Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Trying to find a past that is not yours

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui

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The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui is an emotional story. It is hard to digest all that is presented. On the surface is a story of being an immigrant, but also a child who remembers little of the journey that made her and her family immigrants.  It is a graphic novel that is about becoming an adult who finally learns about her past, the past of her family (as individuals (her parents) and as a family unit). And finally, she learns […]

Social Themes told the modern way

How to Put a Whale in a Suitcase by Raul Guridi

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How to Put a Whale in a Suitcase. Um…. okay? Was my first thought when I saw this title. Then quickly forgot about it. I then saw the display for our holiday/winter newsletter and there it was. Big as life. Or as big as a 0.4″ H x 9.5″ L x 6.6″ W (0.45 lbs.) 32 pages book can be. A quick look at the thinness and the modest amount of text, and I thought, “pffft! I can do this in no time.”  Yeah, do […]

Her big Filipino Christian Egyptian Muslim Life: And isn’t it grand?

I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by Malaka Gharib

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I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir is a humorous look at when cultures clash and you are the result. Malaka Gharib’s coming of age story shows how life is a balancing of yourself. And, finally finding your place where you have all your pieces comfortable. And love can happen anyplace. Even to an Egyptian Muslim and a Filipino Catholic. And a year after marrying they can have their American Dream: a girl named Malaka (like Monica with an L). Yet, clashes happen. Divorces […]

Publisher review says: “Perfect for fans of American Born Chinese and Hey, Kiddo” and I agree.

Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha

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Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha is a lovely memoir of becoming not just Korean or not just becoming American but becoming both at the same time and through that, finding yourself. This graphic novel reads as a fiction story, though based on Ha’s life. What was supposed to be a vacation to Alabama to visit a friend of her mothers, turns into a permanent situation. Ha’s mother has decided that marriage to this friend is the right choice for them. Even […]

When a book finds you

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

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While I immensely enjoyed Other Words for Home ’s book did not “hit me in the face, turned me around and kick me in the butt.” I think what I was looking for was more of the current events mentioned (such as which bombing Jude was mentioning) and maybe more interacting with Jude and her cousin. Since Warga mentions in the afterward she had a personality more like the cousins than Jude growing up, Warga would be the perfect vessel to show both sides of […]

One of those books where everyone reading finds something else

What Is a Refugee? by Elise Gravel

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What is a refugee?  We get a simple, but informative, answer to that question in Elise Gravel’s picture book, What Is a Refugee?  You find out why people leave their homes, the feelings they have and what could happen to them while trying to find a new home. While not too in-depth, there is much covered. Therefore, this might not be for the very young reader/listener. Yet, due to its format, it is aimed at younger children. Therefore, know your reader and their ability to […]



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