Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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The size of history

We Are American, Too by Kristen Mei Chase and Jieting Chen

The Memory Cake by Caroline L. Perry and Jen Bricking

February 13, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

History is all around us. And history can be as large as World War II or as small as being the second person of your race being born in a town.  We Are American, Too tackles that second theme. Kristen Mei Chase and illustrator Jieting Chen follow a family on an important day of celebration. They are honoring their history, family, their people and even themselves. The originality of the book comes from how the story is told, instead of “just another immigrant story” which […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Asian-American, Baking, Caroline L. Perry, Caroline L. Perry and Jen Bricking, Chinese-Americans, Emigration, family, Feelings, Immigration, Jen Bricking, Jieting Chen, Kristen Mei Chase, Kristen Mei Chase and Jieting Chen, Malta, Military & Wars, Multigenerational, Pacific Islander, Santa Marija, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:85 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: Asian-American, Baking, Caroline L. Perry, Caroline L. Perry and Jen Bricking, Chinese-Americans, Emigration, family, Feelings, Immigration, Jen Bricking, Jieting Chen, Kristen Mei Chase, Kristen Mei Chase and Jieting Chen, Malta, Military & Wars, Multigenerational, Pacific Islander, Santa Marija, Social Themes ·
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Shaping the structures of the world

Mr. Pei's Perfect Shapes: The Story of Architect I. M. Pei by Julie Leung

May 31, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Mr. Pei’s Perfect Shapes: The Story of Architect I. M. Pei by Julie Leung and illustrated by Yifan Wu is a WOW! book. Not because it is the best book ever (though it is in the top 25 for 2024 so far), but because it is different from what I have been reading and it is about someone that I had never heard of before, or if I had, not someone who had “clicked” as he was not a mainstream name (such as Frank Lloyd […]

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: 20th Century, architecture, art, Chinese, Chinese-Americans, Concepts, I. M. Pei, Julie Leung, migration & Immigration, shapes, Social Topics, Yifan Wu

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:210 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, History, Non-Fiction · Tags: 20th Century, architecture, art, Chinese, Chinese-Americans, Concepts, I. M. Pei, Julie Leung, migration & Immigration, shapes, Social Topics, Yifan Wu ·
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Food and family

Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang

December 28, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The publisher’s description of Rainbow Shopping by Qing Zhuang says “Shopping for and preparing a delicious meal helps a young Chinese American girl feel connected to her family.” But it is more than that. It is a way of her having a connection with her past and the present. And it shows a piece of her old home and her new home. We are able to see that while she cannot find everything she and her mother wanted for their special dinners (the whole family […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, Poetry Tagged With: Asian-American, Chinatown, Chinese-Americans, colors, Concepts, Emigration & Immigration, family, Qing Zhuang, United States - Asian American & Pacific Islander

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:891 · Genres: Children's Books, Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, Poetry · Tags: Asian-American, Chinatown, Chinese-Americans, colors, Concepts, Emigration & Immigration, family, Qing Zhuang, United States - Asian American & Pacific Islander ·
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Oh how funny! Mom just ate someone’s body part.

The Night Eaters: Volume One: She Eats the Night by Marjorie M. Liu

January 9, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

This weekend I devoured several titles. I was finally in the mood to read and the goodies I found were easy enough to read, even if they had a lot going on. And in fact, most of them deserve a second read (at least) as there was a lot going on and things probably were missed. And The Night Eaters: Volume One: She Eats the Night was one of the most-going-onest graphic novels I have read. This Marjorie M. Liu graphic novel is not for […]

Filed Under: Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, History, Horror, Mystery, Religion, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Suspense Tagged With: Chinese-Americans, Demonology, Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda, supernatural, Teenagers, trauma

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:27 · Genres: Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, History, Horror, Mystery, Religion, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Suspense · Tags: Chinese-Americans, Demonology, Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda, supernatural, Teenagers, trauma ·
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She Used to Meet Me on the (Lower) East Side

The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream by Patrick Radden Keefe

Lush Life by Richard Price

December 3, 2020 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read two consecutive books whose geographies bumped up against each other; one set in Manhattan’s Chinatown, the other set partially in it, as well as the adjacent East Village. Both were excellent in their own respective ways. The Snakehead How is Patrick Radden Keefe so damn good at writing non-fiction? This doesn’t reach the heights of Say Nothing (really what can?) but it’s a fascinating story in its own right and Keefe tells it well and thoroughly, providing enough detail without larding the narrative. He also takes […]

Filed Under: Mystery, Non-Fiction Tagged With: Chinese-Americans, crime, Human Smuggling, Immigration, lower East Side, Lush Life, Manhattan, mystery, Patrick Radden Keefe, Richard Price, Sister Ping, The Snakehead, true crime

Jake's CBR12 Review No:180 · Genres: Mystery, Non-Fiction · Tags: Chinese-Americans, crime, Human Smuggling, Immigration, lower East Side, Lush Life, Manhattan, mystery, Patrick Radden Keefe, Richard Price, Sister Ping, The Snakehead, true crime ·
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