Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Revisiting a queer collection from my ’90s youth

Am I Blue by Marion Dane Bauer

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I picked up Am I Blue?, an anthology of “gay and lesbian” stories for young adults right around when it was published in 1994. I was in middle school, which I had entered with a new haircut that earned me a lot of accusations from more ignorant classmates. But I think this was just a coincidence; I don’t remember questioning my sexuality or gender despite those comments. I expect I either picked it up out of curiosity about the gay community, or that my mom […]

For Pride Month and any month

Guinea Pigs Don't Wear Pants by Chris Paul Rainbows Farias

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The email came that said: PW’s Grab a Galley – Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants. It continued Dear You Thank you for requesting Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants through Publishers Weekly’s Summer 2026 Grab-a-Galley event. I’m excited to share that your name was selected as one of the winners for the title. See attached for your digital advance review copy.   So, since I won, I should read it, right?  I had a few minutes before I needed to send some reports and a few […]

Not the Alphabet book I grew up on

Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism b by Robin Stevenson and Vivian Rosas

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Queer History A to Z: 100 Years of LGBTQ+ Activism by Robin Stevenson and illustrated by Vivian Rosas is a middle grade alphabet book that is also a landmine of wonder tidbits. The version I found was from 2024 and was still an online copy. However, it was not complete so I hope to find a finished copy sometime. The list of letters and definitions are not just A is for Activist, or M is for Marsha P (though they do make an appearance) but […]

Comforting message but … (it’s definitely me, not you, novellas)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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These were rereads for me but I likely wouldn’t have chosen to revisit this world if they hadn’t been the selection for the Buffering podcast’s book club for April. I like Becky Chambers but prefer her Wayfarers series, and I enjoyed these novellas the first time round, though i preferred the first to the second novella. This time, I read them in one weekend so it’s a bit harder to treat or view them as separate entities. These novellas are perfectly lovely, taking place in […]

Middle-grade picture book

Finding My Spark by Isabelle Jameson, Ann Marie Boulanger and Sylvain Cabot

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A recent online read (due mid August 2026) was Finding My Spark by Isabelle Jameson, Ann Marie Boulanger (translator), and Sylvain Cabot (illustrator). It is an upbeat and positive coming out story for a trans boy. The publisher description says it is a middle grade read but the picture book format might be a turnoff for that age. Yet, it  could work as a read-aloud in the classroom or siblings dealing with a sibling or classmate’s transition. Due to the translation there were some bumps […]

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 […]



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