Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

They adorably find you when you need them

Adorable Empire: A Graphic Novel by Laura Terry

by Leave a Comment

Adorable Empire: A Graphic Novel by Laura Terry is a nice solid 3. The story is not new (magical animals, being yourself, divorce, complicated family and friends relationships), but it is nice (I will repeat this word) and has a few points that keep it new for someone who has read a lot of this theme, but also does not deter a newbie to the flock of coming of age books. There are nice illustrations that are not WOW, but not blah either. Overall, it […]

Being the new kids in school isn’t their only issue

Glitch Volume 1 by Abigail Blackman, Eleanor Summers and Shima Shinya

by Leave a Comment

While cleaning up older links to online reader copies, I found one from 2023. How or why it was still active, I do not know (I have had ones from February 2025 that have already become inactive). Therefore, yes Glitch Volume 1 by Abigail Blackman, Eleanor Summers (translator) and Shima Shinya is available in a finished copy, as are the other (so far) three volumes in this series. I am not sure if there will be more, but I hope it is wrapped up in […]

What’s scarier than a cucuy?

The Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy: An Illustrated Chapter Book by Donna Barba Higuera

by Leave a Comment

The Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy: An Illustrated Chapter Book by Donna Barba Higuera and some funny illustrations by Juliana Perdomo is a fun story about family and a bit of mythology, that I read via an online reader copy.  Our narrator/main character is a young monster on the eve of his first assignment to scare a human child. They are the youngest in their class, and one of the few cucuys who do not have a Clump or name. Therefore, they must […]

Finding Happy

The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen

by Leave a Comment

The Happy Shop by Brittany Long Olsen was a book I had on my TBR for awhile now. I didn’t know what to expect, except it was a graphic novel and would have some type of magic in it. And in the short run, that is what it is all about: A girl finds a magical shop, magical things happen, she makes magical friends. Yet, there is a bit more. It is about how and why the girl is in need of a magical shop. […]

We gotta move it

Goodbye, Old House by Margaret Wild

by Leave a Comment

While this book is currently available, I located an online reader copy of Goodbye, Old House by Margaret Wild. I was not sure what to expect, but what I got was, well, nifty! It is very basic and repetitive, but there was an odd depth to it as well. I liked the illustrations by Ann James, even though they are equally simple, but again, have a depth to them. In fact, probably what is not  there on the page is as important as what is […]

Thyme travels

Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin

by Leave a Comment

As an adult, I found a few areas in Counting Thyme by Melanie Conklin that were not “smooth” for me, however, from ages 10 to 14 I would have enjoyed it. You are there with our narrator Thyme (like the clock, with a HY). You worry about fitting in at your new school, you worry about your siblings and your relationships with them, you worry about your old friendships, you are sad and happy, you try to balance your “now and then” and along the […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo