Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

When Life was bored, Death took a holiday

Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis by Dave Maass, Patrick Lay, Ezra Rose and Richard Bruning

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Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis by Dave Maass, Patrick Lay, Ezra Rose and  Richard Bruning, is a lofty graphic novel undertaking. Over the top. Beautiful and Ugly. It is not an allegory of the Holocaust, but its roots are there. This is a story of how the General Overall  takes with his War. It is fiction, and it is history. It is the past, present and future. Bored, flamboyant Life wants something to happen to stop their boredom. And Death gives it. They are […]

Stitching love and warmth

Sashiko by Barbara Ciletti

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When I saw the lovely cover of Sashiko, with a child and the delightful colors surrounding them, I assume that the title was the name of the child. As a slight spoiler for those who do not know sewing, it is a type of sewing stitch that came about in the 1600s during the Edo period that is not just a practical piece of sewing but has come to represent the culture it came from. I know this only because of the afterwards by the […]

I want to try the dish and get a doll of our gal Anni!

Anni Dreams of Biryani by Namita Moolani Mehra

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Anni Dreams of Biryani has a bittersweet ending. And that colored my feelings about the story Namita Moolani Mehra tells. I was on board with our young hero, Anni, as she tries to figure out how to make biryani as well as Uncle (as the man who owns the café across the way is called) does. But no matter what she does, she cannot get the secret from this grumpy (but eyes shining) man. Oh, her biryani comes close, but is not exactly right. And […]

It’s Life

Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir by Bishakh Kumar Som

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At first, I found Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir by Bishakh Kumar Som a little confusing. You expect to get the story of Som, and while it starts off that way, you quickly go into a fictionalized version of who they are. With the character Anjali, we see who Som could be and in a way is, as their protagonist is a piece of them. This is a fun, informative and unique slice of life story that may not shatter the world but will rock it […]

Relatable awesomeness

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega

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I will start with a controversial statement. I am not always a fan of the drawn natural hair look. For me, it does not “translate” well to the page. I feel something is lost from the “real look” verses the “page look.” However, in Frizzy Rose Bousamra really pulled it off. Marlene (our heroine) and her natural look is amazingly done. And Claribel A. Ortega’s story is equally wonderful. Now, I am not a Dominican middle school girl who has the same self-esteem issues s […]

Beyond the Himalaya Mountains

A Girl in the Himalayas by David Jesus Vignolli

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Environmental issues and man’s greed, pain, actions, and fear are countered by a young girl, Vijaya, and her new family and new friends of the other realm in this graphic novel. A Girl in the Himalayas has a unique feel. At first you get the feeling of the scene in the animated Disney move, Mulan, when the village was attacked, and the doll of the little girl is found. You then get a feeling of a child who has been orphaned and is raised by […]



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