Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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1880s romance and human rights

Renegade Girls by Nora Neus and Julie Robine

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When I started the Nora Neus and Julie Robine graphic novel, Renegade Girls, I was not enjoying it. Things felt too simple, romanticized, not original and terribly slow paced. I already knew the ending. Or so I thought. Granted, there was the obvious ending (if you are paying attention) but things did not take the obvious path to get there. We have a realistic look at the troubles of the factor workers and we see the ugly but it is not gratuitous. In fact, if […]

Friends since the 1940s

Are You a Friend of Dorothy?: The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped by Kyle Lukoff

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Are You a Friend of Dorothy?: The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped is by Kyle Lukoff and illustrated by Levi Hastings. I had hoped that it would be something different than the usual LGBTQ book, as I have read several and wanted more things. The fact that Lukoff is using the code phrase, “Are you a friend of Dorothy?” made it seem promising. And while they did not disappoint, as an adult reader, I’m still looking for more. […]

My Name Is Brave

My Name Is Brave: LGBTQIA+ by William Anthony

My Name Is Brave: The Environment by William Anthony

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My Name Is Brave: LGBTQIA+  by William Anthony (due January 2025) is a nice book and a good introduction on LGBT+ issues, but it has been done before. You could find this information in almost any book on the subject. However, the addition of showing how the reader can partake in helping this or another cause they need to be brave for, is good.  The mixture of photographs and drawing bring to life a handful of advocates. In a few pages each we see a transgender […]

The first woman to sit down was a teenager

Claudette Colvin: I Want Freedom Now! by Claudette Colvin

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We know Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Dr. King and more of the civil rights movement people, but do you know Claudette Colvin? She was a teenager who one day was sitting on the bus. She was, like Rosa after her, tired and knew her rights. She said No, I’m not giving up my seat. She would be yelled out, arrested and charged with numerous crimes (none of which were true). And her mother and preacher would bail her out of jail. But that was not […]

What a Life.

Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford by ed. Peter Y, Sussman

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cbr16bingo pride Decca, AKA Jessica Mitford, was one of the younger of the six notorious Mitford sisters.  Their parents, a pair of very conservative British aristocrats, raised quite a brood.  There was also a son, but he does not factor much into the account.  Her mother decided that girls had no need for schooling (the boy, of course, went to college), and only allowed them to learn to read.  But that’s all it took.  They came into adulthood in the 1930s, and the oldest, Nancy […]

A fascinating historical woman I knew nothing about before and now want to tell everyone about her.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

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I forget how I found out about The Personal Librarian but as I read about it, knew it was perfect for my book club.  Historical fiction – Check, Talented woman – Check, About a library and books – Check.  We haven’t met up yet so I don’t know the other’s reactions but I found it a fascinating read that delivered on the promises of the book blurbs.  Author, Pam Jenoff, has this to say, “An extraordinary tale that is both brilliant historical fiction and an important […]



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