Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Facing the Dark

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag

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The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag A lot is going on in this book. It is not easy, not even smooth. Things go up and down and around. There is commentary on life, love, family, friends and self. But to talk about it means telling you the whole book, which you need to experience yourself. Ages at least 14 and up, very mature themes and several potential trigger situations. The flow of the book is quick, but sometimes that makes a mess. I had […]

The stories of two young men

Hands by Torrey Maldonado

Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes

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I needed a short read or two. I found two, while terribly short looking, books that also felt like they would have some “meat” to them. And those books were Hands by Torrey Maldonado and Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes. I was familiar with Grimes, as they are the author of Garvey’s Choice and others I enjoyed reading. But Maldonado was new. Hands looked like it would be a boxing book. And it is, somewhat. But really what the book is about are […]

A cup of potato

Luli and the Language of Tea by Marie Aang

The Pet Potato by Josh Lacey

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In a recent picture book reading marathon I came out with four books under my belt. Since there was a lot to say about each one, I split the reviews into two. This is officially the second, but you can read them either way. Now, I was trying to come up with a theme for the two books I am currently writing about, Luli and the Language of Tea by Marie Aang and illustrated by Hyewon Yum, and The Pet Potato by Josh Lacey and […]

The mantle of Moth Keeper

The Moth Keeper by K O' Neill

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CBR15Passport Other Country K O’Neill’s graphic novel The Moth Keeper first and foremost has gorgeous illustrations as you usually find in their works.  And it has a terribly sweet story. However, due to lack of text, sometimes things are not as “fleshed out” as they could be, making much open to interpretation for the reader. Yet, if you pay attention to things that do not seem important at first, and take your time reading (not to mention be comfortable and do not have many distractions) […]

Dot isn’t dotty but the situation just might be!

Dot: For Pet’s Sake by Randi Zuckerberg

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The Dot character was originally created Randi Zuckerberg and now has a book based on the television series. It is called Dot: For Pet’s Sake. Candlewick Press and The Jim Henson Company put their marks on this chapter book as well. I am not familiar with the show, but figure this book is close to the things that happen there. This is a story about taking on too much and then asking for help. It is basic, been done before, but still is a good […]

terrific writing about terrible things

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

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Trigger Warning: please read the tags before deciding to read this review and/or book. If you feel that you can read this book, then you must. If you feel that you cannot, I will pass no judgement. Perhaps you have heard of the drama surrounding this release. American Dirt was climbing the charts and dominating the controversy  conversation when My Dark Vanessa tip-toed in and threw a hat into the ring. There was an implication of plagiarism from a woman who wrote a memoir about being groomed and […]



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