Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Appetizing

Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin

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Officially I have not finished Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods by Grace Lin. Not because it is a bad book, or because it is a hard read, but because it is actually a good collection of stories that you need to take your  time with. Lin takes myths, legends, some truths, historical facts and creative license and tells us the story of the menu of Chinese culture. I have only gotten  little over half way through, but want to […]

Pablo probably wishes he was the one stuffed in his locker

Monster Locker Volume 1 by Jorge Aguirre

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Currently available (but I read via an online reader copy), Monster Locker Volume 1 is a fun book that is a bit predictable for adults, but for at least 8 and up (more 10 to 13 perhaps) this is going to be a neat adventure. A mostly diverse cast of characters allows us to see a family following traditions but also forgetting its past. Then magic happens (cue a magic cell phone, a typical kid, and some ancient goddesses) and chaos happens. This is all […]

This story is “…not (about) my race, not the color of my skin, we’re talking about my economic class, my lack of privilege and my big ole brain.” But it is about race for privilege….and advantage and…. well you know

Chupacabra: Tales Of Blood & Ink by Matthew Medney, Kyle Faehnrich

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Chupacabra: Tales Of Blood & Ink by Matthew Medney, Kyle Faehnrich and editor Steve Orlando is a horror graphic novel for older readers. It has a strong aged 15/16 and up tone, but also reads quickly. The violence is not subtle, but not necessarily gratuitous either. Yet, there are places that sometimes went for the, “Ooooh-kaaay, what was that?” and “WHY was that?” It has a typical graphic novel/comic look. It is dark, crowded, sometimes the action blends in and can’t be easily “read” or […]

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 […]

From India to Israel

The Blue Butterfly of Cochin by Ariana Mizrahi & Siona Benjamin (Illustrator)

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I like finding out things that might not be familiar to me, or to the majority of people if it is presented in a fun way, as I do not care for “just the facts” and “dry textbooks.”  I like things like The Blue Butterfly of Cochin by Ariana Mizrahi and illustrated by Siona Benjamin. (Currently available, I read this via an online reader copy). I like taking a fictional story and basing it in the facts to make it relatable to the reader.  This […]

A Personal Story of Deconstruction

The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon

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The story: The Exvangelicals is a nonfiction book written by Sarah McCammon, who grew up in the white evangelical Christian movement in the 80s and 90s. As an adult, she deconstructed (began examining and questioning her religious beliefs), and discovered that many others who had grown up in the same circumstances as her were doing the same. The book includes recollections from her childhood and her deconstruction process, interviews with others who have left the white evangelical church, and information on the history and current status of […]



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