Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


New place, new community, new home

The Garlic Eaters by Madison Safer

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As a bookseller I have access to books in multiple ways. The easiest way is to have online reader copies. I was granted access to The Garlic Eaters by Madison Safer this way. I was going to wait to read it (as it is due in July 2026, so I had plenty of time to read) but decided why not? I needed something that seemed quick and easy. There is nothing quick or easy about things. You are getting a deep story about displacement from […]

The book I didn’t think I’d like, read anyway, and was delightfully surprised by the results

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

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The publisher description of “With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner Satoru as they take to the road on a journey…” is the perfect way to describe The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa (translated by Philip Gabriel). And I thought that before I was even halfway through. I am now (as I start this review) a little over halfway through and it is still perfect. The emotion of the story is soft, but intense as […]

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene don’t stop helping the bees, hunny!

Green Jolene and the Backyard Bees by Wendy Mass

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Green Jolene and the Backyard Bees is written by an author I have enjoyed reading over the years. This author is Wendy Mass. And while they have had a few different ages and have written a few different genres, their more realistic stories are fun. And when Mass collaborates with illustrator Billy Yong you get an interesting combination of realistic story, art and modern feelings. Yet, there is also a classical, family friendly feeling as well. This mixture works for today’s readers aged at least […]

Book images came from the interweb, but I like them so used them so thanks to who posted

My Heart Speaks Kriolu by Stefanie Foster Brown and Keisha Morris

Piccolo by Dan Yaccarino

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For this review I am going to combine My Heart Speaks Kriolu by Stefanie Foster Brown and Keisha Morris, and the title Piccolo by Dan Yaccarino. Both are currently available but were read via an online reader. This combination is not because of their themes being alike. Or even their place being mentioned, but because they have a nice “other” to them while staying familiar.  both books are good books if you want something that will not be a surprise in theme, but is presented […]

I found a new place to dwell

Heartbreak Hotel by Micol Arianna Beltramini

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Several books on my recent HBR (Have Been Read) list have had similar feelings and/or themes. And yet, each one is its own unique read. Heartbreak Hotel by Micol Arianna Beltramini and illustrator Agnese Innocente falls into this “alike but not alike” category. This coming of age story is similar to the stories The History of Everything: A Graphic Novel by Victoria Evans, Raging Clouds by Yudori, and The Flip Side by Jason Walz. Yet, it is also its own work and has its own […]

Topsy turvy and then some

The Flip Side: A Graphic Novel by Jason Walz

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The Flip Side: A Graphic Novel is an unusual book that has all the feelings, but not the ones you might think of at first. They are the ones that we can share simultaneously, but at the same time, each of us have our own way of dealing with them. The first is grief and the second fear. Jason Walz shows us this through the eyes of two main characters. One, a boy who lost his best friend to (assuming) cancer (or other similar illness), […]



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