Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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That night Maite dreamed of drums in the jade-green jungle.

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Velvet Was the Night would make an amazing movie or TV series. The book felt cinematic as I read. Moreno-Garcia paints pictures and moods so beautifully I could see them play out in my head. I don’t usually see books in my head. On top of that, Moreno-Garcia has created a Spotify playlist to listen to while reading. It is excellent. It’s June, 1971 in Mexico City. The Mexican Dirty War is just starting. President Echeverria is suppressing rock and roll. After a couple of […]

When a stranger on a plane gives you a book and a leftover tortilla chip falls out of it, you know you’ve made a friend

Zorro's Shadow by Stephen J.C. Andes

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I flew to see my dad for the 4th of July (hi, sabian30!), and wore my Ozma of Oz shirt on the plane. The woman who had the seat next to me complimented my shirt, yay! Always fun to meet a fellow reader. She had her headphones in during the flight, so I didn’t want to disturb her, but when she removed them when we landed I asked her how long she gave a bad book before giving up on it. The book I brought […]

Every Last Fear, and the People Affected by True Crime Entertainment

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

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This is the entry for the “Free!” square in bingo. I borrowed it 🙂 This was a really fun book to read. Horribly depressing subject matter, but there were some twists and turns. I won’t say the mystery is impenetrable as it becomes fairly clear about halfway through, but the way the events unfold is very interesting.  Matt Pine is a student at NYU who is dealing with the aftermath of a true crime documentary about his brother, Danny Pine, and the murder of Danny’s […]

An excellent book but not my cup of tea

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I read Gods of Jade and Shadow and thought it was enjoyable, so I was excited to read Mexican Gothic.  I’m not sure my expectations were met. Noemi is a socialite in the upper-class of 1950s Mexico City. She goes to parties, she flirts, she wears beautiful gowns because she actually enjoys them, and she wants to go university against her family’s wishes. Noemi’s life gets upended when her father asks her to go check on her cousin Catalina who has written a strange and disturbing […]

A compelling mystery, an intrepid heroine, a musty creepy mansion… and colonialism

Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

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The book opens up from the perspective of a boy out on a party with a flighty, superficial and possibly spoiled socialite.  I think this was intentional on the part of the author.  A party girl is not what we expect to be a heroine of a story, much less a horror one.  Noemi Taboada is a lovely heroine. Unusual in that she is smart and strong (as most heroines are) but also flighty, stubborn and a socialite who enjoys going to parties and flirting with […]

Mexican Gothic!

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I love gothic novels. I love gothic films. I love gothic stories, in general. And I loved this one. I’ve never read a gothic novel that takes place outside of Europe, unless they’re on the East Coast of the U.S. And to set one in Mexico was such a great choice. Though, the menacing family and house are purely English and very familiarly gloomy. Mexican Gothic follows Noemí Taboada as she travels from her exciting life as a beloved socialite in Mexico City to a […]



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