Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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“Everywhere I looked, there was danger:” A Nuanced and Interesting Middle-Grade Novel

Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein

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Turtle Boy was a random bookstore find for me, and I’m really glad I picked it up off the shelf. An interesting cover illustration will always get me, and the combination of bright yellow and a picture of the visual representation of my inner child intrigued me. Turtle Boy follows Will Levine, who is struggling with bullying, the death of his father, and having to do community service as part of the preparation for his bar mitzvah. In the opening chapters of the book, Will is […]

“You deserve happiness:” Thoughtful and Resonant Work from Sarah Winifred Searle

The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

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Another preordered gift to myself that turned out to be quite the treat! Sarah Winifred Searle is an artist whose work I’ve been following for a while and so I was very excited to see that she had a YA graphic novel coming out. The book lived up to my expectations and I really enjoyed it. The Greatest Thing is about Winifred, who’s about to start sophomore year after her two best friends left for private school. She’s afraid that she won’t make any new friends […]

“I think of all the things I dislike in this world, I hate being condescended to the most:” A Lovely Coming of Age YA Novel

Marly the Kid by Susan Beth Pfeffer

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This was a very pleasant surprise — I got this randomly based on a TikTok recommendation, and had no real expectations going in. I thought the plot sounded interesting and I tend to like older YA from the 70s, so figured I’d give it a shot. It turned out to be quite good and I really enjoyed it. Marly is a sophomore in high school whose mother is awful and verbally abusive to her. Her sister already left home and is in Colorado trying to […]

An archaeological dig into suburban life, teenage angst, and death

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

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A startling, depressing, funny, painful glimpse into teenaged angst, The Virgin Suicides is Eugenides’ first novel and well-written but not a comfortable read. If you expect deep psychological insights into the phenomenon of suicide, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, the author reflects on adolescence, loss, regret, and the all too swift passage of time. One learns right from the beginning that the five teenaged daughters of the Lisbon family have all killed themselves, and with that horrifying fact now out in the open, the author proceeds […]

Striking a Blow for Teenage Geekdom

Popular a Memoir by Maya Van Wagenen

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A cute and well-written teen memoir for those kids—the majority of us, it would seem—who never managed to achieve popularity in school. Maya is a slightly plump, eye-glass wearing smarty to whom celebrity status, beautiful clothes, makeup and jewelry are someone else’s domain. She and her best friend Kenzie occupy the status below the school geeks and goths, according to her list which boasts the volleyball girls and football boys at the top of the heap. She is tired of being on the outs but […]



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