Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“Don’t you think it’s possible that this could be good? That maybe this won’t lead to disaster after all? What if we find out that we fit together, like your grandparents and their hands?” (Bingo #8)

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon

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Blackout is a novel comprised of several short stories covering five hours in the course of one night in New York as it experiences a blackout. Tiffany D. Jackson writes The Long Walk which is broken up into five acts, Nic Stone contributes Mask Off (perhaps my favorite of the bunch), Ashley Woodfolk’s Made to Fit, Dhonielle Clayton provides All the Great Love Stories… and Dust, as well as being the person who sparked the project into existence, Angie Thomas’s No Sleep Till Brooklyn, and […]

My fave does it again!

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

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“The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” – Malcolm X Tiffany D. Jackson is one of my favorite YA authors. She consistently writes riveting mystery novels featuring black teen girls.  The mystery usually revolves around a particular social issue facing black women, and I’m continually impressed with how her writing immensely satisfies both the mystery component and the social one. I will […]

“But Ma used to say, not everyone circles the same sun. I never knew what she meant by that until Monday went missing.”

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

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Someone here already reviewed this and I’m kind of sad to submit another repeat review. BUT I read it and I gotta count it! “This is the story of how my best friend disappeared. How nobody noticed she was gone except me. And how nobody cared until they found her . . . one year later.” That’s actually a pretty good summary of this book, supplied by the main character, 14-year-old Claudia.  She and Monday have been thick as thieves most of their lives, other than summers that […]

“Rumors are born with legs that can run a mile in less than a minute. Rumors eat up dreams without condiments. Rumors do not have expiration dates. Rumors can be deadly. Rumors can get you killed.”

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson

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Jeez. And I thought Sadie was a dark and bleak YA offering. In Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson, dark and bleak would look pretty good. This book is tough to get through. But not because of the writing, which was beautiful at times. Its tough because its is painfully realistic, and real life doesn’t always have a happy ending. After a summer away visiting her grandparents, Claudia comes back to school, excited to see her best (and really, only) friend, Monday. But Monday doesn’t […]

A heartbreaking YA mystery

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

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“This is the story of how my best friend disappeared. How nobody noticed she was gone except me. And how nobody cared until they found her … one year later.” Thus opens this riveting YA novel which deals with the topic of missing girls of color and our criminal indifference to them. Winner of the 2019 Coretta Scott King Book Award/John Steptoe Award for New Talent, Monday’s Not Coming is the story of the disappearance of Monday Charles, an 8th grader from a tough Washington, […]



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