Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“To slowly, slowly give in to the inevitability of adulthood in the hopes that I will age as gracefully as Paris has.”

French Milk by Lucy Knisley

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First, a word on ratings and expectations. French Milk is by my quick count my third Lucy Knisley book (I read Relish way back in 2016 and An Age of License in 2018). So, when I decided to restart my Knisley experience I figured might as well go back to the beginning with her 2007 book French Milk thinking I knew what to expect having read books previously from the author about her mom, food, and travel and this book combines those in Paris. I […]

“I’m fine with being a half kid, but now I don’t even know which half I’m supposed to be.”

The Squad by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao

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The Squad is a sequel to The Tryout, which dealt with Christina trying out for the cheerleading squad in her small Texas town. Her mother is white and her father is Thai, and Christina is one of the few Asian American people in the town, which leads to bullying and a persistent sense of being different. She struggles with being mixed race and the idea that she’s just half of As The Squad opens, Christina is starting eighth grade and is feeling confident and good about […]

From the Magical to the Personal: Two Reviews

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

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Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis was such a blast. It features Dread Lord Gavrax, a dark wizard (and a mediocre one at that, we learn as the story progresses). Except that Gav has no memories of this. He wakes up with amnesia, freaks out when he realizes he appears to be in a dark lord’s lair, and quickly comes to realize that he is said dark lord. He then spends a good chunk of the book trying to hide this fact from potential enemies while also […]

“What would happen if we spoke the truth?”

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic had been on my to read for a bit as one of the more visible challenged and banned books since its publication in 2006  (31st most challenged  in the decade 2010-2019 according to the ALA) that I hadn’t gotten to yet, but moved higher up as it was challenged locally to me twice since 2020 (it’s been retained both times). So, it found its way to my September reading as my personal choice for Banned Books Week 2024.   As […]

#CannonBookClub October Book Club Announcement

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Banned Graphic Novel Book Club Discussion Now Open – Join us today for the discussion! Last year when we decided to have a Banned Books Book Club the timing felt right – it was the 40th anniversary of the creation of Banned Books Week and nationally we were seeing an uptick in challenges against books for a variety of reasons. The uptick turned out to be a tidal wave unprecedented since ALA started keeping statistics – 2022 had the highest number of challenges ever and […]

“It’s like everyone else got instructions, but we didn’t.”

Tegan and Sara: Junior High by Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, and Tillie Walden

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CBR15Bingo: Bodies, Bodies (physically growing up, stressing about getting your period, wanting to differentiate yourself when you’re an identical twin — the first chapter is actually called “Teenage Bodies.”) I read this without ever having listened to any Tegan and Sara music and loved it, so this is clearly a winner. I am a huge Tillie Walden fan, which is why I picked this up in the first place, and I’m really glad I did. I think this book does a great job of being […]



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