Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Mangonificent tale

Farah Loves Mangos by Sarthak Sinha

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CBR15Passport Different Countries (author is from India & his travels have taken him “from the tropical rainforests to the high Himalayas where he makes children’s books from his tiny studio.”) This book, Farah Loves Mangos, has multiple feelings, but in the end, it becomes a little bittersweet. At first it seems like a lovely story of a young girl, her mangos, and her grandfather. I assumed we would have a symbolism story where the mango tree represents the grandfather, or how the tree is the […]

Brain Washing. But in a nice way.

Invisible: A Graphic Novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez 

The Cool Code by Deirdre Langeland

Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks

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Junior high is tough. And so is reading several creepy/thriller/horror novels or graphic novels in a row. Needed a major brain cleaning, I found three middle reader graphic novels that worked wonders. And not only were they “light” for my adult brain, they had messages and dealt with issues that kids today (and I’m sure we more mature kids have and are having to) deal with. I highly recommending doing this kind of washing of the brain at least once every two to three “intense” […]

When your big sister starts liking books with KISSING in them, and mist creatures want to kidnap her

Sisters of the Mist by Marlyn Spaaij

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Sisters of the Mist can be summarized as a story “where trolls lurk in the mossy spaces between tree trunks and changelings scamper about” but there is more than that. It is a simple look at coming of age with a magical twist and a few turns. Not to mention some mud holes, a foggy swamp and a couple of scary creatures. Marlyn Spaaij has us follow three sisters at various stages of their youth and young adulthood and Tunde Vollenbroek is credited as a […]

Endless Halloween Not-So-Much-Fun

The Halloween Moon by Joseph Fink

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This weekend my goal was to read five books. I only got to two, but at least they were the Halloween ones. One of those was The Halloween Moon by Joseph Fink. It seemed like it was going to be a strong, semi-spooky Halloween romp. Some creepy trick-or-treaters, a little bit of the “you’re too old to go out trick-or-treating” and maybe I don’t know, a monster chasing them, but it is really just a bad dream. It was that. And not like that. I […]

Hey Hey He’s Okay…!

A-Okay by Jarad Green

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A-Okay by Jarad Green seemed like it might have a slightly different take on the coming-of-age story. However, it turned more into a “boy doing the coming-of-age things like you would see a girl doing in a book.” In other words, a normal coming-of-age story. It is what everyone has had to deal with while navigating eighth grade. There is personal care, dealing with flaws real and imagined, trying new looks, hurting friends’ feelings, making new friends, and dealing with insecurities. We have seen it […]

Good thing I’m not allergic to books, but if I was, I’d still read this!

Allergic: A Graphic Novel by Megan Wagner Lloyd

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While the story on the surface of Allergic: A Graphic Novel sounds simple, there is also the complicity of learning of an illness and the result of it being “not fair” to the person dealing with the situation. There is also the typical growing up issues of siblings, friendship, and fear issues. All of it will come to a head by the end and while it might seem overwhelming our heroine, Maggie, finds a way. Megan Wagner Lloyd’s story is an old one (coming to […]



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