Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A little pride and culture

Marley's Pride by Joelle Retener

Our World: Ireland. by Muireann Ni Chiobhain

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I call myself a “book pusher,” but I am not at the top of this book train. I have my own pusher, Maya at Barefoot Books. And they have Barefoot behind them. And behind this publisher are the wonderful authors that put our wonderful books. And in April 2024 two very different, but equally awesome books will be out. And I get to push them on you… I mean introduce you to them. And you will be so happy for this introduction you will push […]

Bronze Age Crete in modern tone

Minoan Wings V02 Swallow's Dance by Wendy Orr

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A companion to Minoan Wings V01 Dragonfly Song we follow a young woman on the eve of her first “bleeding” (mensuration) and what that means to her within her community in Minoan Wings V02 Swallow’s Dance. Several natural disasters mean that our narrators’ carefully ordered and privileged life is shattered. Eventually, these disasters leave her, her mother and their old nursemaid-slave homeless and alone in a strange new land. Realizing how her once higher status is now her greatest enemy, she must learn to put […]

Delicate is not just a setting on the washing machine

Delicates: Collector's Edition by Brenna Thummler

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Though there is another edition of Delicates: Collector’s Edition by Brenna Thummler already out, I read it via an online reader copy and it is due mid-March 2024. Since I read volume one, Sheets, ages ago and forgot some main points, I think reading this series (Sheets, Delicates, and Lights) all together might be the best way to read. Yet, I am still waiting to find a copy of Lights to confirm this.  There are collectors editions of volumes one and two. But since volume […]

Family connections

I'll See You in Ijebu by Bunmi Emenanjo

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I usually am a fan of the books from Barefoot Books. And with I’ll See You in Ijebu I think I found my new favorite book this year (or for sure in the Top 15).  This is a delightful story of one young girl and the rich culture and family she comes from. We see how she celebrates both her mother’s family and their Muslim faith, and her immediate family and their Christian (specifically Catholic) faith as well. The two worlds are not separate, but can be […]

Activist and leader

Little People, Big Dreams: Vanessa Nakate by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara

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As I said with my Lenny Henry review, I recently refound the Little People, Big Dreams series, with their new people or new to most children biography series. When I found Vanessa Nakate I said, “That name sounds familiar, who is she again?” Then I realized she was that Vanessa Nakate, the young woman who had her image cropped out of the photograph that included other climate change activists. This young woman knew that she was not just being cropped out of a photograph, but […]

A little girl and her Babybell cheese

Looking Up by Stephan Pastis

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Looking Up is typical of Stephan Pastis and his style. Which means there is quirky, off-beat (and sometimes off color) humor. Sometimes you like the characters, sometimes not. They are not Pearls Before Swine as those characters can be adult and this book is for at least ages 10 and up (though younger could do as well, or be read to). However, that is until the end when we find a very powerful, and telling, twist. Of course, Pastis can be serious, too. After all, they […]



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