Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Yo-Yo means: Come back

Pedro's Yo-Yos: How a Filipino Immigrant Came to America and Changed the World of Toys by Rob Peñas

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Who invented the yo-yo? Well, that I can’t tell you, but what I can tell you is that a Filipino immigrant helped make it one of the most popular toys of not just its time, but even today. Born in 1896, Pedro Flores was a young man from the Philippines. He would work hard under the conditions of events of the  time. When he was finally allowed to leave the country, he found his way to America. But it was not an American Dream right […]

What was it that Shakespeare said? “Shut up, and let me kiss you”? Probably.

The Last Guy You Kiss by Carla De Guzman

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The Last Guy You Kiss is achingly sweet, honest, and funny. It’s a gorgeously layered romance about the courage of choosing to love when the world makes you want to guard your heart. Carla de Guzman is one of the authors I wish more people read. She’s so good. Her books are like a tapestry with rich and intricate details. The Last Guy You Kiss reminded me a bit of Cara Bastone’s Promise Me Sunshine in that the characters are trying to get through a […]

Monsters live

Janus Silang and the Creature of Tabon volume one in the Janus Silang Saga by Edgar Calabia Samar

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Janus Silang and the Creature of Tabon volume one in the Janus Silang Saga by Edgar Calabia Samar, Natasha Ringor (Illustrator), and Carljoe Javier as the adaptor is more of a 2.5 than a two. There was this “niggle” as I was reading saying, “This is good, pay attention.” But another part of me was saying, “you are so missing something about this book” and therefore I cannot give it a 3 but also, there was too much I did like to just give a […]

2024 is going to be a busy year

Our Nipa Hut: A Story in the Philippines by Rachell Abalos

I Am Both : A Vietnamese Refugee Story  by Kerisa Greene

Two Homes, One Heart  by Jessica Young

All About Color by Elizabeth Rusch

Of Words and Water: The Story of Wilma Dykeman—Writer, Historian, Environmentalist  by Shannon Hitchcock

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It is a picture book reviewing round up time! My theme is that of cultures. Of course we know the concept of “country and culture” but sometimes a culture can be something you do not immediately think of.  Yelena and Papa take care of their nipa hut and it takes care of them in Rachell Abalos’s picture book, Our Nipa Hut: A Story in the Philippines. Due in February 2024, I was lucky enough to have my book dealer send me a finished copy, as this is a book that needs […]

Talking wordy to you

Maddie and Mabel by Kari Allen

The Magical Clay Doll : A Legend Retold in English and Chinese by Ning Sun

Maribel’s Year by Michelle Sterling

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Picture book round-up with a family and friendship theme attached to them! All titles are currently available but were read via an online reader copy. I like how the publisher copy of Maddie and Mabel by Kari Allen describes our young sisters, “two spunky sisters who navigate their relationship with humor and heart.” There is heart, some humor and a lot of spunk, but not everything is for everyone. The dynamic between the siblings is old fashioned, but is not dated. If you have a […]

“No one survives a war’s front lines without ghosts clinging to them.”

Angels of the Pacific by Elise Hooper

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CBR 15 Bingo – Hold Steady: To survive the war, Tess and Flor have to make a stand and hold steady in their efforts to undermine the Japanese occupiers. After Japan invades and occupies the Philippines during WW2, American nurse Tess and Filipino university student Flor must do whatever they can to survive and help those around them. In my ongoing quest to find WW2 historical novels which don’t simply rehash the experience of the London Blitz or the French resistance, I have looked to the […]



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