Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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About cosbrarian

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I'm a librarian, a singer, a cosplayer, an overachiever... @cosbrarian on most platforms. (Learn more about this Cannonballer: Cosbrarian's Quick Questions interview.)

cosbrarian's Reviews:

green face of a witch starring up from the sea

Power of the Greenwitch, lost beneath the sea…

Greenwich by Susan Cooper

April 6, 2021 by cosbrarian 3 Comments

In 2020, I started an occasional readathon I participate in – The Dark is Rising readathon, which is a seasonal reread of my favorite book series! Basically, we read the series on its own timeline, taking on each book in the season it’s set. And so I reread the first book in 2020 summer (Over Sea and Under Stone) and reviewed it here, and then I am pretty sure I reread the second book at Christmas (The Dark is Rising) but forgot to review it. […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fantasy Tagged With: king arthur, middle grade, sea witch, Series, Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising, wild magic, witches

cosbrarian's CBR13 Review No:5 · Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy · Tags: king arthur, middle grade, sea witch, Series, Susan Cooper, The Dark is Rising, wild magic, witches ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments
illustration of a mermaid by David Weisner

A romance-free twist on The Little Mermaid

Fish Girl by Donna Jo Napoli, David Wiesner

April 6, 2021 by cosbrarian 1 Comment

The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite fairy tales in all its forms. OG Andersen classic, the perfect Disney movie, and other adaptations as well (the musical Once on This Island stands out to me).  I’ve been back on a fairy tale kick these days (I run a series of comedic retellings of the original tales on TikTok) so I picked up this graphic novel for a quick read, and it’s very sweet! If you are unfamiliar with David Wiesner’s work, he is a […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books Tagged With: David Wiesner, Donna Jo Napoli, Donna Jo Napoli, David Wiesner, Fairy Tales, Graphic Novel, kid lit, mermaids, the little mermaid

cosbrarian's CBR13 Review No:4 · Genres: Children's Books, Graphic Novels/Comic Books · Tags: David Wiesner, Donna Jo Napoli, Donna Jo Napoli, David Wiesner, Fairy Tales, Graphic Novel, kid lit, mermaids, the little mermaid ·
Rating:
· 1 Comment
book cover of Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

My fave does it again!

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

April 1, 2021 by cosbrarian 4 Comments

“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 […]

Filed Under: Mystery, Young Adult Tagged With: black author, black protagonist, murder mystery, mystery, Tiffany D. Jackson, tw: Abuse

cosbrarian's CBR13 Review No:3 · Genres: Mystery, Young Adult · Tags: black author, black protagonist, murder mystery, mystery, Tiffany D. Jackson, tw: Abuse ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments
partial image of Marilyn Monroe's face

“Mama always knew the wrong thing to say.”

Beauty Mark: a Verse Novel of Marilyn Monroe by Carole Boston Weatherford

March 3, 2021 by cosbrarian 4 Comments

In this slim volume, Weatherford imagines a memoir written by Monroe, chronicling her life from her tumultuous childhood in foster care to her troubled final days in her L.A. home.  It includes both personal, introspective pieces about Monroe’s internal struggles as well as pieces that catalog her film career and persona, and the public response to it. I devour any biographical media of Monroe’s as she is my number one icon. As a teen, I stole a poster of her from a neighboring school’s production […]

Filed Under: Young Adult Tagged With: carole boston weatherford, Marilyn Monroe, poetry, verse, YA, Young Adult

cosbrarian's CBR13 Review No:2 · Genres: Young Adult · Tags: carole boston weatherford, Marilyn Monroe, poetry, verse, YA, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 4 Comments

High fives all around!

A High Five For Glenn Burke by Phil Bildner

February 2, 2021 by cosbrarian 2 Comments

Sixth grader Silas Wade adores baseball, and it adores him. Center fielder for his middle-school league and the heart of the team, Silas loves to boost morale with good-natured pranks, spreading love of The Sandlot (aka the greatest movie of all time), but most importantly winning games.  For his middle school biography project, Silas turns to baseball too, and knocks it out of the park with a presentation on Glenn Burke, five-tool talent of the L.A. Dodgers in the 1970s, who not only killed it […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Sports Tagged With: Baseball, Bildner, Black History, Children's Books, coming out, glenn burke, LGBTQ, lgbtq history, middle grade, phil, Phil Bildner, queer author, Queer characters

cosbrarian's CBR13 Review No:1 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Sports · Tags: Baseball, Bildner, Black History, Children's Books, coming out, glenn burke, LGBTQ, lgbtq history, middle grade, phil, Phil Bildner, queer author, Queer characters ·
Rating:
· 2 Comments

“The tricky thing about giving opinions is that sometimes they cost you more than you wanted to spend.”

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

April 14, 2020 by cosbrarian Leave a Comment

Jo Kuan and her father figure Old Jin have gotten by pretty well, considering they are Chinese Americans in the deep South of 1890.  Old Jin works as a horse caretaker for a local wealthy family, and Jo has a talent for millinery, so she is hopeful for an apprenticeship at the shop she works.  However, she is abruptly fired one day due to her supposed overly-frank attitude with customers (“You make the customers uncomfortable”).  Old Jin is able to get her a position as […]

Filed Under: History, Young Adult Tagged With: American History, Chinese American, Georgia, historical fiction, Jim Crow, Southern, Stacey Lee, Victorian era, YA, Young Adult

cosbrarian's CBR12 Review No:13 · Genres: History, Young Adult · Tags: American History, Chinese American, Georgia, historical fiction, Jim Crow, Southern, Stacey Lee, Victorian era, YA, Young Adult ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments
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Recent Comments

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