Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Death Becomes Him

Under the Whispering Door by T. J. Klune

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Bingo 13: Pride Under the Whispering Door is most definitely not a book to read for plot, as it’s largely thematically and character driven, and it’s also not one you want to really speed through as it’s got a lot of lyrical segments. Both of these are strengths, but also reasons why you need to be in the right mood to really enjoy this, and I have to admit, I wasn’t always. The two main threads, adjusting to being dead and coming to terms with […]

The year 2025 is going to be busy with fun new books

The Three-Year Tumble: Based on a Korean Folktale by Dayeon Auh

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The Three-Year Tumble: Based on a Korean Folktale by Dayeon Auh and translated by Tim Mohr was read via an online reader copy as it is not due until mid-late March 2025. And I was unaware of this until after I read it and really liked it. But it is worth the wait. Auh’s story is a clever story about how we see things and how our attitude can shape that. The story follows a grandfather who must go over a mountain to get to […]

Celebrating and loss

Popi's All Souls Song by C.K. Malone

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Popi’s All Souls Song by C.K. Malone and illustrated by Shelly Swann is due mid September 2024. I was able to find an online reader copy and I am curious about the final product. I think reading online made me “miss” some important pieces of the story. There is a small bump near the end that did not flow for me. However, overall it is an interesting story that takes a familiar topic (the death of a loved one) and handles it with love, care […]

We miss you, Rosie

Dear Rosie by Meghan Boehman

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Dear Rosie by Meghan Boehman and Rachael Briner is a tender story about loss, grieving and how everyone is different, but we all need someone to talk to. The story is realistic and relatable, as are the characters. The adult me was prepared for a bunch of spoiled kids doing dumb things and really wondering how they will make it. But after I finished both my adult and kid selves had fallen into deep like with them. They were believable and I could see myself […]

Red Kites and Black Birds

The Pebble: An Allegory of the Holocaust by Marius Marcinkevičius

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The Pebble: An Allegory of the Holocaust by Marius Marcinkevičius, illustrated by Inga Dagilė and translated by Jura Avizienis is a clever telling of the Holocaust story via one child’s experiences. We follow a child from inside to the ghetto, to the day they leave and do not return. The mystical element might be assumed “real” and therefore, having a younger child missing the metaphor, but older readers/children and adults will appreciate it. The artwork is sparse, but creates a tone that allows the realism […]

Finding yourself

A Sky of Paper Stars by Susie Yi

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A Sky of Paper Stars by Susie Yi is probably more of a 3.5 than a pure 4 rating as there were a few bumps for me. However, I enjoyed seeing Korean culture, some of it I knew and other aspects new. My unscientific opinion is that probably Korean culture is not known well by the aimed age reader (a stronger 8 to 12). My experience with Asian based characters seems to lean towards Chinese first, with Japanese second, then the people of Taiwan and […]



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