Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Ibtihaj Muhammad’s stories

The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community (The Proudest Blue, 3) by Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali and Hatem Aly

by Leave a Comment

The Boldest White: A Story of Hijab and Community (The Proudest Blue, 3) is by Olympic fencer, Ibtihaj Muhammad, as well as S.K. Ali and Hatem Aly. This (as the  title suggests) their third book in the Proudest Blue series. I did not feel it covered the subject of wearing a hijab as fully as the other two books have, but it does bring that into play. What it does focus on is becoming brave with its main character, and bringing in the Islamic culture […]

Turkey trot

The Great Turkey Walk: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of the Classic Story of a Boy, His Dog and a Thousand Turkeys by Kathleen Karr and Michelle Bailat-Jones

by Leave a Comment

The Great Turkey Walk: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of the Classic Story of a Boy, His Dog and a Thousand Turkeys by Kathleen Karr, Léonie Bischoff (illustrator), and Michelle Bailat-Jones was not something I expected to like as much as I did. I assumed since the original book was around 25 years old that it would be dated. But either it was updated, or the common, familiar themes were done well enough to adapt to future readers. I do not believe I have  read the […]

During World War Two, in the concentration camp Terezin, something grew

The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer

by Leave a Comment

The Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World by Elisa Boxer and illustrated by Alianna Rozentsveig was not what I expected. I think I assumed it would be a lot darker than it was, but oddly enough, it is a hopeful introduction to the subject and one that does offset the darkness of the situation and times.  Perhaps things are a bit more poetic than the actual events were (a teacher in Terezin risks her life to ask another prisoner (also risking […]

She took a real trip

Scout Is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong

by Leave a Comment

As I have read a lot of middle and young adult reads, the graphic novel Scout Is Not a Band Kid by Jade Armstrong, was not a new theme. Scout is a kid who is trying to get to meet their favorite author. There is a lot of hyperbole (Scout’s “reasons” are honestly above ridiculous and seem to be untrue: “She’s 100 years old!” “She’s going to die soon!” “I’ll never meet her any other way!”) surrounding her scheme to actually meet this author. Plus, […]

I’ve been a Hawk Tuah long!

The Encounter by K. A. Applegate

by 3 Comments

TW: Attempted Suicide (briefly mentioned in this review, a fleshed out scene in the book) Animorphs can collect the DNA of any animal they touch and bond with, filing it away for the perfect opportunity to transform into an elephant, a tiger, a flea. But you cannot stay in your animal form for over two hours, or you will be stuck in that form permanently. Tobias learned this the hard way. He used to be a middle schooler, a little nerdy, an outcast among his […]

It’s Morphin’ Time! (Animorphing, that is)

The Invasion by K. A. Applegate

The Visitor by K. A. Applegate

by 4 Comments

I was fourteen when The Animorphs debuted, and it never crossed my path. It’s possible I was outgrowing its target age range (though I think teens did read and would still read this series). But it’s more likely that I didn’t read it because I thought I didn’t like science fiction. I thought this despite the fact that A Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite rereads, despite loyally watching SeaQuest DSV (even if my loyalty was more for the Jonathan Brandis of it […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo