Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The book I recommend to everyone, especially teachers

Real by Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard

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Real By Carol Cujec and Peyton Goddard   Wow.  I’m struggling on where to put this for Bingo, because it definitely belongs in Rep, but it also needs to be taught in classrooms.   I got this as an ARC, passed it on to my coworker who orders books for my library, then placed it on a shelf of ARCs to be either read later or used for craft projects.  Months later I went through said shelf to look for craft books (we’re making folded […]

Poetic Migrant Journey

A Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar

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Joukhadar’s novel follows twin stories in alternate timelines, one set in recent Syria and North Africa during Islamic State and another set in the same are during the 1300s. Both stories feature girls who pose as boys, allowing them to do things that would otherwise be prohibited or unsafe for women. Nour is our present day heroine, and she has returned to Syria with her mother and two older sisters following her father’s death from cancer in New York City. Although Nour was born in […]

“It’s pretty common for the mere mention of the word disability to evoke fear, confusion, and an endless stream of misconceptions.”

Demystifying Disability by Emily Ladau

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If you’re looking for a good, 101-level introduction to current disability discourse, including (but not limited to) models of disability (medical, social, charity, economic, human rights, etc); person-first vs. identity-first language; intersectionality; and what words to start using (just say disabled, my friend: we know) and what words to STOP saying (you know the big ones, but maybe also consider how often you use blind to mean ignorant, or lame to mean boring, and sweet baby junipers, please stop calling it ‘wheelchair-bound’: I am not […]

“The only good thing this broken heart of mine can feel is love for you.”

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

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The Heart Principle was delayed a year while its author Helen Hoang dealt with some personal traumas which she goes into in depth in the Author’s Note. Many of those traumas feed directly into the re-worked plot of this book. I’m firmly in the camp that this is a romance, even if the romance plotline finds itself uncentered through sections of the work, but this is certainly not a rom-com style book as its cover would want you to believe – in fact I have […]

An Unbelievable Life

Born Again Blakfella. by Jack Charles; Namila Benson

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  Jack Charles certainly started Born Again Blakfella with a memorable scene. As a beloved actor in Australia and noted First Nations activist, you would think that he would start by drawing attention to his achievements in both of these fields. But Charles decided to start his memoir with a facet of his life that didn’t lead to him getting glowing reviews in the newspapers: “It’s the middle of the night and I’m huddled over, dragging my dilly bad, which is chock full of all […]

“Why are things the way they are?”

The Birds by Tarjei Vesaas

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Mattis and his older sister Hege live in a lakeside cottage in a rural community in Norway. Hege, a 40-year-old spinster who has taken care of Mattis all her life, is earning a meager living by knitting sweaters, while Mattis is unable to contribute due to his mental disabilities. When the lumberjack Jorgen moves in with them, it becomes clear that they can’t go on as before. This is a deceptively simple story, with a straightforward plot and only a handful of characters. Mattis’s inner […]



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