Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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I turned in sleep, shouldering into the dark, glossy water.

I Do Know Some Things by Richard Siken

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I started new dreams without finishing the last, sifting in sleep what I couldn’t sift in daylight. ― Richard Siken, I Do Know Some Things Music was too much to handle. It was overwhelming, but I was afraid of the silence. In the silence, I could hear my thinking: the constant narration of how damaged I was. ― Richard Siken, I Do Know Some Things After meds, I realized I was just another empath in a Denny’s, sinking onion rings in ranch dressing in the […]

If anyone can, a magical Yeti… might

Penny and the Yeti b by Jimmy Gaspero and Amber Akin

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When April 2026 comes, you readers of this review will have a plethora of choices. And I hope one of those is Penny and the Yeti by Jimmy Gaspero and Amber Akin. Read via an online reader copy, I plan on finding a finished copy as there are some things I think might make more sense if I can physically hold a book in hand and explore this deceptively simple seeming story. This book is not perfect. Which, yes, is an odd thing to start […]

When you’re near this hole in the ground, you’re in deep doo-doo

The Deep Well by Laura Creedle

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The Deep Well by Laura Creedle Is it real or imaginary or something else? There were a few plot holes for me, but overall it was a nice read. Well, not nice but cozy … okay not cozy, I mean… Okay, just read it and you’ll know what I mean. Triggers include, but are not limited to: death, violence, cults, bullying, assault, gun violence, stalking, suggested assault of a minor. April, the main character of Creedle’s story, is almost 17. She is waiting for her […]

Sun reigns; desert shapes

Sundust: (A Caldecott Honor Book) by Zeke Peña

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The minimalistic text and illustrations of Sundust: (A Caldecott Honor Book) by Zeke Peña  packs a punch. It is a “you experience it by what you bring to the table” book. Therefore, no two people read the same book, and even no two readings by the same reader will be the same book, either. The siblings of the story leave the comfort zone of their home, community, safety, and wander into the desert. Here they not only see things you can’t find in society, you are […]

And it’s Good Good Leroy um… White. Goodest ghost in the whole darn greenhouse

Leroy Has Something to Say by Emily Rosenthal and My Phuong Thai

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The picture book Leroy Has Something to Say by Emily Rosenthal and illustrator My Phuong Thai is a book that made me have a warm happy. Lately not a lot of books have made me feel warm happy. And that is okay. I mean, I am an adult and can handle adult subjects, but sometimes I need to tone the doom and gloom down to a mild roar. And after reading Leroy I was able to have a happy warm feeling.  The cover is super […]

Contemporary history

Journey to Tomioka by Laurent Galandon

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Journey to Tomioka by Laurent Galandon, translated by Owen Smith and Anne Smith with illustrations by Michaël Crouzat was read via an online reader copy. In June 2026, however, you can find a copy, which I highly recommend. The publisher, First Second, has become one of those publishers for me that I might not always love something they published, in fact, I might not even like it, but I always respect what happened and the time it takes to make something that can be thoughtful, […]



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