Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

The boy who became a fighter

Worthy : The Brave and Capable Life of Joseph Pierce by Andrea Wang

by Leave a Comment

I read a book that at first glance, I figured wouldn’t be “all that” as American Civil War stories are known, people of color are having their stories told and Asian people are having their stories told. How could this book be different? Well, when author Andrea Wang and illustrator Youa Vang got together they combined the three elements and made a unique, well-thought out story of one man and how he triumphed over adversity. That man was Joseph Pierce. His birth name has been […]

Play ball, swim, tennis, hockey and more safely and comfortably

This Skirt Won't Work!: How Women Athletes Changed Their Clothes and Changed the Game by Jennifer Cooper

by Leave a Comment

History has many layers. Dresses can have many layers.  But whereas history plays out, it is hard to play most sports or ride a bicycle in dresses. Especially the outfits that many women athletes would wear before some enterprising women decided to change things up. This Skirt Won’t Work!: How Women Athletes Changed Their Clothes and Changed the Game by Jennifer Cooper and illustrator Eva Byrne follows how tennis went from a long skirt to a 1920s fashion statement. How women hockey players would change […]

Let’s Get Ready to RUUUUMMMBBBLLLE! But WITH consent

Let's Rumble!: A Rough-and-Tumble Book of Play by Rachel G. Payne

by Leave a Comment

A theme I am seeing more in young adult literature (and I hope in adult novels) is consent. Like many other things, the concept of consent has changed definitions. It used to be “you give agreement to an action by someone else and they can “do” what is agreed on.” Now, I have seen enthusiastic consent used due to the #MeToo culture. I was interested by this one word change, because while people have given consent, it was out of fear for their safety, their […]

Short book, a lot in it, trigger potential. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

Lost Boy by Jay Martin

by Leave a Comment

Do not judge a book by its cover has usually been a good rule to follow for me. A lot of the time, a cover does not cover enough of the story for you to really understand the “down and dirty” or the “nitty gritty meaning of things” and reading past the cover of your book (and maybe especially with comics and graphic novels), is smart. However, with Lost Boy by Jay Martin (and an introduction by Shawn Mendes highly recommending Martin’s work) you could […]

I was just saying I don’t do re-reads usually, but then I went and read this again.

Mage and the Endless Unknown by S.J. Miller

by Leave a Comment

In October 2023 I read Mage and the Endless Unknown by S.J. Miller. I thought I had read it before when I saw it on the (sadly) to be returned cart at work in May 2025. But I figured even if I had read it, I didn’t remember when and a second reading wouldn’t hurt. Fairly quickly I remembered a lot of it, but then there were places that I did not remember at all (I am looking at you the pretty-not-so-nice ghosts) and wondered […]

Get A LOT of boxes of tissues

Yumi and Monster by Kam Redlawsk

by Leave a Comment

Get your boxes of tissues and then you can read Yumi and Monster by Kam Redlawsk. Due in September 2025 I read this via an online reader copy. And while I am curious how the finished copy will look, I am not sure I can read this bittersweet picture book. Yumi is a little girl who loves to play, but both her parents and the doctors say that will change. One day she is given a cane to help her walk (only we don’t hear […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo