Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A romance-free twist on The Little Mermaid

Fish Girl by Donna Jo Napoli, David Wiesner

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The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite fairy tales in all its forms. OG Andersen classic, the perfect Disney movie, and other adaptations as well (the musical Once on This Island stands out to me).  I’ve been back on a fairy tale kick these days (I run a series of comedic retellings of the original tales on TikTok) so I picked up this graphic novel for a quick read, and it’s very sweet! If you are unfamiliar with David Wiesner’s work, he is a […]

Self-love out of self-loathing: Genesis Begins Again

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

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Genesis has taken hating herself to a new level: she has a long list of reasons she can’t stand herself and she’s adding to it every day. She gets help, too: from her father, who can’t help commenting in his drunken rants on how she had to end up dark like him instead of light like her beautiful mother, to the kids at school who’ve covered every cruel name for her dark skin.  Genesis has a hard time making friends anyway. Every time she starts […]

A mythical world to inform on a real world problem

Aquicorn Cove by Katie O'Neill

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CBR11bingo – Science! Lana and her father used to live by the sea with her mother and Aunt Mae. But when Lana’s mother died, her father couldn’t bear to be near the place she loved most, so they moved into the city. After some time grieving, he brings Lana to visit Mae and the little fishing village they used to inhabit.  Lana is ecstatic to be back, even though the nature of their visit is also a big somber: they are helping the town recover […]

Each word clicking into place as if he were making a puzzle out of glass

The Lifters by Dave Eggers

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cbr11bingo:  Readers Choice (swapping in the COLLECTION square) Twelve-year-old Granite Flowerpetal doesn’t love his name, even though his father named him Granite to grant him strength. He tries to rebrand himself as “Gran” and while it does take on, he quickly has second thoughts. But his new identity is only one piece of his jumbled up life.  His parents, seeking new work for his father, have moved them to the Flowerpot family hometown and house, in a town whimsically named Carousel after the craft of […]

Yarr, Change be Harrrd (Cannonball Bingo Illustrated square)

Pirates Don't Go to Kindergarten by Lisa Robinson

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I have no idea how to write a review of a book when the number of words required in the review are longer than the number of words in the book itself…

Half-Cannonball with an old favorite! This Newbery Medal winner holds up.

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

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I’ve been wanting to re-read The Cricket in Times Square for a couple of years now, but I was a little nervous because I remember loving it as a child. Revisiting a book or a movie that you remember fondly from years past is always a little risky; I’m glad I took a chance in this case, because “adult me” found this book just as delightful as “kid me” did. The story is about a cricket named Chester who, after accidentally stowing away in a […]



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