Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


“We’re not in Ghost Busters! This is real life!”

Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega

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I did not read Ghost Squad when I was young, as it did not yet exist! This is a 2020 release, and I feel that I would have liked it very much when I in third/fourth grade. There’s magic, monsters, hijinks, and plenty of cat-content that would have kept me giddy throughout. I worried at first that this tale might be “heavy” for a middle-grade reader; it starts with some genuine adult anxieties and perils. We open with the financial woes of Lucely’s father- the bank is […]

The perfection of imperfection

Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence by Joel Christian Gill

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Fights: One Boy’s Triumph Over Violence is not a perfect book. Which is what makes it interesting and exciting. This is (as the author, Joel Christian Gill, themselves says) a memoir not a biography. These snippets of Joel growing up in Virginia, living in the ‘partments, dealing with bullies (adult and kid) are based on events that happened, people he knew and a little poetic license to move his story along. They take you on a journey of how the author learned how and when […]

“It’s still true”

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

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In the early pandemic times, when I had that “new pandemic energy,” I started reading the first books of The Babysitter’s Club series on Facebook live, adding in my own color commentary. It was a hit, I mean TENS of people tuned in (heh). Like a lot of new quirky pandemic hobbies (I’m looking at you, sourdough starter) it soon lost it’s luster and I only made it like 2 and a half books in, and I stowed the books on my book shelf in […]

Sorry the image is blurry, but it kinda fits the book….

I Left the House Today! by Cassandra Calin

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I Left the House Today! declares Cassandra Calin. Yet, if she leaves too often, she will only have about half of what she writes about in this delightful little book. Of course, sometimes she must be dragged out there blinking and wondering what is going on, but regardless of if she is in or out, she always has something to say. In Calin’s relatable comics of everyday issues humor, pain and reality are put into (no more than four) panels. Calin talks leg hair, parents […]

As Chang says: Don’t Yuck another’s Yum

Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too! by Maggie P. Chang

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Geraldine Pu and Her Lunch Box, Too! was not something that looked like a must read. Afterall, it seemed obvious: it was going to be about a girl who carries a lunch box and there will be some issue with it: classmates think she is a “baby” for having a lunch box. Or someone was going to bully her, and the lunchbox was going to take the brunt of the abuse. However, as the adage goes: Don’t judge a book by its cover. Geraldine is […]

When Langston Found Langston

Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome

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Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome is an interesting look at the late 1940s, Chicago, growing up and literature that was way too short. I would have enjoyed more of the history of the time and seen a bigger connection to the two people called Langston. Still, I enjoyed what I read but, like I said, there needed to be more: more of the history of the times (Why were the black families moving north? Why were the soldiers were coming back? Even the fact that […]



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