Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Cover of The Story of my Anger by Jasminne Mendez

A firestorm of a story!

The Story of my Anger by Jasminne Mendez

July 8, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

The Story of my Anger counts for the “school” square on CBR17 Bingo. I was immediately drawn to The Story of My Anger because Yuli’s pose on the cover is so defiant and powerful, and I knew I wanted to read her story. Told in verse, this book follows Yuli and her group of friends who are trying to prevent the books that have allowed them to be seen in curriculum from being banned. Especially in today’s sociopolitical landscape and how many books are being […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult Tagged With: book bans, cbr17bingo, chosen family, contemporary fiction, jasminne Mendez, Multicultural, protest, queer secondary characters, Texas, the story of my anger, United States of America, Young Adult

LB's CBR17 Review No:9 · Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult · Tags: book bans, cbr17bingo, chosen family, contemporary fiction, jasminne Mendez, Multicultural, protest, queer secondary characters, Texas, the story of my anger, United States of America, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

An Important Middle Grade in Verse

Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner

February 27, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

Gosh, Please Pay Attention is a book that hurts in the best way. Bea is a sixth-grader with cerebral palsy who is Buddies with Josie, a kindergartner with anxiety, and best friends with Rani. Max is the school nurse, and also her foster mom who gave her her name because Bea’s neonatal room was decorated with Peter Rabbit before Max brought her home. Bea loves to draw and even gets in trouble for drawing places she shouldn’t, like her bedroom wall and classroom desk. But […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: cerebral palsy, chosen family, contemporary, Disability, disabled mc, Jamie sumner, mass shooting, middle grade, novel-in-verse, Realistic fiction, school shooting, trauma

LB's CBR17 Review No:4 · Genres: Fiction, Poetry · Tags: cerebral palsy, chosen family, contemporary, Disability, disabled mc, Jamie sumner, mass shooting, middle grade, novel-in-verse, Realistic fiction, school shooting, trauma ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Fun & Delightful Black Sapphic Romance

A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chencia C. Higgins

April 25, 2024 by LB 1 Comment

I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book forever, so as soon as I got approved for an arc I had to immediately jump in. And I am so glad I did! I’ve loved Chencia’s books since I read Wolves of West Texas, and seeing her story-telling grow and develop is just amazing. A Little Kissing Between Friends is such a delight of a book and had me laughing constantly. The friendship between Jucee and Cyn is so wonderful, and I also love how […]

Filed Under: Featured, Fiction, Romance Tagged With: bisexual, Black romance, Chencia C. Higgins, chosen family, contemporary, Contemporary Romance, lesbian, queer, Romance, sapphic romance, sex worker, single parent

LB's CBR16 Review No:2 · Genres: Featured, Fiction, Romance · Tags: bisexual, Black romance, Chencia C. Higgins, chosen family, contemporary, Contemporary Romance, lesbian, queer, Romance, sapphic romance, sex worker, single parent ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment

Magical queer historical romance

Of Socialites and Prizefights by Arden Powell

February 10, 2024 by LB Leave a Comment

Arden Powell has been on my radar for a while and I’ve been collecting their books, but lesbians is what finally broke the seal (I am but a simple lesbian lol) and now I want to dive into the whole Flos Magicae backlist to see all the characters in their own stories. Deepa is a singer at a club and doesn’t believe in love, so when one of her paramours curses her to become a leopard every midnight and tells her the only way to […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Romance Tagged With: #fantasy, Arden Powell, chosen family, fantasy romance, Flos Magicae, historical fiction, historical romance, lesbian, magic, queer, romantasy, sapphic

LB's CBR16 Review No:3 · Genres: Fantasy, Romance · Tags: #fantasy, Arden Powell, chosen family, fantasy romance, Flos Magicae, historical fiction, historical romance, lesbian, magic, queer, romantasy, sapphic ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

This duology will rock you!

Godly Heathens by H. E. Edgmon

Merciless Saviors by H. E. Edgmon

December 26, 2023 by LB 4 Comments

I read HE Edgmon’s debut, The Witch King and immediately knew he was an author to keep an eye on! And his newest duology, The Ouroboros, shows so much growth and development as an author and story teller. Godly Heathens is currently available, and I’d recommend this duology more for older teens than a crossover audience, especially as there is significant violence and gore throughout (content notes are provided in the front matter). Merciless Saviors releases April 16, 2024. Logistics out of the way, let […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: chosen family, duology, godly heathens, h. E. Edgmon, HE Edgmon, merciless saviors, messy characters, nonbinary, Ouroboros, Ouroboros duology, queer, Seminole, trans, unreliable narrator

LB's CBR15 Review No:15 · Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: chosen family, duology, godly heathens, h. E. Edgmon, HE Edgmon, merciless saviors, messy characters, nonbinary, Ouroboros, Ouroboros duology, queer, Seminole, trans, unreliable narrator ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

An Amazing Nigerian-Inspired Fantasy

Forged By Blood by Ehigbor Okosun

August 2, 2023 by LB 1 Comment

Wow, this book is so amazingly good. If you’re fond of epic fantasy, political machinations, and soulmates this is a book you should absolutely read! Dèmi grew up having to keep her abilities secret because just before her birth the kingdom of Ìfe was conquered and all Oluson persecuted for fear of what their abilities could do against the Eingardan. One day, though, a young boy is brought to Dèmi and her mother, poisoned, and the act of saving his life condemns Dèmi’s mother. Dèmi […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Featured, Fiction Tagged With: #fantasy, chosen family, Ehigbor Okosun, forged by blood, magic, Nigerian mythology, spiritual magic, William morrow books

LB's CBR15 Review No:11 · Genres: Fantasy, Featured, Fiction · Tags: #fantasy, chosen family, Ehigbor Okosun, forged by blood, magic, Nigerian mythology, spiritual magic, William morrow books ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment
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