Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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The stories of two young men

Hands by Torrey Maldonado

Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes

March 21, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I needed a short read or two. I found two, while terribly short looking, books that also felt like they would have some “meat” to them. And those books were Hands by Torrey Maldonado and Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes. I was familiar with Grimes, as they are the author of Garvey’s Choice and others I enjoyed reading. But Maldonado was new. Hands looked like it would be a boxing book. And it is, somewhat. But really what the book is about are […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry, Young Adult Tagged With: African American & Black, black, boxing, Covid-19, family, mothers, music, Nikki Grimes, Novels in Verse, pandemic, responsibility, siblings, Sisters, Social Themes, Stepfathers, Torrey Maldonado

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:109 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry, Young Adult · Tags: African American & Black, black, boxing, Covid-19, family, mothers, music, Nikki Grimes, Novels in Verse, pandemic, responsibility, siblings, Sisters, Social Themes, Stepfathers, Torrey Maldonado ·
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A red-headed, freckled Mexican American border kid

They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles

January 16, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

  CBR16SweetChallenge #New (representation in my reading)   They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems came to my attention because there was an online reader copy of the companion novel, They Call Her Fregona: A Border Kid’s Poems and I realized that while it might not need to be read in order, it might be a good idea to get this first one. Author David Bowles has a story that was new to me (after all I thought I didn’t know them, but I had read […]

Filed Under: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: Adolescence & Coming of Age, David Bowles, family, friendship, Hispanic & Latino, Novels in Verse, Social Themes

BlackRaven's CBR16 Review No:27 · Genres: Children's Books, Fiction, Health, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: Adolescence & Coming of Age, David Bowles, family, friendship, Hispanic & Latino, Novels in Verse, Social Themes ·
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Well-behaved women seldom make history

Rima's Rebellion: Courage in a Time of Tyranny by Margarita Engle

January 19, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport Book I own Rima’s Rebellion: Courage in a Time of Tyranny is an interesting book. First, it is prose poetry and while that is usually a good thing for me, I am not sure this was the best format for the subject. Second, it is confusing what age(s) it is aimed for. The tone of the book is for a middle-grade reader (at least aged 10 and up), but the subject matter is more mature. If this was Margarita Engle’s first novel, that bump […]

Filed Under: Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Religion, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: 1909-1933 History, Caribbean & Latin America, CBR15Passport, Cuba, family, feminists, Girls & Women, las Mambises, Margarita Engle, natural children, Novels in Verse, suffragists

BlackRaven's CBR15 Review No:48 · Genres: Fiction, Health, History, Poetry, Religion, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: 1909-1933 History, Caribbean & Latin America, CBR15Passport, Cuba, family, feminists, Girls & Women, las Mambises, Margarita Engle, natural children, Novels in Verse, suffragists ·
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This b**ch bites

Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan

July 25, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

 cbr14bingo Verse  Level 1 (prose verses)  When I first saw Baby Teeth I thought “Finally, a book that is ‘cover different’ and still eye catching.” (Or in other words, it was not “just like all the other” covers out there.) And then “Ooooh prose poetry.” (When reading I would think, “Less poetry and more ‘poetic’ though”). After finishing, I thought, “Meg Grehan. You are one weird person.” In many ways this is a sophisticated read (and at times made me feel like I was missing […]

Filed Under: Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, Horror, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult Tagged With: cbr14bingo, glbtq, Lesbians, Meg Grehan, Novels in Verse, vampires

BlackRaven's CBR14 Review No:394 · Genres: Cooking/Food, Fiction, Health, Horror, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult · Tags: cbr14bingo, glbtq, Lesbians, Meg Grehan, Novels in Verse, vampires ·
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