Ember in the Ashes Sabaa Tahir swiftly establishes the brutality of the world the characters are living in, in this first of a 4-book YA fantasy series. The Martials conquered Scholar lands 500 years ago and the Scholars are second-class citizens who are frequently enslaved. Elite Martial soldiers known as Masks are also treated violently as they go through their training at Blackcliff. The book alternates POVs between Laia, a Scholar, and Elias, a Mask who has nearly completed his training. They come into […]

A Matter of “Pure Will”?

Voss by Patrick White

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I have an embarrassing confession to make: I have never read anything written by Patrick White. It’s odd, and somewhat disappointing really, that our only Australian-born Nobel Laureate for literature is so frequently passed over. For example, I never heard his name brought up once when I was studying English. He doesn’t seem to have much of a profile outside of Australia either. (Unlike say, Gerald Murnane, who seems to be slightly more recognized here in the US than at home.) So, I made the […]

This book also has a character called “the cutie bandit,” which is amazing.

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

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When I tell you I was not interested in this book at all and then I zoomed through it in a day and a half. It was a book club pick, and I’d read and liked/loved I think three of her books before this one, but the synopsis just didn’t call to me. But, book club pick, so I reserved it from the library. This book is the epitome of what I mean when I say that writing style is the most important thing in […]

Strong Concept, Uneven Writing

Burn Down Master's House by Clay Cane

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I really expected this book to be 5 stars and ended up mildly disappointed when it didn’t live up to that expectation. Clay Cane set out to write a slave narrative focusing on moments of rebellion. The novel is divided into 4 lengthy chapters, each of which focuses on 1-2 characters and the rebellion they pursue. It is a book filled with violence because the enslaved characters go through hell before bringing violent justice upon the enslavers. The plot carries the book, with the actual […]

Historical Fiction Graphic Novel in Translation

Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832  by Wilfrid Lupano, Stéphane Fert (illustrator)

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Along with From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea I picked up Surrounded: America’s First School for Black Girls, 1832 from the library to help (hopefully) re-set my reading brain. This is a graphic novel in translation (originally written and published in French) which is focuses in on a more unknown bit of American history. I feel comfortable calling it such as this is one of my general areas and this school and the court cases surrounding it had missed me, even though Crandall v. State (of Connecticut) was one of the first civil rights […]

A perfectly fine book, just not for me.

Coffin Moon by Keith Rosson

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Honestly, this is a good book, and I knew when I bought it that things might turn out this way, but I wanted to give it a shot. This is a vampire story, and above all, a story of revenge. I enjoy a good revenge story now and then, but this is the type I do not care for: one that takes its characters to places they cannot come back from. Also, depressing. Specifically: SPOILERS their journey of vengeances leads our two main characters, an […]



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