Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR18
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • 2026 Registration
    • Suggest a Review
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

Magical Historical Fiction

The Antidote by Karen Russel

April 15, 2026 by G.D. Giant 2 Comments

From the afterword/Lost Land Acknowledgement by Dr. James Riding In: “The Antidote uses fantastical conceits to illuminate the holes in people’s private and collective memories, the willful omissions passed down generation to generation, and the myths that have been used by the U.S. government and White settlers to justify crimes against the citizens of Native Nations and the theft of Native lands.” And the author uses those fantastical conceits very well. The Antidote is a beautifully written, sad, interesting, and clever novel. It’s a fantastic […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History Tagged With: American History, anticolonialism, historical fiction, Karen Russel, magical realism, Native Lands, Nebraska, the great depression, The Great Plains, witches

G.D. Giant's CBR18 Review No:6 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: American History, anticolonialism, historical fiction, Karen Russel, magical realism, Native Lands, Nebraska, the great depression, The Great Plains, witches ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

More (Magical) Real Than The Regime

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar

April 12, 2026 by matt_thac Leave a Comment

  I’ve been thinking a lot about why I appreciate magical realism but fantasy does nothing for me. For me, it reaches truths that fantasy (and other genres) can’t quite grasp. It gives a voice to othered writers, be they minority writers or from the Global South, or more often than not, both. In the hands of a skilled writer, it can express deep emotions like grief, love, and those invisible bonds that link us across generations. It can feel like a folkloric tale, touching […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: cbr18, Iran, Iranian Revolution, magical realism, Shokoofeh Azar

matt_thac's CBR18 Review No:35 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: cbr18, Iran, Iranian Revolution, magical realism, Shokoofeh Azar ·
· 0 Comments

Botany, Bears and Beaver Ponds

Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

March 4, 2026 by G.D. Giant 2 Comments

This is a lovely, sad, beautifully written book. I feel bad for everyone who rated it one star on Goodreads just because it wasn’t a faithful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Because if you read it for what it is, instead of what it isn’t, it’s really quite wonderful. Ivey touches on themes of motherhood, love, personal freedom, mental health and the natural world, all in a dark fairy tale setting. Single mom Birdie does the best that she can for her daughter, Emaleen, […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Alaska, contemporary, dark fairy tale, Eowyn Ivey, magical realism, Mental Health, Motherhood, nature

G.D. Giant's CBR18 Review No:5 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Alaska, contemporary, dark fairy tale, Eowyn Ivey, magical realism, Mental Health, Motherhood, nature ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

Picture it, Haiti, 1930s

When the Mapou Sings by Nadine Pinede

February 18, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When the Mapou Sings by Nadine Pinede is a romantic telling of a young girl learning her real place in the world through a perhaps lesser-known piece of history. A bit fanciful at times, and the ending a bit too convenient, but overall well done. A solid 3.5 for the rating and I will be looking for more by this author, but that might be awhile as this is their debut prose poetry novel. Lucilles’s (the narrator and heroine of our story) journey seems as […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: Caribbean & Latin America, coming-of-age, family, friendship, Haiti, magical realism, Nadine Pinede, Novels in Verse, People of Color, Social Themes, women's right

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:57 · Genres: Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: Caribbean & Latin America, coming-of-age, family, friendship, Haiti, magical realism, Nadine Pinede, Novels in Verse, People of Color, Social Themes, women's right ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing

Brutally beautiful historical fantasy

A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

February 4, 2026 by LB Leave a Comment

I was immediately drawn to this book, but struggled with eyeball reading, so I was so glad when I got an advance listening copy as well, especially so I wouldn’t be butchering the Chinese words and intonations. This is really intense and deals with a lot of really difficult topics, and it’s hard to say any of the characters (though especially Ba) were likable, but the ending left me with a feeling of hope and healing. Told through three (four?) perspectives, A Beast Slinks Towards […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction, History Tagged With: Alice Evelyn Yang, authoritiaism, China, Chinese folklore, colonialism, Communism, demons, east Asia folklore, fox, fox spirits, generational trauma, generations, jackalope, Japan, magical realism, Manchuria, Oni

LB's CBR18 Review No:2 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction, History · Tags: Alice Evelyn Yang, authoritiaism, China, Chinese folklore, colonialism, Communism, demons, east Asia folklore, fox, fox spirits, generational trauma, generations, jackalope, Japan, magical realism, Manchuria, Oni ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“The town of Stony Lonesome spreads like scrambled eggs. It spills, runny, over the hot desert pan, but then heaps up all around you, making this place feel smaller than you thought.”

Gumshoe by Brenna Thummler

January 25, 2026 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

I was unsure about this when I saw it in the bookstore, but I’m glad I gave it a chance because I ended up thinking it was quite good. Sometimes it’s good to push through my initial negative reaction! Gumshoe is a magical realist middle grade/YA graphic novel (definitely appropriate for middle schoolers, but it’s dense and complex enough that I think it’d be good for the YA reader as well) about Willa, who has intense social anxiety and wants more than anything to be […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Young Adult Tagged With: Brenna Thummler, magical realism, power of friendship, ya graphic novel

GentleRain's CBR18 Review No:34 · Genres: Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Young Adult · Tags: Brenna Thummler, magical realism, power of friendship, ya graphic novel ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 29
  • Next Page »


Recent Comments

  • Zirza
    on “To The Lighthouse” for the Climate Change Generation
    Sure, though it depends on what you expect. I know some Cannonballers were let down by the thriller aspect and...
  • Madame Anna
    on I accidentally started an alien smut series, and now I can’t stop!
    You need to read the prequel series! Ice Plant Barbarians. It's awesome and explains everything before Lauren's Barbarian! I'm sure...
  • Jennifer
    on These Things are Like Potato Chips
    I agree with you about the ending, however I'm referring to your review.
  • Zirza
    on Another Group of Old Friends That All Actually Hate Each Other
    I feel ya! I liked this book but there are a lot of things that I had to overlook. It's...
  • Zirza
    on What will people think of us 100 years from now?
    Interesting! As someone who went on a bit of a McEwan bender some 10-15 years ago I wonder how it...
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission, Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2026 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in