Cannonball Read 12

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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About BlackRaven

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Reading, writing and alligator wrestling are passions of mine. 2018 was my first year participating and looking forward to 2020. Going to be a bigger kid this year and really enjoy reading and writing reviews.

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My journey was different, but I can relate

The Times I Knew I Was Gay by Eleanor Crewes

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#cbr12bingo Shelfie The Times I Knew I Was Gay is less of a coming out story and more of a “coming into yourself” story. Eleanor Crewes does not do a “deep dive” into their journey to finding their true self but all the important parts, events, feelings and people are there. These highlights create a feeling that you are reading a diary or watching a movie that Crewes is narrating. Crewes comes out to themselves (and to family and friends) several times before they finally […]

From Reality Star to Kick Butt Author!

Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick

Hilo V02 Saving the Whole Wide World by Judd Winick

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Do you ever look at a book and think, “Well that’s not going to be for me?” Then one day, you find it on the library shelves (or in my case the website and I could put in a request for curbside pickup) and you didn’t want to waste your five-limit book allotment, so you pick it up? And did you then ask yourself, “Why did I wait so long to read this?” Okay, I might have been in the right humorous mood, but I […]

A really long review that has spoilers

Becoming Beatriz by Tami Charles

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This review is long as this book brought out a lot of feelings. Feelings of remembering books I read as a kid and didn’t get “the point” of. Feelings of current events. Feelings of not liking characters. And a lot more.  This is a book you experience and YMMV. Becoming Beatriz is the companion novel to Like Vanessa. It starts on the day Beatriz turns 15 and the night her brother is murdered by a rival gang. Like this incident was a sidebar in the […]

A semi-autobiographical debut novel that opens up a world

Like Vanessa by Tami Charles

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Like Vanessa is a sweet and realistic story of liking yourself, while finding your home, family and who you truly are. Tami Charles bases her character Vanessa on some of her own experiences making this an interesting combination of fact, fiction, history and contemporary issues. In 1983 Vanessa is a dark-skinned girl living in the inner city. Vanessa, her cousin, her beloved grandfather Pop-Pop and her father live in a small apartment. But they could not be farther apart if they live in a mansion. […]

A spoiler but I’ll warn you where!

My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano

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About a month ago, my cell totally pooped itself. I was able to factory reset it, losing everything in the process. Practically a month to the day, it poops itself again (just when I had gotten things back to mostly normal). Only this time it really “Shakespeare in the park” itself. (I was not allowed to swear as a child, so I used words that started with the same letter or sound. I think you can guess this one.) Therefore, I found myself on a […]



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