Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

“So,” she heard his voice begin. He had a quiet voice, deep. “How does it feel to be an ex-token black?”

Come a Stranger (Tillerman Cycle #5) by Cynthia Voigt

by Leave a Comment

I’m enjoying my revisit to The Tillerman Cycle books, which were a favorite when I was a youth/teen. Though categorized as children’s books, they tackle adult themes with care and nuance that gives them a timeless quality. This book is the 5th in the 7 book series. Though the series is centered on the Tillerman family with teenaged Dicey as our protagonist, in this installment we get a deep dive into the life of Dicey’s best friend, Nina. We first met Mina in “Dicey’s Song,” […]

“She was right, it would just be another box. It was going to be just another box for him, too, but he’d figured it out. You didn’t get out of one box without getting into another, and you didn’t get out of one box without getting into another, and you didn’t get out without it costing you. “

The Runner (Tillerman Cycle #4) by Cynthia Voigt

by Leave a Comment

The fourth in the series, this book follows Dicey’s uncle and Samuel’s namesake Bullet (with the moniker he had given himself) in his final year of high school. At this point in family history, the eldest brother has already gotten out of the house, and Liza (Dicey and sibling’s mother) has also left, leaving Bullet behind to fend for himself. He cares little for school, little for anyone really, aside from Patrice who he works for crabbing and oystering. With the onset of the Vietnam […]

“I knew how to do nothing. I just did everything. There’s a difference.”

Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt

by 2 Comments

Y’ALL. I’M DOING IT. AFTER I POST THIS I AM ALL CAUGHT UP IN MY REVIEWS!!! If anyone out there is behind in reviews, let me be your motivation. YOU CAN DO IT. Let’s get me to the finish line! Voight’s Tillerman Cycle follows the Tillerman siblings (Dicey, James, Maybeth, and Sammy) as they learn to live with their grandmother, after being abandoned by their mother. Their grandmother is the quintessential recluse but has opened her home and heart to her estranged grandchildren. They are […]

“It’s still true”

Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt

by 2 Comments

In the early pandemic times, when I had that “new pandemic energy,” I started reading the first books of The Babysitter’s Club series on Facebook live, adding in my own color commentary. It was a hit, I mean TENS of people tuned in (heh). Like a lot of new quirky pandemic hobbies (I’m looking at you, sourdough starter) it soon lost it’s luster and I only made it like 2 and a half books in, and I stowed the books on my book shelf in […]

Sailing Down the Chesapeake

by 3 Comments

I’ve had a low key goal of eventually reading all of the Newbery award winners for a long, long time. It’s not something I’ve actively pursued, but it’s definitely been something that’s in the back of my head as something I’d like to do, you know eventually. Well an old friend started a facebook book club because she wanted to read all the books on one of those lists of 100 books everyone should read and then have the Newbery award winners as an alternate […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo