Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Neshama would make a good name for a perfume

Neshama by Marcella Pixley

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Marcella Pixley’s poetic prose novel, Neshama, is one of those books I would have loved as a kid and good for the 10 and up crowd. However, as an adult, there were a few bumps. The themes are good: being yourself, standing up for yourself and forgiveness, but first, I’ve read several middle grade readers and a lot of books with the theme so it was a bit repetitive. That is why if you’re new/newish to the middle grade coming-of-age story it works perfectly. As […]

Once upon a time, there was a brave hero named…Grandpa

The Land of Unfinished Dreams by Marco Ventura and Marco Ferraris

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Most of my rating of four is for the fun images of Marco Ferraris in the graphic novel, The Land of Unfinished Dreams. However, the story, by Marco Ventura, had a few bumps, but once I got into things it flowed well. This was because Ferraris created images that help you see the action. The text (I am assuming) is translated which probably accounts for any issues I had to start with. In many ways, the  themes of the story are for teens and adults, […]

And I didn’t even mention it felt like it was book two to start with.

Silver Vessels by Steve Orlando

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If the graphic novel, Silver Vessels by Steve Orlando and illustrated by Katia Vecchio was any less believable, I would expect to see Bobby Ewing in the shower at the end of it. If you know that reference you’re not part of the aimed at ages of 10 and up. Who will  love the precocious teens, their hunting mysterious sunken treasure, the mysterious APEX bad guys, the coming of age elements. But this adult reader feels there were a lot of really unbelievable parts. My […]

Contemporary history

Journey to Tomioka by Laurent Galandon

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Journey to Tomioka by Laurent Galandon, translated by Owen Smith and Anne Smith with illustrations by Michaël Crouzat was read via an online reader copy. In June 2026, however, you can find a copy, which I highly recommend. The publisher, First Second, has become one of those publishers for me that I might not always love something they published, in fact, I might not even like it, but I always respect what happened and the time it takes to make something that can be thoughtful, […]

Munchies and Crunchies animal friendly

Picadillo for Paulina by Ruth Behar, Gabriel Frye-Behar, Erika Rodriguez Medina

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Picadillo for Paulina by Ruth Behar, Gabriel Frye-Behar, and Erika Rodriguez Medina    Having a vegetarian base to the character is a unique way of introducing a food “lifestyle” (for health or personal reasons). The addition of the recipe shows how you can adapt one dish for this traditionally Cuban meat dish. Overall, sweet, I like the tension without it being too confrontational. The images are soft, and bubbly to help soften a somewhat serious story. That is a basic description of the story. I […]

My grandfather told me about his pet fish that drowned

Grandpas, Piranhas, and Other Stories by Rocío Bonilla

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Grandpas, Piranhas, and Other Stories by Rocío Bonilla   (due March 2026; read via an online reader copy).   Things started out strong, but then with the bringing in other grandparents stories, things were a bit off-beat. With that said, it is a nice book that is a nice sharing book. By sharing I mean, you share it with your grandparents, your children can with theirs, and you and the child can share. You then can talk about how the things in the book are similar […]



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