Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Revisiting a queer collection from my ’90s youth

Am I Blue by Marion Dane Bauer

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I picked up Am I Blue?, an anthology of “gay and lesbian” stories for young adults right around when it was published in 1994. I was in middle school, which I had entered with a new haircut that earned me a lot of accusations from more ignorant classmates. But I think this was just a coincidence; I don’t remember questioning my sexuality or gender despite those comments. I expect I either picked it up out of curiosity about the gay community, or that my mom […]

If it first you don’t succeed brush yourself off and try again, try again

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

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My second read of the year comes from the long-standing tradition between my spouse and me: At the end of each year, we jot down five books for the other person to read over the upcoming year. I confess that The Do-Over was from the 2024 list, but in the spirit of the book, I thought I should go ahead and get ‘er read (a do-over!). I enjoyed the book and found it to be good medicine for our toxic times. Emily Hornby is the kind […]

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

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Disclaimer: I think this will be the third time I have attempted participating in the Cannonball Read. My failures in the past are so frustrating to me because I easily read at least 50 books each year. It’s the reviews that are my stumbling block. I know it’s because I am intimidated, both by the intelligence of the Pajiba community and by my minimal skills with technology. This year, I’m trying to let that anxiety go. If my reviews sound like they were written by […]

California fairy tale dreamin’

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

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The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block is an early 2000s reimagining of classic fairy tales set in “modern” Los Angeles. Block adapts nine of our most famous European fairy tales, each from the perspective of the young woman at its center. Some are narrated first-person and immediate, some are told in a more fable-esque tone. Each title is just a single word, and while some titles clearly indicate the tale they’re retelling, a couple are vague, which was fun to figure out […]

Ghostbusting with your dad can get embarrassing

Ghost Roast by Shawneé Gibbs, Shawnelle Gibbs

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Written by Shawneé Gibbs, Shawnelle Gibbs, and illustrated by Emily Cannon, Ghost Roast is a young adult graphic novel about a Black teenager forced to hunt ghosts with her dad. Chelsea has finally made friends with the cool kids at school. But their sneaking out to party ways land her in hot water. Her mom is disappointed, and as punishment to earn back her parents’ trust, she is grounded and forced to work at Ghost Roast, her dad’s ghostbusting business. He is more than a […]

Blood – Thicker Than Water?

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

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Bel Price was in the backseat when her mother went missing, but because she was two years old, she doesn’t remember the answers everyone wants, and she’s finally made peace with it. But when Rachel reappears sixteen years later, it upends everything Bel knew. I haven’t read Holly Jackson’s wildly popular A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series yet, but I requested up this book on NetGalley for the rave reviews those received as much as for the intriguing premise of this story. Certainly the […]



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