Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“A sound can move anything if it’s strong enough.”

Song For a Whale by Lynne Kelly

by 3 Comments

Iris has always had a slight connection to whales, because she was named in honor of one. The day she was born, a whale beached itself in their hometown, and her family named her the same name scientists gave the whale, as its life left the world when hers began. But Iris’s connection to these creatures truly clicks when her teacher shares a video about a very unique whale, called Blue-55 by scientists, sometimes called the loneliest whale. Blue-55 is a hybrid breed, and sings […]

I feel about as prepared as this 12-year-old

Disaster Days by Rebecca Behrens

by Leave a Comment

Hannah forgot her inhaler today, again, which is annoying. But what is more annoying is that her mother continues to be overprotective and accuses her of irresponsibility anytime she forgets to bring it along. But Hannah is about to embark on her second babysitting job in their little Pelling island community, and that seems to be a good way to showcase her independence. She took the sitter course, after all, and it’s the first night she’ll watch Oscar and Zoe without their mom around.   What […]

Self-love out of self-loathing: Genesis Begins Again

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

by Leave a Comment

Genesis has taken hating herself to a new level: she has a long list of reasons she can’t stand herself and she’s adding to it every day. She gets help, too: from her father, who can’t help commenting in his drunken rants on how she had to end up dark like him instead of light like her beautiful mother, to the kids at school who’ve covered every cruel name for her dark skin.  Genesis has a hard time making friends anyway. Every time she starts […]

“Because all the words I could think of—bullying, teasing, flirting—seemed too simple, too small, to hold all the hurt I was feeling.”

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

by 3 Comments

Mila used to love wearing her green fuzzy sweater. That is, until a group of boys at school started calling it lucky.  It began at recess one day, when the boys joined into a group hug between her friends uninvited. Since then, they’ve narrowed their focus in on her. One day, a boy brushes her shoulder and she’s pretty sure it was intentional.  Another, someone wants to touch her fuzzy sweater for luck in the basketball game. One day, a boy asks her for a […]

“But if you could tell science like a story, I’d pay attention.”

The Line Tender by Kate Allen

by Leave a Comment

Lucy’s mother was a marine biologist who was particularly interested in sharks. People told her mother that this enthusiasm would get her killed, but it was a brain aneurysm that ended up taking her life. Lucy was seven when that happened, and while she still finds herself occasionally swept up in bouts of grief, she and her father are getting by. Friends and neighbors help a lot. Fred from across the street is her best friend, though now at 13 years old, she is beginning […]

Stories from the 1% (no not THAT one)

I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day

by Leave a Comment

Recently I was lucky to present at our state comic con on Teen Girls in Space, and one of the focuses of my panel contributions was diversity in pop culture. I got to really dig into the still terrible statistics of representation in literature and media, and while it was nice to see the numbers getting better, all in all it is a “long way to go” situation – unsurprising to any Pajiban and Cannonballer, I am sure. Of the many major bummers, one super-major […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo