Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Mom’s ups and downs

My Mom Is Like a Kite by Lisl H. Detlefsen

August 7, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

While mental health issue stories are not new, even in children’s books, Lisl H. Detlefsen makes a fresh and creative work in My Mom Is Like a Kite. I assumed that the Mom in question would probably have highs and lows, but I did not expect them to be as serious as they are. I assumed this would be a lighthearted story about feelings, one that says even adults are happy, sad, scared, etc. You know, real emotions. This is partly because Nathalie Dion’s illustrations […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry Tagged With: daughters, Depression, emotions, family, Feelings, Lisl H. Detlefsen, Mental Health, mental illness, Nathalie Dion, parents, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:361 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry · Tags: daughters, Depression, emotions, family, Feelings, Lisl H. Detlefsen, Mental Health, mental illness, Nathalie Dion, parents, Social Themes ·
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There’s a lot to unpack and my suitcase isn’t big enough

My Father, the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang

June 13, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

After finishing My Father, the Panda Killer by Jamie Jo Hoang, I texted a friend to tell her I had finally finished the difficult book I was reading. It was difficult as the pacing felt slow to me and the subject is far from easy. The main character is the first generation to be born in the states after her parents fled war-torn Vietnam during/after the war. We, like the narrator Jane, learn about things in snippets with her having to fill in the blanks. […]

Filed Under: Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, History, Young Adult Tagged With: daughters, family, fathers, generational trauma, Jamie Jo Hoang, Multigenerational, Multiple person narrative, parents, refugees, siblings, Social Themes, Vietnam, Vietnamese & Vietnamese Americans, War & Military

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:311 · Genres: Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, History, Young Adult · Tags: daughters, family, fathers, generational trauma, Jamie Jo Hoang, Multigenerational, Multiple person narrative, parents, refugees, siblings, Social Themes, Vietnam, Vietnamese & Vietnamese Americans, War & Military ·
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Our Universe

Sophie Shares the Stars by Heather Smith and Catherine Petit

March 6, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Sophie Shares the Stars by Heather Smith and Catherine Petit is an interesting book due to the different layers it has. First, it is an adoption story. Sophie has lived with “”My Michael” since she was three. And this is why she calls him what she does and his mother “Our Julia.” But the second level is he is a “real” parent as he does the things all good parents do, takes care of her when she is sick, helps her clean up messes, and […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health Tagged With: adoption, Catherine Petit, chronic illness, community, daughters, family, fathers, Heather Smith, Heather Smith and Catherine Petit, Illness, invisible illness, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:133 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health · Tags: adoption, Catherine Petit, chronic illness, community, daughters, family, fathers, Heather Smith, Heather Smith and Catherine Petit, Illness, invisible illness, Social Themes ·
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Family, traditions, loss, home

Little Moons by Jen Storm and Ryan Howe

February 18, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I needed more than the sixty-odd pages in the graphic novel, Little Moons by Jen Storm and Ryan Howe. I needed to see more about the family, the relationships, the other women who have gone missing. I needed to see the community. I need to see what is being done to locate our character. And yet, that is the point. We do not always get that neat bow to tie the story up. There is no happy ever after for Chelsea and so many girls […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Religion, Young Adult Tagged With: Alice RI, Beadwork, Bereavement, daughters, Death, family, grief, Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, Jen Storm, Jen Storm and Ryan Howe, Manners and customs, missing persons, mothers, Murder victims' families, Nickolej Villiger, Ryan Howe, siblings

BlackRaven's CBR17 Review No:101 · Genres: Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, History, Mystery, Religion, Young Adult · Tags: Alice RI, Beadwork, Bereavement, daughters, Death, family, grief, Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, Jen Storm, Jen Storm and Ryan Howe, Manners and customs, missing persons, mothers, Murder victims' families, Nickolej Villiger, Ryan Howe, siblings ·
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Finding Happy

The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen

December 10, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen was a book I had on my TBR for awhile now. I didn’t know what to expect, except it was a graphic novel and would have some type of magic in it. And in the short run, that is what it is all about: A girl finds a magical shop, magical things happen, she makes magical friends. Yet, there is a bit more. It is about how and why the girl is in need of a magical shop. […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Mystery, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: Brittany Long Olsen, daughters, emotions, family, Feelings, friendship, magic, mothers, moving, siblings, Sisters, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:592 · Genres: Children's Books, Comedy/Humor, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels/Comic Books, Health, Mystery, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: Brittany Long Olsen, daughters, emotions, family, Feelings, friendship, magic, mothers, moving, siblings, Sisters, Social Themes ·
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More toymakers for the children!

Asha and the Toymaker by Sakshi Mangal

July 19, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

cbr16bingo  Bollywood (child lives in a village of India and the author is from Mumbai, India)   Asha and the Toymaker by Sakshi Mangal is something that one needs to experience themselves. I can say it is about Asha and her father in India. I can say that she is a young girl whose father wants her to study hard, not worry about money (that is his job to raise money so she can go to school) and have the opportunities that he did not […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, History Tagged With: art, cbr16bingo, daughters, family, father, Girls & Women, India, parents, Sakshi Mangal, toymakers, toys

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:328 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, History · Tags: art, cbr16bingo, daughters, family, father, Girls & Women, India, parents, Sakshi Mangal, toymakers, toys ·
Rating:
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