Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Out of step in dance, love and friendship

Leap by Simina Popescu

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One of my flaws is that I collect links to reader copies, then forget to read them. I have had one of those links for so long I had forgotten that I not only had it, but all about the book, Leap by Simina Popescu. But once I found this graphic novel, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it. Dancers? Ballet? Another LGBTQ story? Not that I have anything against any of those subjects or themes, but dancing and ballet are not usually my […]

Sketch a boy like no other.

Sketch by Jacques Goldstyn

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Being different is the theme of Sketch by Jacques Goldstyn and translated by Helen Mixter. As it is due mid-October 2025 I read this new picture book via an online reader copy. From the first work practically and some of the first illustrations said that this book was a translated book. There was a European/old world feeling to things. This is not a problem, but for me there were times when the wording felt a little stiff. I am assuming the influences are French-Canadian, but […]

Four books for the price of one review (and a lunch break filled with books)

The Peacock Who Howled with Jackals  by Nahid Kazemi

You Can't Tame a Tiger by Stephanie Ellen Sy

RJ and the Ticking Clock by Ian Duncan

Who Needs the Dark?: The Many Ways Living Things Depend on Darkness by Laura Alary

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The other day I found a few titles I was interested in via an email newsletter. When I looked them up to see if reader copies online were available, they had thumbnails of the images, but not the full  text. I read these introductions, but was hoping to find finished copies sometime in the future (as they are all summer and fall publications). The next day what to my wondering eyes did appear? It was eight tiny reindeer…. I mean, those four titles I had […]

The little journal with a lot of heart and a really long title

It's Your Weirdness That Makes You Wonderful: A Self-Acceptance Prompt Journal (Positive Mental Health Teen Journal) by Kate Allan

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When I post a review, I try to write out my review first. I was making the final tweaks, and slipped, and the entire review of It’s Your Weirdness That Makes You Wonderful: A Self-Acceptance Prompt Journal (Positive Mental Health Teen Journal) disappeared!  However, this makes for a great restart as I really could have used the journal to get some of my frustrations out. Because one could have (I could have) easily gone down a rabbit hole of “I’m no good.” “How could I […]

They are not a cat, but not a bat. They are BATCAT!

Batcat V02 Sink or Swim! by Meggie Ramm

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Batcat V02 Sink or Swim! by Meggie Ramm is a cute sequel to Batcat V01 Batcat. I recommend reading all three volumes back to back. But Batcat V03 Cooking Contest is not due right away (it is due mid/later April 2025). I say this because I had forgotten some of volume one by the time I got to two.  I like the modern characters and interesting messages that the Batcat series gives, but I don’t always find the characters lovable. Sure a (SPOILER) vampire penguin […]

Kissed by an angel, second life or Toto, whatever you call it, it’s all about love

Toto by Hyewon Yum

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Toto by Hyewon Yum is currently available, but I had an online reader copy. Things are cute, but also serious as we are dealing with a birthmark on our narrator’s face. The usual things happen (people stare, the girl is nervous about it, her mother tries to hide it) but it is at school when our gal learns how special her mark (that she calls Toto) is. Things did not “wow” me, but I enjoyed the book. It is a nice addition to the idea […]



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