Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Kindness can go a long way.

La bondad brilla en la oscuridad / Kindness Glows in the Dark (Spanish and English Edition) by Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio

February 10, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

While food insecurity is not a new subject, it is not one that is always talked about, especially in a picture book form or is not always accessible to all readers or listeners. The story La bondad brilla en la oscuridad / Kindness Glows in the Dark (Spanish and English Edition) by Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio (Illustrator) introduces this concept to a younger audience, but the extras at the end allow it to grow with the reader. The format, the place the story […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health Tagged With: Caribbean & Latin America, community, friendship, Gama Valle, Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, poverty, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:47 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health · Tags: Caribbean & Latin America, community, friendship, Gama Valle, Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, poverty, Social Themes ·
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And it’s Good Good Leroy um… White. Goodest ghost in the whole darn greenhouse

Leroy Has Something to Say by Emily Rosenthal and My Phuong Thai

February 9, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The picture book Leroy Has Something to Say by Emily Rosenthal and illustrator My Phuong Thai is a book that made me have a warm happy. Lately not a lot of books have made me feel warm happy. And that is okay. I mean, I am an adult and can handle adult subjects, but sometimes I need to tone the doom and gloom down to a mild roar. And after reading Leroy I was able to have a happy warm feeling.  The cover is super […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, Poetry Tagged With: Emily Rosenthal, Emily Rosenthal and My Phuong Thai, family, friendship, ghosts, LGBTQ, My Phuong Thai, neurodivergent, siblings, Social Themes, Special Needs

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:42 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Health, Poetry · Tags: Emily Rosenthal, Emily Rosenthal and My Phuong Thai, family, friendship, ghosts, LGBTQ, My Phuong Thai, neurodivergent, siblings, Social Themes, Special Needs ·
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Quirky is the World

qualo & Mage vs. the Rage of the Bakunawa: A Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Kara Bodegón-Hikino

February 9, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Quirky is the first word that comes to mind about Squalo & Mage vs. the Rage of the Bakunawa: A Graphic Novel by Kara Bodegón-Hikino. And then maybe silly, odd, not necessarily original but not derivative (okay, that’s a phrase). And maybe it is not the smoothest read, but it was a fun read nonetheless. It did its job by entertaining and (for me) was an easy read to give myself a break from all the difficult things I was reading. Yet there is enough […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, History, Mystery Tagged With: Asia, diversity, Fairy Tales, family, Filipino folklore, friendship, Kara Bodegón-Hikino, Squalo and Mage

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:41 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, History, Mystery · Tags: Asia, diversity, Fairy Tales, family, Filipino folklore, friendship, Kara Bodegón-Hikino, Squalo and Mage ·
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Hallie’s Rules for a Recovering Romantic

Please read Jessica Lewis!

Hallie’s Rules for a Recovering Romantic by Jessica Lewis

February 8, 2026 by LB Leave a Comment

I’ve loved Jessica Lewis’s books since her debut, Bad Witch Burning, and each new release just further cements how much I love her books and stories. After Nav’s book last year, I knew I needed to and could not wait to get my hands on Hallie’s book, and this was so good!! Hallie feels like she’s a failure and not good enough, especially after a few of her exes have treated her poorly or denigrated her, plus the pressure from her parents to be The […]

Filed Under: Featured, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: academic summer camp, bisexual, Black romance, friendship, Jessica Lewis, lesbian, queer lit, Romance, romcom

LB's CBR18 Review No:3 · Genres: Featured, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: academic summer camp, bisexual, Black romance, friendship, Jessica Lewis, lesbian, queer lit, Romance, romcom ·
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When it comes to love, it all sux

Everyone Sux But You by K. Wroten

February 2, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I am assuming the K. Wroten of Everyone Sux But You, is the same author as Cannonball, which I read back in 2019. The odds are they are the same person, but if not, my apologies.  However, the feel of both books and the art style do say they probably are created by the same person. Now, do not get me wrong, I liked this book. However, it reminded me of a lot of things I have already read. Therefore, there was nothing New and […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: coming-of-age, family, friendship, high school, K. Wroten, LGBTQ, Mental Health, music, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:34 · Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: coming-of-age, family, friendship, high school, K. Wroten, LGBTQ, Mental Health, music, Social Themes ·
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Of course you judge a book by its cover

Arthur’s Cat by Johan Leynaud

February 2, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Maybe oddly, but it is the cover of Arthur’s Cat by Johan Leynaud (translated by Sarah Ardizzone) that not only caught my attention (the off blue-green just sat on my screen, any details unable to be distinguished) but once I figure it out, that was what actually made me want to read it. That shock of white in the middle of that blue was intriguing. Why did this simple colored and detailed cover capture my imagination? I’m still not really sure, but thanks to it, […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Poetry Tagged With: animals, catsm, Children, emotions, Feelings, friendship, Johan Leynaud, Sarah Ardizzone, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:30 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fiction, Poetry · Tags: animals, catsm, Children, emotions, Feelings, friendship, Johan Leynaud, Sarah Ardizzone, Social Themes ·
Rating:
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