Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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I should save this for a bingo or something like this, but I gotta tell you about the book that made me cry

We Are Pan by Andre R. Frattino and Yasmín Flores Montañez

June 5, 2026 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A little over a year ago I read Tokyo Rose – Zero Hour by Andre R. Frattino and illustrator Kate Kasenow. I gave it a rating of four. When I was looking for my review from 2025, I found another review that was from 2023 (if you haven’t guessed, I came late to the party) on here that was also a four. I mention this other book because not only is it a great book and should be promoted when it can, Frattino is the […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion, Romance, Short Stories, Young Adult Tagged With: 1960s, 20th Century, Alex Segura, Andre R. Frattino, Andre R. Frattino and Yasmín Flores Montañez, Castro, Catholic Welfare Bureau, Cuba, diversity, family, Fidel Castro, Hispanic & Latino, Multicultural, Operation Pedro Pan, parents, revolution

BlackRaven's CBR18 Review No:160 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Religion, Romance, Short Stories, Young Adult · Tags: 1960s, 20th Century, Alex Segura, Andre R. Frattino, Andre R. Frattino and Yasmín Flores Montañez, Castro, Catholic Welfare Bureau, Cuba, diversity, family, Fidel Castro, Hispanic & Latino, Multicultural, Operation Pedro Pan, parents, revolution ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“The first year is when some of us lose our lives. The second year is when the rest of us lose our humanity.”

Iron Flame (The Empyrean Saga #2) by Rebecca Yarros

November 2, 2025 by bjornsnipe Leave a Comment

Well, I’ve hit Book Two, and it’s almost as good as the first, which I’ll take as a rare yet wonderous thing; I have read too many series where the first book is fantastic, and then we hit Disney’s Tower of Terror for the rest. There have been some changes in my opinions of the characters, some good, some bad. Dain, Mira, and Lilith (Violet’s mother) all grew on me over the book; I actually finished it not really wanting any of them to die. […]

Filed Under: Fantasy, Romance Tagged With: dragons, Rebecca Yarros, revolution, sexy times

bjornsnipe's CBR17 Review No:143 · Genres: Fantasy, Romance · Tags: dragons, Rebecca Yarros, revolution, sexy times ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

“An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.”

Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R. F Kuang

October 18, 2025 by bjornsnipe 2 Comments

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to England by Professor Lovell, a mysterious Englishman who happened to appear at his mother’s deathbed . Once there, he trains for years at a grueling pace in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. (And yes, it’s a tower; subtlety, this England doth not have it.) Babel is the world’s center for translation and, more importantly, magic. […]

Filed Under: Speculative Fiction Tagged With: 19th century england, language, R.F. Kuang, revolution

bjornsnipe's CBR17 Review No:131 · Genres: Speculative Fiction · Tags: 19th century england, language, R.F. Kuang, revolution ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments
Cover of Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo

Surviving is an act of resistance!

Beasts of Carnaval by Rosália Rodrigo

July 31, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

This book fulfills the “border” square on CBR17 bingo; Sofia exists on the border of conquered and conqueror, and explores the complexities of her mixed heritage. As soon as I saw the cover for Beasts of Carnaval, I knew I wanted to read it, and the synopsis just cemented it for me. I love stories that are about resistance and revolution and proving that the colonizers and oppressors won’t be the last ones standing. And this delivers so beautifully! Sofia’s twin brother, Sol, vanished to […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: beasts of Carnaval, cbr17bingo, colonization, enslavement, historical fantasy, no romance, puerto rico, queer lit, queer secondary characters, revolution, Rosalia rodrigo

LB's CBR17 Review No:18 · Genres: Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: beasts of Carnaval, cbr17bingo, colonization, enslavement, historical fantasy, no romance, puerto rico, queer lit, queer secondary characters, revolution, Rosalia rodrigo ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Finding Home

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

May 7, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

If you want a really tough read, and not just because of the theme, then pick up As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. None of the difficulties I had with this book comes from the story or even technically the writing itself. However, my issues were that the beginning is slow. There is a lot of build up, taking what feels like forever to “get to the point.” The author, like her main characters, are terrible flirts (as in they like […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Health, History, Religion, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: civil war, Emigration, family, friendship, hospitals, Immigration & Refugees, Middle Eastern, military, revolution, siblings, Social Themes, Syria, war, Zoulfa Katouh.

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:242 · Genres: Fiction, Health, History, Religion, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: civil war, Emigration, family, friendship, hospitals, Immigration & Refugees, Middle Eastern, military, revolution, siblings, Social Themes, Syria, war, Zoulfa Katouh. ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Perang Kemerdekaan Indonesia.

Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World by David van Reybrouck

February 9, 2025 by LittlePlat 1 Comment

After making Majaphait one of the last reads of last years Cannonball Read, I decided to keep with my South East Asian history roll with Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World by David van Reybrouck. As you can see, I’m also continuing with my long standard interest in Australia’s immediate northern neighbor. It just boggles the mind that such a large, diverse country has such a small impact on the public consciousness. I think a lot of this has to do with […]

Filed Under: Audiobooks, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: #history, colonialism, David van Reybrouck, everyone is bastards, Indonesia, post-colonialism, revolution, South East Asia

LittlePlat's CBR17 Review No:1 · Genres: Audiobooks, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: #history, colonialism, David van Reybrouck, everyone is bastards, Indonesia, post-colonialism, revolution, South East Asia ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment
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Recent Comments

  • Eric
    on Bruh.
    Agree 💯 with this review. I'd even add that I didn't buy Willem's relationship with Jude. It was just a...
  • Liz
    on Oh God, I’m Discoursing (Mac Barnett’s MAKE BELIEVE)
    Hmmm, I think it depends? If you're in children's literacy work, writing for children, or have children you read to,...
  • Terrence Dunlop
    on Oh God, I’m Discoursing (Mac Barnett’s MAKE BELIEVE)
    So is it a must-read? A should-read? Or a meh. I liked your discoursing!
  • BlackRaven
    on CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge Begins
    Belated (January) and it's Shannon Hale
  • Emmalita
    on CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge Begins
    Happy early or belated birthday! Which author?
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