Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Join the CBR18 Book Bingo Reading Challenge—Now Underway!   

Real Life Is No Neat Story

In Search of Amrit Kaur: A Lost Princess and Her Vanished World by Livia Manera Sambuy

by Leave a Comment

When Italian journalist Livia Manera Sambuy came across a portrait of the little-known Indian princess of Amrit Kaur on a trip to Mumbai, she was intrigued by the assertion that she had died in a concentration camp after being arrested by the Gestapo for selling her jewels to help Jews flee the Nazis. This is more of a travelogue or an adventure than a straightforward biography. Though the author tracks down every lead and pursues every avenue, the truth is that Amrit Kaur’s life was […]

Red Panda Time Travel Agency

The Discovery of Fireworks and Gunpowder: The Asian Hall of Fame by Oliver Chin and Philip Amara with Juan Calle

by Leave a Comment

Perhaps it was the subject matter (I am not a huge gunpowder fan, though I am a bit of a fireworks enjoyer) or the fact that I have read read several titles by Oliver Chin and Philip Amara, that made this book, The Discovery of Fireworks and Gunpowder: The Asian Hall of Fame, feel a smidgen weaker due to the similar tones their work has. However, I like the characters and it is a fun way to introduce a subject that might not immediately be […]

Fish are friends, even if they can’t travel with you

Goodbye, Koi by Jack Wong

by Leave a Comment

Inspired by actual events of when they were a young child, Jack Wong’s Goodbye, Koi is a lovely toned story and amazingly illustrated book. Due mid September 2026 (read via an online reader copy) this story is adaptable to most ages. While the picture book format might turn off a few older readers, you could read it up to about second or third grade. The premise is that a child must say goodbye to their beloved koi fish pets, as something is happening so they […]

Home Family

A Forest, A Family, A Harbor, A Home by Nikki McClure

The Things We Hold by Vanessa Lewis-Porter and Cornelius Van Wright 

by Leave a Comment

I honestly debated putting these two books together in one review. They are both about homes, but each with a radically different direction. One is about the closeness of home and family, while the other deals with homelessness and family.  The only similarty is that both are future publications and read via an online reader.  Yet, please find two books about home and what that means to the characters in these picture books. A Forest, A Family, A Harbor, A Home by Nikki McClure (due […]

“Luck is an undependable commodity.”

Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon by Michael P. Ghiglieri, Thomas Myers

by 2 Comments

Two veteran adventurers and employees who worked in the Grand Canyon compile the stories of all the many people who have died in the canyon and the diverse fates which have befallen them. I visited the Grand Canyon about a decade ago, and I remember being struck by the sheer immensity of the landscape, as well as how colorful it was. My family and I just biked along the rim for a few hours, but always took plenty of care to keep away from the […]

“That on the other side of the winter that took my children…My god, there has to be a spring.”

Idolfire by Grace Curtis

by Leave a Comment

In Ash, on one side of the world, Aleya Ana-Ulai, City Guard and bastard of the royal family, is desperate for a chance to prove herself. Her family may have written her off as a mistake, but she’ll prove all of them wrong. Or die trying. On the other, Kirby of Wall’s End is searching for redemption and her village’s lost idol. An ancient curse may have killed her brother (though that may have been faulty architecture), be leading to the death of her village, […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo