Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“This is Afghanistan …. What do you want — a happy ending?”

My Name is Parvana by Deborah Ellis

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Cbr12bingo Red In this final novel of Deborah Ellis’ The Breadwinner series, we are reunited with Parvana, the young girl who disguised herself as a boy in order to support her family and survive in war torn, Taliban controlled Afghanistan. Several years have passed, Parvana is now a teenager, and Afghanistan is still rocked by war. US troops and bases are nearby, and the Taliban is still terrorizing the people, especially women and girls. Through her YA novels, Ellis shows the perspective of a girl, […]

Thank you, Emmalita, for yet another good romance recommendation! (BINGO #1)

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

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#CBR12 Bingo: Fresh Start (the beginning of a new series, AND my first book by this author) It would also work really well for Cannonballer Says, Money! and Friendship I got a free ARC of this on Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. I also liked the book enough that I have now paid money to own it. Samiah Brooks is getting ready for a date, while her pregnant sister reads her hilarious updates from another woman’s disastrous first date on Twitter. Samiah is mortified to discover […]

Much darker than I remembered

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

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Katsa lives in a series of kingdoms where a small percentage of the populations have a unique ability or grace. These people are known as Gracelings, and the abilities can be benign and useful, like being extremely skilled at baking, cooking, sewing, or in one case, being able to smell exactly what the person in question wants to eat or drink. They can also be dangerous, like Katsa’s extreme fighting ability, which was discovered when she accidentally killed someone in self-defense when she was only […]

The story of a child refugee

Mud City by Deborah Ellis

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Cbr12bingo Yellow Mud City, the third novel in Ellis’ The Breadwinner series, is the story of Shauzia, the best friend of The Breadwinner’s main character Parvana. In book 1, readers learned that Shauzia, like Parvana, was pretending to be a boy in Taliban-controlled Kabul so that she could work and earn money to support her family at home. Women and girls were denied education and independence and to break the rules was to invite severe punishment, even death. While we don’t learn a lot about […]

“Tanks were normal. Bombs were normal. Why couldn’t eating be normal?”

Parvana’s Journey by Deborah Ellis

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CBR12bingo Green Parvana’s Journey is the second book in Ellis’ The Breadwinner series and picks up shortly after Parvana and her father have left Kabul, Afghanistan, circa 2000, in search of the rest of their family. Ellis continues to focus on matters of war and violence from the perspective of Afghanistan’s refugee children. Like The Breadwinner, this is a short YA novel, appropriate for children age 10 or so and older. It shows the horrors of war and family separation through the eyes of Parvana […]

Historical true crime, plus something for the Hamilton Fans

Duel with the Devil by Paul Collins

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CBR12 BINGO: Shelfie “Gentlemen of the jury, I’m curious, bear with me Are you aware that we’re making hist’y? This is the first murder trial of our brand-new nation.” If you’re a Hamilfan, you might recognize those words from the song “Non-Stop,” in which Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr act as co-counsel for the defense on a murder trial. In Duel with the Devil, Paul Collins tells the story of that historical court case and the gruesome event that led to it. As I mentioned […]



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