Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“I don’t know what to say,” she said, after a pause. “I don’t want to tell you a lie, and I don’t know the truth.”

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

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CBR 16 Bingo – Dreams: Ava dreams of many things, like being able to walk properly, having a loving mother, being able to ride a horse, and keeping herself and her brother safe. I first read this book when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, and I loved it. Something about the story and the characters just drew me in and caused me to really enjoy this book. It tells the story of Ava, a 10-year-old girl from London who has never left her […]

Stunning

Dear Moon: Inspiration from the Beautiful Wisdom of the Qur'an by Zayneb Haleem

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Dear Moon: Inspiration from the Beautiful Wisdom of the Qur’an by Zayneb Haleem knocked my socks off! It is one of the most beautifully created books I have seen this year. I cannot stop saying the word Beautiful to describe it.  It is a beautiful book of inspiration that is breathtaking. It is beautifully poetic. You might not be Muslim, but the messages are for everyone. It was not until college that I realized how the religious text and/or meanings were so similar when it […]

She ain’t no Nancy Drew

Casey's Cases: The Mysterious New Girl by Kay Healy

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Casey’s Cases: The Mysterious New Girl by Kay Healy was read via an online reader’s copy, but I will not be reading it or getting copies of it in as a finished copy, as it just did not “click” for me. First, Casey is around 11-years-old. And while I know that is still a young age, she acts much younger than that. In fact, I would not be surprised if it was revealed that she was also neurodivergent as what she does “get” is literal […]

Great life advice about lighting things on fire

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

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CBR 16 Bingo – Disco (Free) “Tom raised his eyebrows. ‘Master Benedict keeps cannon fuse?’ ‘We use it to light things from far away,’ I said. ‘You know,’ Tom said, ‘things you have to light from far away probably shouldn’t be lit at all.’” I read this book a few years ago, and really enjoyed it then. I decided to reread it this year in an effort to reread all 5 books I had already read before reading the 6th which came out in 2023 […]

Interestingly written biography

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi

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CBR 16 Bingo – Celestial: The book is based around a continuous metaphor of Octavia Butler being from the stars or generally connected to them. A couple of years ago, I got the opportunity to go to the Walter Dean Myers awards, and this was one of the runners-up. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise, especially since I haven’t read any of Octavia Butler’s works, but I got it and it seemed like a good fit for Bingo this year, so I finally […]

Where is the win for Winifred?

The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

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The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle has been on my TBR for ages. And while I am giving the book a four (due to averaging out all the pieces), I was not loving it as much as I hoped. You see, I built it up a bit too much and therefore, of course it couldn’t live up to my expectations. Still, if I had come at it fresh or as a teen (at least a strong 10 and up, but more likely 12/13 and […]



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