Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

About BlackRaven

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I am a Professional Book Pusher. Reading is a passion, as is writing, bragging about nephews, and alligator wrestling. My first year participating was 2018. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: BlackRaven's Quick Questions interview.)

BlackRaven's Reviews:

I wish we didn’t need books like this

Stolen Colors: A Story About Body Safety and Consent by Patel Khushboo and Tara Anand

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The due in March 2026 picture book, Stolen Colors: A Story About Body Safety and Consent by Patel Khushboo with Tara Anand’s illustrations was read via an online reader copy. And it was another WOW book. Which thankfully I have had a lot of recently as I was on a slow slump on not loving the books I was reading. We start off with a young girl who loves to paint, but that is taken away from her when her teacher assaults her. We follow […]

One tough Cookie

Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman

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I was nervous that I was not going to like Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Z. B. Asterplume. I have read several LGBTQ titles and they were starting to feel repetitive. Not to say they were bad or anything, I just wanted something a little different than what I had been reading. And Newman’s book is it. We really focus on the idea of helping each other in our community via a special cookie. We are focusing on Love is Love, but […]

Poems from new shoes and falling leaves to friendship to growing up

Poetry Comics by Grant Snider

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The only reason Poetry Comics is a four and not a five rating is there were two things I was not loving. The first is that sometimes a poem felt finished but kept on going and the second was that I was not sure why some of the poems were in that particular season. Such as many in the season of winter did not match with my idea of winter.  However, Grant Snider’s works are fun stories done in clever poetry. They made cute illustrations […]

We can still talk about summer books

Summer Solstice Wish by Kate Allen Fox and Elisa Paganelli

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Recently I found an online reader copy of a title called Summer Solstice Wish by Kate Allen Fox and Elisa Paganelli. They have a prequel or companion Winter Solstice Wish which I remember reading, but was not WOWed by it, but felt that it was enjoyable to read. However, I tried to read Summer, and could not finish it. Perhaps I was in the wrong mood for it. Perhaps I was not the reader for it. Perhaps I was thinking of Halloween and summer was […]

What have we learned in the past 80 years? (from publisher description)

Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen

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Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen and illustrated by Violeta Encarnación was a WOW book. It was not necessarily the story itself (though that is pretty wild) it was the way it was formatted that really made it work for me. It is a fantastic circular story that shows how history can repeat. But not only that, the text is repeated. We start with a young girl who is behind a fence in the 1940s. How she gets there, the thoughts and feelings she […]

Welcome to my Two Books in One Review review 

Thank You, School by Louise Borden

Finding My Wave by Alexandra Katona

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I found two books (hence the title) that were nice, cozy and enjoyable but I did not want to weaken reviewing either solo as I didn’t want to add fluff to them. Therefore, please enjoy these shorter reviews that hopefully do not leave out the good stuff. Thank You, School by Louise Borden and illustrator Paige Keiser  due March 2026 Read via an online reader copy. Through a series of poems, children thank each person (from bus drivers to teachers) who help make their school […]



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