Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Don’t say, “Bite me” to this family

What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo

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What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo is not for everyone. It has an odd theme, with odder imagery (though no illustrations). Yet, while it is interesting nonetheless, it does have several weaknesses. Some plot point holes are one of them, and another (for me) was that the characters are not overly likable. One would assume that werewolves would not be likable, but you would hope that as a family unit you could empathize with them. But I have little empathy for a family that sends a […]

How does your garden grow?

Poison Ivy: Thorns by Kody Keplinger

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A few spoilers below: Poison Ivy: Thorns by Kody Keplinger is a solid story about a young girl coming of age and learning about pushing back. Pamela (Ivy to be) is abused in many ways: a classmate, her father, and even herself. The elements that make Pamela into Poison Ivy are actually logical and heartbreaking. After all, you be “mind raped” by your classmate (having lies told about you, being harassed in the hallways), your principal saying to you, “now now little girl, don’t dress […]

The moments of his life, shaping us all

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson

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I bounce between a 3.5 and 4 with All Boys Aren’t Blue as the flow of things sometimes was off for me. However, the subject is very good, and I think could be valuable to even those who have not/or will not follow a similar path as George M. Johnson. Even though his intended audience was not exactly aimed at someone like me, I was able to appreciate his voice and his story. For sure this is not for the very young due to language […]

And you thought your mom was cool

The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford: Ally, Activist, and Co-Found of PFLAG by Rob Sanders

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We all should probably have a mother like Jeanne Manford. She was a mother of all mothers by doing what she could do for her children. And when one of them came out as gay during a less understanding time to say the least, she could have disowned him, or told him he was a sinner or worse. She could have done nothing, but instead she said Yes, I will stand up for you and write a letter so the world can see how proud […]

Contains more teeth than you can imagine

Bright World (The Hazards of Love #1) by Stan Stanley

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Title from online review   Bright World (The Hazards of Love #1) by Stan Stanley is dark, odd, sexy, thoughtful, spooky, serious, humorous, and much more. The path of love is never easy, especially when a talking cat tricks you out of your life and you are tossed into a magical realm where humans are snacks, slaves or worse. Gorgeous illustrations that are both overly busy and simple, will amaze and create unease as you flow through the story of a non-binary teen and what […]

A Wonder of a Woman

Nubia: Real One by L. L. McKinney

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Overall, Nubia: Real One is a modern telling of the superhero genre with concerns for today. While the art was not a hundred percent “my thing” it is clever and fits the tone of the story. Robyn Smith created illustrations that are classical graphic novel with comic overtones and works as both a blanket to hold the text and characters and be independent of it. I am not sure if they have reinvented the story of Nubia (outside of probably giving her two moms and […]



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