Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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About BlackRaven

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I am a Professional Book Pusher. Reading is a passion, as is writing, bragging about nephews, and alligator wrestling. My first year participating was 2018. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: BlackRaven's Quick Questions interview.)

BlackRaven's Reviews:

Retro-modern piece of art book

A Great Gorilla by Vera Gereke

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While the artwork of A Great Gorilla by Vera Gereke was not my personal favorite, as it was a tad too abstract for me, there is an audience for it. I can see how these illustrations will be given awards, honors and people will be talking about them. (Or they will in mid-to-later March 2027 when the final product is available, unless you find an online reader copy like I did.) The story is simple, there is a giant, empty cage in the zoo. In […]

The Band that rocked the courts

We Sing From the Heart: How The Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court by Mia Wenjen, Simon Tam and Victor Bizar Gómez

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We Sing From the Heart: How The Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court by Mia Wenjen, Simon Tam (Foreword), and Victor Bizar Gómez (illustrator). I had never heard of the band, The Slants. I had never heard of their legal struggles to have the name they want. I was unaware that there was such a thing as “Chinatown Dance Rock.” But there is a band called The Slants. They had an eight year battle to patent their name. And there […]

Next stop, The Realm of Spirits

Love, Misha: A Graphic Novel by Askel Aden,

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Either I was asleep, mixed up two books, or slipped into a  parallel universe,  but when I first heard of/read about Love, Misha: A Graphic Novel by Askel Aden, I thought it was about a runaway who had several dangerous situations or was a child in war, but still homeless and finding safety. Instead, it is about a nonbinary teen who is dealing with their estranged mother. (Yeah, I think I was totally asleep.) But that’s okay, because I had the pleasure of having no […]

What were you doing as a teen?

The Bicycle Girl: Jyoti Kumari's Amazing Journey Across India: (A True Story of Bravery, Determination, and Family Love Set in India During the Pandemic by Garen Thomas, Suhasini Raj and Maithili Joshi

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Only a few books recently have made me cry due to subject matter. (I’ve cried because they were poorly written and the only good thing I can say is they keep loggers and paper factories in business). Therefore, when I say The Bicycle Girl: Jyoti Kumari’s Amazing Journey Across India: (A True Story of Bravery, Determination, and Family Love Set in India During the Pandemic) made me cry, it is a good cry. Garen Thomas, Suhasini Raj, and illustrator Maithili Joshi made a picture book […]

One and done?

All-American Persian V01 Game On by Sina Grace

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I’m not sure I’m going to read book two of the All-American Persian series, but the representation elements are interesting and the reason I picked up the first book. Though I assumed it was a one shot and not a series at first, it has potential to grow in that area of representation of a culture we might not be familiar with. All-American Persian V01 Game On by Sina Grace explores a pre-teen and his coming of age with the usual elements: parents, siblings, friendships, […]

When it is time

Quiet Crossings by Vivi Partridge, Sal Sawler and Janaina Spada

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Quiet Crossings by Vivi Partridge (with Sal Sawler (editor) and Janaina Spada (colorist)) is, in a few words, an interesting read. The ideas of death, anxiety, depression, and living with the aftermath are poetically dealt with. The main characters are diverse, unusual and for the most part, likeable. Our main character/point of view character, Selena, has moments where you don’t necessarily like how she is reacting, but it is understandable.  We follow about a year’s worth of events. Selena is now working at an Inn, […]



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