Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“She looked in the mirror and gasped. Melissa gasped back at her. For a long time, she stood there, just blinking. George smiled, and Melissa smiled too.”

Melissa's Story by Alex Gino

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In one word: Charming Cannonball Read Bingo: They She He In one word: Charming Cannonball Read Bingo: They She He I don’t read any children’s literature, aside from an occasional revisit of a childhood fave or a few failed attempts to do a tandem read-a-long with my kiddo. I picked up George for him to read, having seen it at the library and hearing about it years ago from my favorite podcast, Literary Disco. They did an episode where they read George and Lumberjanes, and […]

Her Voice

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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Carmen Maria Machado’s voice is a fine-honed instrument. She reads In the Dream House, her memoir of receiving abuse in a same-sex relationship, at a volume just above a whisper. She is hushed, quick, and measured yet still barreling down. Her voice is arresting. You will stop dead-still to catch her every intake of breath. She is a force to be reckoned with. I am in awe of her strength; her strength to survive, her strength to document, and her strength to share her darkest […]

Another book-club-recommended-rip-your-heart-out read

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

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Neither this book nor Rebecca Makkai was on my radar but this is the March selection of the ANUW (Association for Northwestern University Women) book club and they have never steered me wrong before. This book club is the reason I read Hillbilly Elegy, Between the World and Me, the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, and Radium Girls (and if you haven’t read these, add them all to your “to read” pile! Anyhoo, I digress. The Great Believers was another in the long line of books […]

You can’t silence Love

Love is Love by Marc Andreyko

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I wasn’t quite sure what to read for the Banned Book #CBR11Bingo square. And then my friend George shared an article about an Irving school district recently banning the comic book, Love is Love. It was sad and frustrating to learn. A tribute to the victims of the Orlando Pulse shooting was censored for “extreme homosexuality” by close-minded educators. I knew instantly I had to read this collection and review it for my first ever bingo. The book may be banned, but the message won’t be […]



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