Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I want to go to fancy two year creative boarding school that buys you all the books you want

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

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My biggest issue with this book is this: for a school that’s all about providing the best and the brightest with whatever resources they need to pursue their intellectual gifts, what exactly is Stevie’s gift? She’s obsessed with true crime? I mean, so is my super smart admin but I don’t know if that would qualify you in the same breath as Janelle? I clearly have a large STEM bias here. But it’s also somewhat grumpy to me that Stevie’s thing is “I like crime” and Janelle’s […]

Three reviews for the price of one!

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

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Who doesn’t love a good boarding school novel? As a fan of both traditional mysteries and boarding school settings, the Truly Devious trilogy (Truly Devious, The Vanishing Stair, and The Hand on the Wall) seemed very nicely targeted toward me as a reader. I’m generally not a big YA reader, but the fit was too good in this case. And as a bonus, the trilogy is complete, so no pesky waiting between books! Book 1 (Truly Devious) begins with Stephanie “Stevie” Bell arriving at the […]

A journey that could not take place at the moment…

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

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Ginny is a 17-year-old who embarks on a journey left to her by her eccentric Aunt Peg.  After her death, Peg left Ginny a sent of 13 little blue envelopes and some very strange instructions.  In the first is some money to get to NYC and then London and the rules: she can only bring a backpack, she is not allowed to bring any guidebooks, she cannot bring any extra money, and she is not allowed to use electronics, which includes contacting the U.S. by […]

CBR11Bingo: Youths!

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

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Maureen Johnson has contributed short stories to YA collections that I’ve read before, but The Vanishing Stair and its predecessor, Truly Devious, are the first stand-alone YA novels (Youths!) that I’ve read by her. The Vanishing Stair, in my opinion, really improves on the first book — mostly because it focuses solely on my favorite character, Stevie. However, you really need to read the first one before you read the sequel so go run and do that before you read my review. I’ll wait. “He looked a […]

Teenage Sherlock Holmes

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson

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Ahhh, Maureen Johnson books, always with the cliffhangers. I should know by now, but couldn’t resist picking up these two books in her unfinished Truly Devious series. At least the second book is out and I found that cliffhanger to be much less nefarious than the first book’s cliffhanger. Ellingham Academy seems like a pretty dope place despite its dark history. It’s a private school in Vermont for bright young students of all kinds. Essentially you just have to reach out if you want to […]



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