Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Coming Together Had Always Been Easy

American Sweethearts by Adriana Herrera

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While I was reading American Dreamers and American Love Story I requested and was granted an arc of the final book in the series, American Sweethearts. This is an honest review in exchange for an arc from NetGalley. Juan Pablo and Priscilla have been on again off again since they were sixteen. Through the Dreamers series they have been off. It’s painful to both of them the way they love each other but can’t live with each other. The second chance at romance is a well loved trope. […]

Romance and Social Justice

American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera

American Love Story by Adriana Herrera

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Sometimes when I like a book I have so much to say and so many feelings that I am unable to get a coherent review out and I spend days or weeks spewing and deleting words. That’s how I have felt about my recent Adriana Herrera binge. I think I may have coherent thoughts now, but just in case this gets out of control again, the most important thing is – I like these books and think you should read them. Adriana Herrera’s debut series […]

An Academic Look at a Fun Subject – Latinx Rock

Rock the Nation: Latin/o Identities and the Latin Rock Diaspora by Roberto Avant-Mier

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If there’s anything good to be said about the Trump era, I think it’s that we’re all forced to figure out who we are. It’s not necessarily that we HAVE to take the President’s lead and become galvanized on all issues or against one another, but we do have to look at our identities, and what we’ll tolerate in our culture, and what we won’t. Personally, all of the negativity towards Latinx people has led me to embrace the Mexican-American and Basque portions of my […]

“Men of action, above all those whose actions are guided by love, live forever.” – Jose Marti

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

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Arturo Zamora and his family are tight — and I mean the whole family.  He and his extended family all live in the same apartment complex. The heart of the family is his Abuela, who still manages her restaurant “La Cocina” which she and her late husband opened when they emigrated here from Cuba. Her daughter is the master chef, but Abuela makes her daily rounds, greeting every customer — and her love and attentiveness is half the reason the restaurant is always packed (the […]

She thought that maybe, just maybe, if she was beautiful, things would get better

The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara

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I’d heard for years that I should watch Paris is Burning, the groundbreaking documentary about the New York’s drag ball scene in the 1980’s, but I never quite got around to it for one reason or another. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when a friend told me just how much that movie influenced Rupaul’s Drag Race, that I finally forced myself to sit down and watch it. Needless to say, it’s brilliant and unforgettable, and shame on me for not watching it sooner. […]

Poetic feels

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

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The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is a coming of age story written in poetic verse. Xiomara Batista attends Catholic high school and forced by her mom to attend catechism classes. Her mom has a very strict idea of what her daughter should be. Boys are definitely off limits. Thus, she pours all her teenage angst into her prized notebook. Also lots of feelings about her classmate named Aman. It’s only when she joins the poetry club does she begin to find her voice. Unfortunately, she […]



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