Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

When someone is that calm in a crisis, either they don’t know what’s happening, or you don’t.

The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley

by Leave a Comment

Suffering doesn’t make people good or noble. A little bit gives them perspective. A lot turns them cruel, and too much – you get a murder or a marvel, and neither of those are really people any more. ― Natasha Pulley, The Hymn to Dionysus His duty was hurting him, and this is the medicine, and the only reason you think that’s unreasonable is that your duty has hurt you much more, there never was medicine for you, and you don’t see why other people […]

“Let’s stop all the fight (Now)”

War Is Over by Sean Ono Lennon, Dave Mullins, Brad Booker, Max Narciso

by Leave a Comment

[Intro: Yoko Ono & John Lennon] Happy Christmas, Kyoko Happy Christmas, Julian [Verse 1: John Lennon] So this is Christmas And what have you done? Another year over And a new one just begun And so this is Christmas I hope you had fun The near and the dear ones The old and the young [Chorus: Yoko Ono & Harlem Community Choir] A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let’s hope it’s a good one Without any fear [Verse 2: John Lennon & Harlem Community […]

To tell the truth, the whole truth

Muhammad Najem, War Reporter: How One Boy Put the Spotlight on Syria by Muhammad Najem

by Leave a Comment

cbr17bingo Diaspora (this could be culture, but he upheaval of the Syrian people unfortunately fits.) Sadly, this book, Muhammad Najem, War Reporter: How One Boy Put the Spotlight on Syria, is nonfiction. I say sadly as nobody, let alone children and teenagers should have to go through what he did. Muhammad Najem, Nora Neus and Julie Robine gathered their talents and told the story of Muhammad as he risked not only his life, but the lives of his family, friends and neighbors. He wanted to be […]

Finding Home

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

by Leave a Comment

If you want a really tough read, and not just because of the theme, then pick up As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. None of the difficulties I had with this book comes from the story or even technically the writing itself. However, my issues were that the beginning is slow. There is a lot of build up, taking what feels like forever to “get to the point.” The author, like her main characters, are terrible flirts (as in they like […]

1998, Colombo. The Sri Lankan Civil War is raging and there is Kavi

I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera

by Leave a Comment

There are a few spoilers below about the book I Am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera.   Overall it is an interesting book. It had a few bumps for my personal tastes, but for the aged 10 and up crowd (and me back then) it is a will love title. The themes are mostly familiar, but the setting is fresh. You should read the afterwards and author notes for the extra background, information and author commentary. The format while prose poetry flows as full prose, the […]

Connecting after two months of boot camp

Camouflage Mom: A Story About Staying Connected by Sarah Hovorka

by Leave a Comment

Have you read a book and a lot about it was good, but there was something about it that was “off”? Camouflage Mom: A Story About Staying Connected by Sarah Hovorka and Elif Balta Parks was one of those books. Currently available, I read via an online reader. Sarah is excited to see her mother after her being in boot camp for several months. But when they finally are back together, there is something wrong with it. Sarah is actually upset at her mother. She […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo