Realistic fiction – Cannonball Read 17

An Important Middle Grade in Verse

Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner

February 27, 2025 by LB Leave a Comment

Gosh, Please Pay Attention is a book that hurts in the best way. Bea is a sixth-grader with cerebral palsy who is Buddies with Josie, a kindergartner with anxiety, and best friends with Rani. Max is the school nurse, and also her foster mom who gave her her name because Bea’s neonatal room was decorated with Peter Rabbit before Max brought her home. Bea loves to draw and even gets in trouble for drawing places she shouldn’t, like her bedroom wall and classroom desk. But […]

Rough but Important Middle Grade Novel

No Place Like Home by James Bird

August 5, 2023 by LB 1 Comment

This is a rough, emotional story, but also a story full of hope and love. Opin is living in a car with his mom and older brother, Emjay, since they left his father several years ago because he was violent and abusive. Emjay has a tendency to run off when they stop places on their way to Watts Los Angeles and is full of anger, which sometimes is expressed in violence and being cruel with his words towards his family. But Opin finds a dog, […]

An emotional YA in verse

Forever is Now by Mariama J. Lockington

May 20, 2023 by LB Leave a Comment

This book is such an emotional ride and I found it near-impossible to put down. Sadie has been coping with her generalized anxiety for years, but after she watches cops unjustly attack a young Black woman, she is suddenly finding it impossible to walk down the front stairs because “what if what if what if.” As she works on coping and healing and adding new tools to her tool box, Sadie is also trying to use her platform and her voice to bring more attention […]

An Emotional, Vital Story

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian

May 7, 2023 by LB Leave a Comment

I don’t know that I know how to talk about this book except that GOSH it’s amazing and good and powerful and I am so glad it exists and I can’t wait for more people to have the chance to read it! At its core, Only This Beautiful Moment is a story of family and community, of fighting for your beliefs and also learning who you are and want to be. Told across three generations, Moud, Saeed, and Bobby are each discovering their history and […]

A Poignant Blend of Myth and Survival

Dear Medusa by Olivia A Cole

March 11, 2023 by LB Leave a Comment

This is the kind of story that burrows into your heart and scrapes you raw in the best way. Alicia’s story is relatable in the worst ways, but I love the community and friendships she’s able to develop and the strength she finds over the course of her journey. Last year, the school’s beloved science teacher raped Alicia, but she hasn’t been able to tell anyone, especially because he is so beloved by the entirety of the school. But holding her pain and rage and […]

A story of finding yourself

The Long Run by James Acker

February 7, 2023 by LB Leave a Comment

The Long Run is such a great story of two young boys finding their way and finding themselves along the way. Sandro is invisible in so many ways and he’s learned to protect his softness by keeping to himself, especially as his dad and brothers like to “pick on him” in a way that crosses from affectionate into toxic. Bash is having trouble deciding who he is and who he wants to be outside what those around him expect, and in the process has been […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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