Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

When Empty came to stay

Empty and Me: A Tale of Friendship and Loss by Azam Mahdavi

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CBR15Passport Author Empty and Me: A Tale of Friendship and Loss is first, a sad book. Second, it is a hopeful book. And finally, it is a sweet story, but has some bitterness too, but not in a “bad way.” The narrator of the story is dealing with the loss of their mother. The story starts with the concept of we the reader seeing the last photograph of the mother, child, and the last potted plant they planted together. We now have Emptiness who stays […]

Don’t read this book if you’re hungry

Challah Day by Charlotte Offsay

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CBR15Passport New Author From kneading dough to gathering with family, we have a Challah Day. What is Challah? It is a bread for the Friday night Shabbat dinner. I did not know this, but learned about it, the culture of the family and the fun and love this family has in Charlotte Offsay’s story. Overall, this is a simple story of family and how they come together. It does not matter the holiday we celebrate; we all have these traditions and it Offsay shows us […]

A little girl and a big idea

Jhupli’s Honey Bee Box by Achintyarup Ray

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CBR15Passport country (India) With a title like Jhupli’s Honey Bee Box I assumed there would be bees and a honey box. I did not expect tigers. And no, it is not a story where the tigers like honey, but one where they like the people who go into the jungle to harvest the honey. In fact, they like them so much the people never return to the village. Well, there is a twist for ya! Bet you didn’t see that coming either! Joking aside, this […]

The girl who won’t quit

Asadora! V06 by Naoki Urasawa

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CBR15Passport country (Japan)   Manga and I have an interesting relationship. I appreciate it, and it does its own thing. But occasionally that thing has me going along for the ride.  And the series by Naoki Urasawa, Asadora! has me riding (so far) all six volumes. (This volume is translated by John Werry) While slower than the others, this is a good build-up for volume 7 (planned for October 2023). And while these “in-between novels” are a nice way to give you more information about […]

The man who invited a dance style

Juba: A Novel by Walter Dean Myers

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CBR15Passport I own Based on true events of a little-known dancer of the pre-Civil War era, Juba: A Novel by Walter Dean Myers is a story of race and fame. This is the story of the man who invented modern tap dance. There is a mixture of humor and seriousness to the text as well as the overall tone. There is some language used (the N word and “racoon” without the “ra”) and talk of violence that happened (in the south and even north) therefore, […]



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