Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR18
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • 2026 Registration
    • Suggest a Review
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

“No, I mean, it’s all in pieces.” “Yes. So are we all.”

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

August 9, 2024 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

Light from Uncommon Stars is both entirely typical of my reading (characters going through it, romance main or subplots, coming to terms with one’s choices, a commitment to reading trans and non-binary authors) but also feels quite a bit outside my comfort zone. I had initially put this book on my to read list because of the 2023 Read Harder tasks asking us to read a book about a trans character by a trans author and a book from the Ignyte Awards. Then my 2023 […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Tagged With: a little fantasy, alex award, cbr16bingo, celestial, ignyte awards, LGBTQ, light from uncommon stars, queer romance, read harder challenge, Ryka Aoki, Speculative Fiction, transgender author, transgender heroine, we need diverse books

faintingviolet's CBR16 Review No:32 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction · Tags: a little fantasy, alex award, cbr16bingo, celestial, ignyte awards, LGBTQ, light from uncommon stars, queer romance, read harder challenge, Ryka Aoki, Speculative Fiction, transgender author, transgender heroine, we need diverse books ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“That look was the absolute truth. I know it the way you know things sometimes, bone-deep as loneliness, right in the living room of the heart.”

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela

February 26, 2024 by faintingviolet Leave a Comment

As I mentioned in my review of The Carrefour Curse there are two tasks in the 2024 Read Harder Challenge that are specifically about middle grades books. Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom is my selection for task 6: read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character. Right off the bat, this is a good book, in fact Nina Varela can write better than most authors I’ve come across in the past year or more. I just wish Middle Grades was an audience […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy Tagged With: a little fantasy, anxiety representation, CBR16SweetBooks, galatea, Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom, lgbtq characters, Middle Grades, myth retelling, Nina Varela, pygmalion, read harder challenge, we need diverse books

faintingviolet's CBR16 Review No:11 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy · Tags: a little fantasy, anxiety representation, CBR16SweetBooks, galatea, Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom, lgbtq characters, Middle Grades, myth retelling, Nina Varela, pygmalion, read harder challenge, we need diverse books ·
· 0 Comments


Recent Comments

  • Margaret
    on Bruh.
    How is it possible that jude only met sexual predictors in his childhood? Like we know those people exist but...
  • Halbs
    on Nerds vs Nazis
    Do you happen to remember where the interview came from? I'd like to check it out. If you can believe...
  • ElCicco
    on Is it a “hilarious satire” OR is it a middling white guy’s rant against contemporary social norms
    Just like those comedians who punch down and when there’s pushback, they whine that they’re being canceled and we have...
  • esmemoria
    on Is it a “hilarious satire” OR is it a middling white guy’s rant against contemporary social norms
     My Inner Child Wants to Kill is supposed to be humorous, and maybe that is supposed to cover up the anger...
  • narfna
    on “You can be the most virtuous woman in the world and you’ll still carry the blame, not just for your desire but for everyone’s desire.”
    I still can't get over the way she described lasagna. I'm so glad you loved this!!
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission, Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2026 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in