Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the Yay for YA Discussion About YA Books Now  

I like Haley Rocco. John Rocco? Not so much.

How to Send a Hug by Hayley Rocco

by 4 Comments

I admit it. Even this old grump teared up at the end of How to Send a Hug. And it was not the words of Hayley Rocco, though those are sweet. It was that darn page at the end where everyone is receiving their hugs! So, “Bad John Rocco! Bad!” Seriously though, this is a delightful story about how to send a hug to someone who is far away. I am sure we have not seen the last of the Covid related issues, therefore, making […]

this is the sort of book that requires some quiet wallowing time post-finish

The Everlasting by Katy Simpson Smith

by 2 Comments

I picked this one up because of the cover. I saw it featured at my local bookstore and put it in my basket without even reading the blurb on the back. Had I read the blurb, I would have KNOWN that it was meant for me none the less, but something about the neon pile of bodies reached into my brain and demanded to be brought home. Unfortunately, “brought home” was as far as the demand went. It sat in my literal TBR pile until […]

Hands-Down My Favorite TITLE of 2022

Please Miss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Penis by Grace E. Lavery

by 5 Comments

Please Miss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Penis Let that title sink in. It’s so great! Also great: hearing Grace Lavery say it aloud herself. If you have any interest in diving into this piece (and holy moly, you should!) I HIGHLY recommend listening to the audio performance- and I do mean performance! Grace, Danny Lavery, and Marc Vietor do not skimp on the drama and pomp. Grace, in particular, has a lovely elastic and elegant lilt- cliché of clichés, but I do think I […]

Love, Me

Love, Z by Jessie Sima

by Leave a Comment

I am not completely familiar with the Robot Z, yet this book is familiar due to the theme. The simple question, “What is love?” is not as easy as Z would have hoped in Jessie Sima’s picture book Love, Z. But a wonderful journey later, Z finds that love might have been closer than they thought at first. A sweet, cozy story about family, friendship, and the real meaning of love. While this would have been a great Valentine’s Day book, it is also a […]

A theme of Love

Lost and Found by Kate Banks

Me and Ms. Too by Laura Ruby

by Leave a Comment

These two books have nothing in common except they are both modern stories, with a classic feel and are sweetly presented. Still, I will put them in one review as I really am unable to write a 250 worded review for either one of them solo. Lost and Found by Kate Banks and illustrations by Galia Bernstein is an adorable story that shows how love comes in many forms, but you always know it when you see it. It does not matter that you might […]

With the One Fox Band

Paul and His Ukulele by Robert Broder

by Leave a Comment

The story to Paul and His Ukulele was, eh. I was thinking, “Okay, but now what?” Robert Broder made a quaint story of a fox named Paul, and the journey his takes to grow up. He meets many people along the way, enjoys dense woods, deserts, and more. Even when he sets up a shop and meets Clementine I was, okay, nice, but not my kind of ukulele tune. When I realized the author is the same as Crow and Snow, I realized that they […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo