Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Instagram
  3. Follow us on Bluesky
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • Getting Started in CBR18
    • Rules of Respect
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
    • About Cannonball Read
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • Participant Interviews
    • Cannonballer Location Maps
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
    • Star Ratings
    • Featured Review Archive
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • Donate
    • CBR Merchandise
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • 2026 Registration
    • Suggest a Review
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Social Media

Join the Yay for YA Discussion About YA Books Now  

Kindness can go a long way.

La bondad brilla en la oscuridad / Kindness Glows in the Dark (Spanish and English Edition) by Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio

February 10, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

While food insecurity is not a new subject, it is not one that is always talked about, especially in a picture book form or is not always accessible to all readers or listeners. The story La bondad brilla en la oscuridad / Kindness Glows in the Dark (Spanish and English Edition) by Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio (Illustrator) introduces this concept to a younger audience, but the extras at the end allow it to grow with the reader. The format, the place the story […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health Tagged With: Caribbean & Latin America, community, friendship, Gama Valle, Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, poverty, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:47 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health · Tags: Caribbean & Latin America, community, friendship, Gama Valle, Gama Valle and Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, Mrinali Álvarez Astacio, poverty, Social Themes ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

I’m glad the author is enjoying international success

Stargate - en julefortelling/Brightly Shining by Ingvild H. Rishøi

January 18, 2025 by Malin Leave a Comment

Nowhere Book Bingo 25: Local author (the story takes place about 15 minutes from where I work) The full review of this on my blog contains spoilers so if you don’t want to know how the book ends, and why I can’t rate this book higher, skip the paragraphs I’ve highlighted. Ten-year-old Ronja and her sixteen-year-old sister Melissa are used to disappointments, living alone with a father who only occasionally sobers up long enough to hold down a job for a month or two. They’re […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: adapted into movie, alcoholism, audio book, Brightly Shining, cbr17, contemporary fiction, Ingvild H. Rishøi, magical realism, Malin, neglect, Norwegian, Nowhere Book Bingo, poverty, Sad, Stargate - en julefortelling, Young Adult

Malin's CBR17 Review No:5 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: adapted into movie, alcoholism, audio book, Brightly Shining, cbr17, contemporary fiction, Ingvild H. Rishøi, magical realism, Malin, neglect, Norwegian, Nowhere Book Bingo, poverty, Sad, Stargate - en julefortelling, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Politics, Economy and Gender of Gaming

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow

October 2, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

My review of In Real Life by Cory Doctorow has borrowed pieces from a couple online reviewers. I figured they said what I was feeling, and it’s validating to know I wasn’t the only one that wasn’t “wowed” but the book, yet still found enjoyment. I will start  with: This is not a perfect story, still, I had… fun reading it. The online world vs real world has been done before.  You can … connect on a virtual level, but it can’t replace human (…) […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Science Fiction, Sports, Young Adult Tagged With: Asia, coming-of-age, computers, cory doctorow, digital media, family, gaming, girl gamers, homelessness, jen wang, Politics and Economy of Gaming, poverty, Social Themes, women

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:474 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Science Fiction, Sports, Young Adult · Tags: Asia, coming-of-age, computers, cory doctorow, digital media, family, gaming, girl gamers, homelessness, jen wang, Politics and Economy of Gaming, poverty, Social Themes, women ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“I looked and listened:” Two Photojournalism Books

World Press Photo 2021 by World Press Photo Foundation

Below the Line: Living Poor in America by Eugene Richards

May 9, 2024 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

World Press Photo 2021 was an interesting one for me because it made me think a lot about what I like about photojournalism and why this particular volume wasn’t clicking for me. There’s a bit in the book where they talk about how the field has switched to focusing more on the photographer having a particular personal vision and trying to capture a photo that sums up some sort of larger issue or event, versus earlier photographers who were trying to capture an exciting photo […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: Eugene Richards, Photojournalism, poverty, World Press Photo Foundation

GentleRain's CBR16 Review No:54 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: Eugene Richards, Photojournalism, poverty, World Press Photo Foundation ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

I really did not like this book.

What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell

December 29, 2023 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

“The trouble with you is you don’t know what you want,” he said. “You say one thing and then another.” I knew he was right, and not just about my relationship with him; always I feel an ambivalence that spurs me first in one direction and then another, a habit that has done much damage. I didn’t deny what he said, I even nodded in agreement, at which his mood only darkened. ― Garth Greenwell, What Belongs to You “Though I thought of him often, […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: American abroad, Bulgaria, Classism, cultural divide, did not finish, DNF, fish out of water, Garth Greenwell, gay fiction, poverty, prostitution

carmelpie's CBR15 Review No:79 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: American abroad, Bulgaria, Classism, cultural divide, did not finish, DNF, fish out of water, Garth Greenwell, gay fiction, poverty, prostitution ·
· 0 Comments

The defining feeling of my childhood was that of being told there wasn’t a problem when I knew damn well there was.

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh

October 17, 2023 by carmelpie Leave a Comment

It wasn’t all bad, that poor rural place. Though money was scarce, you would have had your basic needs met because we knew how to grow and build things. ― Sarah Smarsh, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth I am grateful for my early life, and I wouldn’t wish it on any child. ― Sarah Smarsh, Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth The women I knew were […]

Filed Under: Non-Fiction Tagged With: #memoir, Catholic church, Country Life, Domestic Abuse, farm life, Farming in the 80s, feminist issues, generational trauma, Mothers and daughters, poverty, sarah smarsh, working poor

carmelpie's CBR15 Review No:57 · Genres: Non-Fiction · Tags: #memoir, Catholic church, Country Life, Domestic Abuse, farm life, Farming in the 80s, feminist issues, generational trauma, Mothers and daughters, poverty, sarah smarsh, working poor ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 6
  • Next Page »


Recent Comments

  • Malin
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    In my book club, when we have pretty much come to the agreement that if the protagonists are still teenagers...
  • katie71483
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    Like so many others here, I'm a sucker for Tamora Pierce. Is Robin McKinley YA? Because I love her books,...
  • Tracy
    on Interesting From an Intellectual Standpoint
    I didn’t find it funny, and I’m not sure if my sense of humor doesn’t mesh with his or if...
  • Jen K
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    Oh, see I definitely read it as, “give your teens this magic school book instead.” Maybe because I remember The...
  • wicherwill
    on CBR Diversion – YAY for YA – Genre Discussion
    Interesting with Scholomance, I very much read it as the adult book for former YA magic school book readers
See More Recent Comments »

Support Our Mission

  • Support Our Mission, Donate Today!
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo

The reviews and comments posted on this site reflect the opinions of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Cannonball Read.

© 2026 Cannonball Read Inc., a registered 501(c)(3) | Log in