Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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A Favorite Author’s Beginnings

Guardians of Dreamdark: Windwitch by Laini Taylor

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Laini Taylor is one of my favorite authors, and I had been wanting to read her debut novel for a while, so I finally picked it up when it was re-released. As expected, I enjoyed the writing, and I loved the whimsical worldbuilding, such as cheroot-smoking, brandy-drinking crows. Those kinds of details are so specific and unexpected, and they create a strange but lived-in world. While the book is rated for middle grade, it could easily cross over into early YA due to the complexity […]

“We’ll fly to freedom together one day.” — Moving and Important Portrayal of Escape from North Korea

The Other Side of Tomorrow by Tina Cho and Deb JJ Lee

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I’d been putting off reading this for a bit because I felt like it was going to be stressful, but as part of my effort to work through the piles sitting around my house, I finally picked it up again (I had started at one point last year and got about three pages in). I’m glad I did, as this was a good look at the horrific journeys that people escaping from North Korea must go through. This is like the graphic novel version of […]

“Marta, I want you to know that war destroys everything, always. That is its intent, its only intent. If anyone tries to explain it to you otherwise, in some other way, in words of nobility or valor, do not believe them.”

The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo

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This got me through a rough commute today, thanks to Kate DiCamillo for giving me something to focus on as I struggled my way to work. The Hotel Balzaar is set in her Norendy universe, of which this is my first time reading, so I’m not that clear on what differentiates Norendy from our world, but I had a pleasant time visiting. Marta’s father has gone missing during the war (it seems to be WWI but it’s not specified) and her mother has had to […]

“It seems like a good thing to know the star that can keep you from being lost in this world.”

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo

Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo

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Spoilers follow below! These two books follow Raymie Nightingale and round out the trilogy with the girls at 14. Louisiana’s Way Home details Louisiana’s struggle to understand her past and to cope with her grandmother’s decisions, as she uproots them yet again and forces Louisiana to leave behind the new home and friends she’s made. They end up in a small town in Georgia and she has to find her footing once again in the face of a lot of revelations and emotional upheaval. This is probably […]

“There were three of them, three girls. They were standing side by side. They were standing at attention.”

Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo

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This was a re-read and actually a re-buy because I bought this a couple of years ago and it’s stuck with me, so this second copy is going on the permanent bookshelf. Kate DiCamillo is such an amazing author, every book I’ve read by her is a hit with me. She has a delicacy of tone and a way with emotional gravity that I think children’s books really benefit from. Children need to have books that take them and their concerns seriously, that acknowledge the […]

Dogs leveled up

DnDoggos: Get the Party Started by Scott Underhill

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Tonka, Pickles, Zoey, and Magnus are dogs, friends, and a D&D party. Magnus is the game master, Tonka is a goofy puppet-wielding bard, Pickles is an impatient fighter, and Zoey is the thoughtful cleric. Their quest? to track down the mayor’s son Squish, and figure out why all of the squeaky toys in the kingdom have gone missing. Their real-life quest? to eat as many snacks as possible. So, you know, your average D&D adventure. The narrative bounces back and forth between the imagined D&D […]



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