Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


A Timely and Moving Tale About a Recent Slice of History

Wake Now In the Fire: A Story of Censorship, Action, Love, and Hope by Jarrett Dapier

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An ordinary day at Curtis Technical High School in 2013 sparks a movement when teachers are ordered to remove Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi from the shelves as it has been decided that the book is no longer allowed in classrooms or libraries at Chicago Public Schools.  But the students aren’t willing to let that be the last word on things and begin to push back.  Even as they struggle to with other things that are going on in their lives, the students are unwilling to […]

Refreshingly good

Kingdom, vol. 1-2 by Yasuhisa Hara

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It felt good to read the first 2 volumes of Kingdom by Yasuhisa Hara after a lot of junk food books. It reminded me a lot of Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue, so I was not surprised to see Hara worked as Inoue’s assistant in the past. In ancient China, two boys named Xin and Piao are best friends and slaves with ambitious goals to be great generals – the only path out of slavery* for them and their wives and children. Not that they have […]

When you fight evil instead of slumber at your slumber party

Unocorn Boy V02 Unicorn Boy and the Slumber Party of Doom! by Dave Roman

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I really liked the first Unicorn Boy by Dave Roman. It was both new and fresh, plus also familiar. I liked that combination. The fantasy elements are fun, the LGBTQ elements on point, I thought the humor was mostly laughing out loud. Sure, some were a bit “kid centered” but that doesn’t mean an adult could like it. Then I read via an online reader Unicorn Boy and the Slumber Party of Doom! (Unicorn Boy #2) by Dave Roman. It is due in early May […]

I could keep talking about Doritos

Red River, vols. 1-24 by Chie Shinohara

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Red River by Chie Shinohara is so indulgent and melodramatic that if I was 12, I’d have strong opinions about it. As an adult, it’s like feeding my brain Doritos. Evil Queen Nakia wants her son to be king in the ancient Hittite empire. But as the youngest of the current king’s sons, the little princelet has a few people in front of him. So Nakia plans to kill her son’s half-brothers. This is all straightforward, but it gets ridiculous and convoluted because she’s an […]

This read is younger than his others (or I’m assuming as I haven’t read them) but still not for really really young

Leo da Vinci: Renaissance Kid by Richard Ashley Hamilton

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If you like stories about, or at least a modernization of Leonardo Da Vinci’s story, you just might like Leo da Vinci: Renaissance Kid by Richard Ashley Hamilton. Of course, things are totally fictionalized (or so one would assume, but perhaps it is set in an alternative reality?). The language is completely of today with actions to match (fist bumps, calling stepfather Tony).  Now, maybe it is not the best book, but for certain it is a fun one that I will try to find […]

They have interesting illustrations

Sleepwalking by Lauren Monger

Grampa by Travis Rommereim

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Sleepwalking by Lauren Monger can be purchased in a bookstore or at Silver Sprocket’s website (and I think they might still have a brick and mortar store as well). You might even be able to get it via your local library. I am not sure why, if you are a nice and normal person. The reason I picked it up (or should say ordered from the website) was because that cover was giving me vibes of something dark, spooky, serious and maybe a little odd […]



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