Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Which Witch is the worst Witch?

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things (Courtney Crumrin, #1) by Ted Naifeh

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Can you like and dislike a book at the same time? I say yes, as the graphic novel Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things (Courtney Crumrin, #1) by Ted Naifeh is exactly that.  And due to that, I am not really sure I want to explore the rest of the books in the various Courtney Crumrin series. Unless, there is a collection of everything…. Well a girl can dream right? There is really nothing likable about any of the characters, even Courtney who we follow through […]

It was always aliens who had built the pyramids. Nobody could conceive of any Indigenous group erecting anything more complex than a hut.

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I loved Monstserrat (Momo) and Tristán. I think they are my favorite Silvia Moreno Garcia characters. I loved them individually and especially together. I liked, but did not love the story they were in. And it wasn’t so much the plot, because that’s great, but there were times when I was frustrated with the info dumps. I think we got bogged down in detail too many times. Monserrat and Tristán have been friends since they were children, when Monserrat saved Tristán from bullies. Momo is […]

I am The Best! At what, not sure yet…..

Getting Dizzy by Shea Fontana

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I was surprised at the graphic novel, Getting Dizzy. I expected it to be “whiny” and young. However, while it deals with teen angst and the “good enough/not good enough” trope, the not-so-super-superhero story was  not overly cliché. The ending was a tad rushed, the mother a bit too forgiving, but overall it was a pleasant read. The aged 10 to 13-young 14 will enjoy it.  Shea Fontana has a diverse cast, and while there is a “love interest” he, or that potential storyline, is […]

Save the world and work the family food truck

 Mabuhay! A Graphic Novel by Zachary Sterling

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We know the surface story, but there are several fun twists and turns in Mabuhay! A Graphic Novel.  What I mean is, we know sibling issues, how as kids our parents are always embarrassing us, that we are trying to make friends while dealing with bullies and trying to fit in. And one will not be able to do that when your parents own a food truck called The Beautiful Pig and you are in the smelly pig mascot costume. Or if  your kid sister is just […]

“The pit was full of bones and her hands were full of wires”

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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4.5 stars #CBR15 Passport Challenge: Books I already own CBR15 Bingo: Violence 15-word-review: Princess Marra has to complete three impossible tasks to kill her brother-in-law. A quest follows. Longer review: Marra, the youngest princess in a small, rather insignificant kingdom, who has spent half of her life in a convent and so is almost, but very significantly not, a nun, has been set three impossible tasks by a dust-wife (a magic-wielding woman who can communicate with the dead). She must spin thread out of nettles […]

Magical Reads That I Come Back To Again and Again

The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones

Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones

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I think I’ve already extolled the virtues of this series at length here before, so I’ll just say that this is one of my favorites of all time and I am completely biased in favor of these books. I am a lifelong Chrestomanci fan and re-read a couple of these about once a year. This year I took on The Magicians of Caprona and Witch Week, which I was less obsessed with as a kid so I don’t remember the plots quite as well, which […]



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