Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Overthinking a romance inspired by Hannah Montana

Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

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This one had a fun premise and overall, was a light and frothy romance but it could have packed more of an emotional wallop. Everything resolved itself a bit too quickly or didn’t go quite deep enough and stayed rather surface level. Nothing about the romantic couple really stood out though it was of course inevitable that they would get together. There was a quite a bit here about dysfunctional relationships with parents but it doesn’t feel like anything was truly resolved in a meaningful […]

Indigenous family demons

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

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White Horse intrigued me with its mysterious cover. It follows Kari, an indigenous woman living in Colorado who is haunted by her past. Or rather her lack of a past because her mother disappeared shortly after she was born. Her dad was stricken by grief and ended up in a car accident. Kari spent much of her life resenting her mom and being a caretaker. After some struggles with drugs, she has gotten her life together.  She hangs with her best friend and cousin Debby, […]

Fresh scares from a needed perspective

Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories by Dan SaSuWeh Jones

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Readers who have been craving a selection of tales reminiscent of Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark should look no further than Living Ghosts and Mischievous Monsters: Chilling American Indian Stories, compiled by Ponca storyteller Dan SaSuWeh Jones.  Jones is a busy guy: he is a writer, producer, and artist; he’s worked as an Imagineer for Disney and produced for Sesame Street; he is a sculptor, a former Chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, and he assembled this creepy collection of […]

Good Boy, Good Book

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac

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This is a happy dog story! Malian (which is pronounced “Mary-Ann” in Wabanaki language) is visiting her grandparents on their Wabanaki reservation when shelter-in-place orders go into effect for the COVID-19 pandemic.  What was supposed to be a brief visit becomes a long stay, with Malian trying to keep up with Zoom middle school on the rez’s spotty wi-fi and trying to keep her elderly family members safe. Malian isn’t the only unexpected visitor to the rez; a beautiful, mysterious dog shows up and makes […]

Romeo and Juliet, California Style

Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson

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There were two old school romances I adored as a teen.  One, reread not too long ago, was Lorna Doone.  And the other was, spoiler, Ramona.  As a SoCal girl, how could I not?  I was very familiar with the locations and history.  As a matter of fact, one of my sons got married at the Rancho Camulos, where the story begins.  It’s a historical site, but since it was owned by the same family until the mid-20th century, it’s a perfect hodge-podge of various […]



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