community – Cannonball Read 17

To tell their stories

Home Is a Door We Carry by Constantin Satüpo

November 11, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Home Is a Door We Carry is a hard book to read, and not just because of the subject. There was a flowing issue for me. Things are simple and at times almost too simple for my personal tastes. Maybe different art could have enhanced my personal journey, but also I know that this is what author Constantin Satuppo needs to tell his story. Satupo is trying to give you the emotions of refugees (the voices of the children seen in the images) having to […]

Parents! Whatcha gunna do?

The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon by Audrey Barbakoff

October 21, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A year back the book The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon by Audrey Barbakoff and illustrated by Rotem Teplow came out. I found it hidden in my online reader links, so I had the pleasure of reading it that way. When I finished reading I felt that it was a cozy, silly folktale, and the usual antics that can be labeled as way too over the top and frankly stupid, were not there. I was, okay the adults are not the brightest people, but nobody […]

Some cheer

The Old Sleigh by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey

October 9, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

As another companion to the stories The Old Truck and The Old Boat, (which I do not believe I have read) the book The Old Sleigh is added to the clever creators Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey stories. A horse-drawn sleigh against a snowy background is loaded with the firewood a boy and father cut and deliver to a small village. As the village grows and the sleigh starts to fall about as it ages, we see how the changes happen and though things have […]

One tough Cookie

Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman

October 8, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I was nervous that I was not going to like Rainbow Cookies by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Z. B. Asterplume. I have read several LGBTQ titles and they were starting to feel repetitive. Not to say they were bad or anything, I just wanted something a little different than what I had been reading. And Newman’s book is it. We really focus on the idea of helping each other in our community via a special cookie. We are focusing on Love is Love, but […]

Mesmerizing roller coaster

Cry Wolf Girl by Ariel Slamet Ries

September 19, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I think I dislike everything about this book, Cry Wolf Girl, yet it was an amazing read. I just could not put it down. There are no natural breaks so it was not like I could stop at the end of a chapter but that didn’t matter. I just wanted to gobble it up. The book makes you think, feel and question. There are clearly marked paths we are taking, but things are not straight forward. It is artistic. It is not what you think […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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