Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

Maybe a bit too on the nose for a post today as what her first book is about

Run Home: A Graphic Memoir by Alyssa Bermudez

September 11, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Run Home: A Graphic Memoir by Alyssa Bermudez for me is a nice, and even with a somber plot point, cozy read. Granted, while I felt that it was not as strong as their first book, Big Apple Diaries, it is a delightful read about coming of age, dealing with changes and loss. It is a good coming of age story that is not overwhelming or too mature. It is a memoir of Bermudez’s feelings, thoughts and events. It is a personal read that is […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Religion, Sports, Young Adult Tagged With: adolescence, Alyssa Bermudez, coming-of-age, cross country, family, fathers, friendship, New Experience, running, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:296 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Religion, Sports, Young Adult · Tags: adolescence, Alyssa Bermudez, coming-of-age, cross country, family, fathers, friendship, New Experience, running, Social Themes ·
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I did not expect what I got

Fustuk: A Graphic Novel by Robert Mgrdich Apelian

September 4, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When I read Fustuk: A Graphic Novel by Robert Mgrdich Apelian, I expected something completely different. I guess I thought there would be more fantasy, less realism. And while I was not exactly sure what that meant, or would entail, I did not expect what I got. And in the end, I think it might have been better than I thought.  The setting and use of food are unique with the coming of age and self-discovery is a comforting familiar part of the story. The […]

Filed Under: Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Young Adult Tagged With: Demonology, demons, family, fathers, Illness, magic, Robert Mgrdich Apelian, siblings, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:275 · Genres: Comedy/Humor, Cooking/Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Young Adult · Tags: Demonology, demons, family, fathers, Illness, magic, Robert Mgrdich Apelian, siblings, Social Themes ·
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I’d like to be friends with the characters of these books

Johnny Tunes and the Gandy Dancers by Pamela M Tuck, Joel S Tuck, and Jerry Jordan

The Northbound Train: A Story of the Great Migration by Leslie Johnson Piotrowski and Tonya Engel

Solar Mamas: The Story of Sanjit "Bunker" Roy and the Grandmothers Who Became Solar Engineers by Jyothi Nookula and Nabi H. Ali

August 19, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Three picture books, all read via online reader copies, that everyone should have in their collections (be you teacher, parent, child, student, or other) are the below. Johnny Tunes and the Gandy Dancers by Pamela M Tuck, Joel S Tuck, Jerry Jordan (Illustrator) (due September 2026).   The Northbound Train: A Story of the Great Migration (A Picture Book) by Leslie Johnson Piotrowski, Tonya Engel (Illustrated by) (due January 2027).  Solar Mamas: The Story of Sanjit “Bunker” Roy and the Grandmothers Who Became Solar Engineers by […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion Tagged With: 20th Century, Disability, family, fathers, friendship, Jerry Jordan, Joel S Tuck, Jyothi Nookula, Jyothi Nookula and Nabi H. Ali, Leslie Johnson Piotrowski, Leslie Johnson Piotrowski and Tonya Engel, Nabi H. Ali, Pamela M Tuck, Pamela M Tuck, Joel S Tuck, and Jerry Jordan, Racism, railroads, Sanjit "Bunker" Roy, Self-Reliance, Social Themes, Tonya Engel, trains, Transportation, United States

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:238 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion · Tags: 20th Century, Disability, family, fathers, friendship, Jerry Jordan, Joel S Tuck, Jyothi Nookula, Jyothi Nookula and Nabi H. Ali, Leslie Johnson Piotrowski, Leslie Johnson Piotrowski and Tonya Engel, Nabi H. Ali, Pamela M Tuck, Pamela M Tuck, Joel S Tuck, and Jerry Jordan, Racism, railroads, Sanjit "Bunker" Roy, Self-Reliance, Social Themes, Tonya Engel, trains, Transportation, United States ·
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A family story

The Fire Walker by Ainkaran Sivaaji and N. Dejeshwini

August 19, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The Fire Walker by Ainkaran Sivaaji and illustrated by N. Dejeshwini is due in mid-September 2026. I think I will read it at least once more before it comes out and at least once when I find a finished copy (I read via an online reader copy). There is a lot going on with the theme and illustrations. The idea is simple: a child worries about his father, wonders how people will react when they see the father is not well, and can the father […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Religion Tagged With: Ainkaran Sivaaji, Ainkaran Sivaaji and N. Dejeshwini, family, fathers, Illness, N. Dejeshwini, parents, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:235 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, History, Religion · Tags: Ainkaran Sivaaji, Ainkaran Sivaaji and N. Dejeshwini, family, fathers, Illness, N. Dejeshwini, parents, Social Themes ·
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Prose, poems and stories

A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne

July 20, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

While there are a lot of new titles out there, I needed to catch up on some older titles. Books, I keep “meaning to read” and never get around too. I picked up A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe by Mahogany L. Browne. I thought it was a book in verse, but it is more short essays and diary entries. Or as if someone is interviewing the narrator and they are just replying to questions.  Still, it was short and figured […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Short Stories, Young Adult Tagged With: African American & Black, cbr18bingo, cbr18bingo Bird, civil rights, community, Daily Living |, Death, Diseases, family, fathers, grief, Illness, incarceration, Mahogany L. Browne, pandemic, poc, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:199 · Genres: Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Short Stories, Young Adult · Tags: African American & Black, cbr18bingo, cbr18bingo Bird, civil rights, community, Daily Living |, Death, Diseases, family, fathers, grief, Illness, incarceration, Mahogany L. Browne, pandemic, poc, Social Themes ·
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I had a lot of clever titles for this review but none of them fit.

Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan and Noah Stollman

May 28, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Recently I was emailing a representative of a publisher my work deals with. We were talking about a book dealing with the 12 Day War between Iran and Israel that is coming out this fall. I mentioned I would like to find something that showed the other side of the story as well. I figure one should get all the information one can and you’ll probably have a better understanding of things as a whole. The person mentioned they liked Rutu Modan. However, she was […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Religion, Romance, Suspense, Young Adult Tagged With: & Sons, bombings, family, fathers, identity, Israel, jewish, literary, Noah Stollman, Religious Orientation, Rutu Modan, Rutu Modan and Noah Stollman, soldiers, Tel Aviv, war

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:154 · Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Religion, Romance, Suspense, Young Adult · Tags: & Sons, bombings, family, fathers, identity, Israel, jewish, literary, Noah Stollman, Religious Orientation, Rutu Modan, Rutu Modan and Noah Stollman, soldiers, Tel Aviv, war ·
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