Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Kiki Kicks her Anxiety

Kiki Kicks by Jane Yolen

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Jane Yolen, inspired by her granddaughter, Ariel Stemple (coauthor), own journey of self-confidence and overcoming her fears, is coming out in mid-October 2023 with the picture book Kiki Kicks. As many of my future publication book reviews, I found this as an online reader copy. The story is straight forward with the sister half of a brother-sister twin duo, finally decides she is ready to try the martial arts that her mother and brother practice.  Of course, like many young kids, she wants to fly […]

Lazy Hazy Days

A Nest of Gentlefolk and Other Stories by Ivan Turgenev

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CBR15 Passport Russia There is something about the, dare I say, second tier Russian classical authors, such as Turgenev and Gogol, that I find almost mesmerizing.  The primary characters are the gentlefolk mentioned in the title – rich enough to have inherited some sort of estate (complete with serfs and house servants, needless to say), but no wealthier than that.  The men rarely have any profession, other than the occasional doctor, and spend most of their days hunting, fishing, and visiting their neighbors.  The women […]

A late rose is as sweet

When I Came Out by Anne Mette Kærulf Lorentzen

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The graphic novel, When I Came Out has a European mentality to sexual imagery and drug/alcohol use. Therefore, this is an adult first (mature teens second) aimed, is not for all audiences. This is an agult graphic novel as the idea is based on how Anne Mette Kærulf Lorentzen came to terms with her sexuality later in life. This “late bloomer” (taken from her support group name later in the book) finally came out to herself as being a lesbian after 10 years of marriage and […]

When Nathan Found Himself

Call Me Nathan by Catherine Castro

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I was going to call this review, The Girl with a Justin Bieber Haircut. But this book is more than just about a haircut. I mention that, however, to give you a time frame of when things are set. Therefore, if you are looking for a solid book about a trans person coming of age with who he really is, Call Me Nathan might be what you need. However, due to graphic images and triggers (such as self-harm, sexual situations, and body dysmorphia issues) this […]

Patrick White

The Vivisector by Patrick White

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“It was Sunday, and Mumma had gone next door with Lena and the little ones.” This long novel comes from Patrick White, Australia’s sole Nobel Prize winner, and it was more or less the last book he wrote before winning the award, which probably means it played a role in the win. The book is a portrayal of the life of Hurtle Duffield, who becomes a famous artist over the course of the novel, and while it sometimes is about his art and his way […]

Some more Bosch!!

The Dark Hours (Harry Bosch #23, Renee Ballard #4) by Michael Connelly

Desert Star (Harry Bosch #24, Renee Ballard #5) by Michael Connelly

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I got so excited when I saw this book was available at my library. I immediately borrowed it and started listening. And within the first few minutes I realized that I had totally already read it! I thought initially that it was the new Bosch / Ballard book I had been waiting for. A few minutes after realizing I had already read it though, I decided that I had liked it the first time around, and enough time had passed between readings that I’d just […]



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