Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Young love and demon hunting

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu

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CBR14 Bingo: Cozy (this is a super-sweet YA comic. While there are some dark themes, the main vibe here is absolutely cozy.) Nova Huang (she/her) is an orphaned young witch, although she sees the ghosts of her parents during each major holiday, and sometimes just when they feel she might need advice or a good talking to. She lives with her two grandmothers, who sell books of both the mundane and magical varieties. Tam (they/them) on the other hand, seems to have been on their […]

“Can I still listen to BTS if I’m a lesbian?”

Ti kniver i hjertet (Ten knives in the heart) by Nora Dåsnes

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3.5 stars Tuva is about to start seventh grade (age 11-12 here in Norway) and is very much looking forward to seeing her best friends Linnea and Bao and catching up after a long summer apart. She shares all of her hopes and fears writing and drawing in her diary. When she gets back to school, however, nothing is as she was expecting. Linnea has a boyfriend now, and doesn’t really want to hang out, playing in their secret treehouse in the woods. She just […]

It’s cute! It’s spooky! It’s… kooky!

Cryptid Club by Sarah Andersen

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CBR14Bingo – White Elephant: OK, this is stretching this one, but this is the perfect sort of thing to actually use in a white elephant gift exchange. It’s weird enough to make people go ??? but also interesting and cute enough to make them go !!! Sarah Andersen brings her signature humor and charm to spooky season. I’ve been a pretty big fan of her other work, and I’m a pretty big fan of crytpids (please check out some of my other questionable reading choices), […]

There Is No Such Thing As Bad Hair

Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega, Rose Bousamra

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Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review. In a coming of age graphic novel reminiscent of The Prince and the Dressmaker, Supper Club, and As the Crow Flies, Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra deftly and beautifully tackle the injustice surrounding politicized appearances through the story of Marlene and her family. Marlene has spent her whole life hearing about good hair and bad hair…and her hair is, of course, bad. Meanwhile, everyone else around her, […]

A graphic novel memoir about a ten growing up between cultures

It Won't Always Be Like This by Malaka Gharib

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I’m not a big fan of reading memoirs – unless they’re graphic novels. There’s something about the combination of words and illustrations that makes me feel like I’m getting a better insight into the person. So when I saw this coming-of-age memoir by an Filipina-Egyptian-American woman, I was intensely curious about how she balanced all those identities. I didn’t realize when I picked this up but it’s the second in the series. It worked just fine as a standalone, though. The book starts with Malaka at […]

“One of the most important things you can do is learn to do is prioritize:” Good Advice for Any Age

Camp by Kayla Miller

Crunch by Kayla Miller

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CBR14Bingo: Verse (both books are set in the same universe/setting) Camp and Click are standalone books in the same series. It does help to know the character relationships, but it doesn’t really take away your ability to understand the narrative. In Camp, Olive and Willow go to summer camp for the first time. They’re best friends but Olive is more outgoing and Willow is shy and just wants to hang out with Olive. The tension between Olive wanting to try new things and meet new […]



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