Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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This review does not do this book justice. I should have written OMG THIS IS AMAZING a thousand and two times

Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson

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Twenty years ago, a book called Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson came out. A book about a subject we still do not really talk about today. Speak told the story of Melinda, a freshman in high school, the night she was raped and the fall-out from that. Speak: The Graphic Novel keeps to the feel and message of the novel. I was surprised at what I remembered but things I had forgotten came back and rediscovered other things. I think it has been rearranged a […]

“I have to pee, let me be!”

Jacob’s Room to Choose by Sarah Hoffman

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Jacob’s Room to Choose is by the team of Jacob’s New Dress and is a needed book for the issue of non-conforming children and the public rest room. Sarah Hoffman, Ian Hoffman and Chris Case (illustrator) in Jacob’s New Dress tell the story of a young boy, Jacob, who is based on the Hoffman’s son. Jacob likes to dress in dresses and wants to go to school this way one day. With this new book, we are dealing with the issue that people might be […]

“You are only a prisoner when you surrender.” ― Tad Williams, Shadowplay

Letters to a Prisoner by Jacques Goldstyn

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Letters to a Prisoner created by Jacques Goldstyn and Angela Keenlyside is a wordless picture book. Normally, I would not review this type of book, but something tells me that this might be the format to recommend it. First, I will say that I did not like this book. I appreciate the message (Amenity International Write for Rights campaign is a worthy cause) but the way it was presented, without a single piece of story text (although there is some text when letters are finally […]

Stay up all night reading about The Nocturnals!

The Chestnut Challenge by Tracey Hecht

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I read another one of the Nocturnals series last year. It was at a lower level than this one, but the type of story and flow of the story are the same. The Chestnut Challenge is Tracey Hecht’s attempt at doing a moral story about cheating. While the theme of to be a winner one does not cheat and to have fun when playing a game has been done before, this is a good addition. The great part of the fact that there are higher […]

We wish you a Merry Happy Tradition with family and friends

The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco

Leila in Saffron by Rukhsanna Guidroz

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An Irish tradition around the corner (St. Patrick’s Day) and the coincidence of reading two books, back-to-back about tradition, made this post possible! The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco is traditional Polacco. The love of family, history, tradition and friendship bounce off the page. The appreciation of Hanukkah and Christmas traditions (at first separate, but later, specially mixed together) is a tribute to the spirit of the season. Having a Christmas Tree might not be Polacco’s family “way”, but they know how to […]

If he can stay on track

Track #01: Ghost by Jason Reynolds

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Track #01 Ghost is a book that is praised for its diverseness (an author and characters of color). However, I forgot that these characters were “not white” and focused on the struggles of Castle. Or Ghost as he prefers.  That and the fact they deal with a lesser explored sport, running, are probably the two best parts of the book. Which is to say, since that is the book, it is a good book. The metaphor Jason Reynolds gives you is Ghost is always running: […]



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