Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“I would shiver the whole night through”

Knife River (2024) by Justine Champine

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When it comes to mysteries, I find the plot to be almost the least interesting thing–as long as it’s not too lazy or derivative or actively insulting to the reader, and fits into the vibes of the story. What I do care about, then, are the vibes–if the vibes are there, if the texture of the story is something I can snag myself on, I don’t really worry about clues or reveals (which I’m bad at predicting anyway). The vibes are pretty immaculate in Knife […]

Picture it: 2002; rural Rigsby, Wisconsin

Foothold: Rigsby WI by S.E. Case

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Foothold: Rigsby WI by S.E. Case is a typical coming of age story that has some mature themes and language, therefore it is not for the too young or sensitive reader. Overall, it feels like a realistic and interesting portrayal of five high school students (four in high school, one who is homeschooled by her aunt). It is a story that is familiar and has a typical feeling of the era it is set (early 2000s, high school). As this seems to be volume one […]

Oh What Tangled Webs We Weave

It Started With a Secret by Tif Marcelo

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When Jared goes to the town of Peak in search of answers about his father’s family, the last thing he expects is to spend a night with Matilda, the prickly manager of their B&B. There is a lot of story packed into this fairly short book – Reconnecting with your roots! Family drama! Age gap! Forbidden workplace romance! – but author Marcelo does a decent job of giving all of it plenty of page time, even if it means some of them are a bit […]

A gripping Southern noir

All Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

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When not reading romance, I love me some mysteries! I usually stray into cozies with pun titles, but been known to enjoy a good detective novel too. All Sinners Bleed was my first read from S.A. Cosby. The novel follows Titus Crowne, a newly elected Black sheriff when tragedy befalls the hometown where he serves. A school shooting uncovers buried secrets and forces the town to reckon with the concept of murderers in their midst. Titus was in the FBI and came home to live […]

Trans YA horror in a small town

Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli

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Lockjaw by Matteo L Cerilli is a YA horror that explores small town niceness and what makes a monster real. I’m still fairly newly into horror and very particular, but I like seeing the themes of monstrosity explored through marginalized lenses, so I took the chance to read Lockjaw with glee. This is a story told from several points of view and does some time jumps that aren’t obvious, for reasons that become evident about halfway through the book. I found several elements absolutely heartbreaking, […]

Queer awakenings aren’t just for teens

Cash Delgado is Living the Dream by Tehlor Kay Mejia

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I was a little hesitant to pick this book up after I couldn’t get into Sammy Espinoza, but I’m so glad I gave this a shot after all! Even though this takes place in the same town and there’s several Sammy cameos, this absolutely stands on its own with its focus on Cash and wanting to save Joyce’s, a local dive bar. This is also a book where “everything is political” really keeps coming to mind in the way it challenges gentrification and is so […]



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