Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“There is a pay phone by a truck stop near the town of Leonard, Arizona. Sometimes at night it starts to ring.”

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

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I was first drawn into Emily St. John Mandel’s world back in 2015, when Station Eleven caught my eye after popping up in a few “best of” lists.  It became an immediate favorite, and I know that love is shared here within our CBR community! I’ve read it twice since first picking it up, most recently in March, right as the world started to dip further and further into pandemic horror. I wrote in a previous review that I would not have picked up The Glass Hotel […]

Just too darn cute! Read it!

The Word for Friend by Aidan Cassie

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Just too darn cute! Read it! Okay, I need to write more. But The Word for Friend is really just too darn cute. Aidan Cassie created a story where language barriers does not mean friendship barriers. Kemala the pangolin is excited for her new city, home and school. She is a happy, talkative little girl (pangolin) and it is not until she gets to school that things change. She does not know anyone. And more importantly, nobody speaks her language. How is she going to […]

She “needs pictures on her face.”

Cursed by Karol Ruth Silverstein

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I am going to use for my cbr12bingo Reader’s Choice option for Nostalgia. And really this book could have been set when I was a teen (even if there are cell phones in this book). The tone of the story has that feeling of freedom most parents gave kids “back then.” That free-range parenting. The fact the parents are divorced has that feeling of  this is a new thing and “just coming to light” in a more open and less “((whisper)) So and So just got […]

A fuckin’ great book about swearing.

What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves by Benjamin K. Bergen

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This was a fun, nerdy, sciencey book that takes something taboo and unserious and treats it seriously, which very much appeals to me. This is going to be a short review, because I read the book back in the beginning of April, and my memories of the specifics have mostly faded. I remember that for the most part, I found it HIGHLY enjoyable. Bergen is a linguist and cognitive scientist, so he’s got all the good details. This book is basically everything I wanted from […]

A mysterious BONK in a story you know

Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale by Sam Wedelich

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When I see a book that has a familiar title (Little Red Riding Hood, Chicken Little, Goldilocks) but with a twist (Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale for example) you tend to assume that there will be a core story behind it. And yes, Sam Wedelich does not disappoint. We have one little chicken (but don’t call her that, she is petite). We have a head bonk and we have chickens running around like chickens tend to. The difference here is, this is […]



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