Author Archives: Victoria Waddle

About Victoria Waddle

I'm a high school librarian, formerly an English teacher. I love to read and my mission is to connect people with the right books. To that end, I read widely--from the hi-lo for reluctant high school readers to the literary adult novel for the bibliophile.

Great Storytelling: The Perfectly Constructed YA Novel

Posted on September 11, 2020

Meg Medina’s Burn, Baby, Burn is an example of great storytelling. This didn’t surprise me as I’d loved Medina’s Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. I’d recommend Burn to any teen looking for a good read. I’d also recommend … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Romance, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, Burn Baby Burn, Meg Medina, writing advice, writing tips, YA fiction, YA literature | 4 Comments

Teen Voices and The Poet X: Keep a Journal

Posted on August 31, 2020

Note: This is a YA book review as well as a comment on teen writing, so I added it here from my personal blog A recent experience with a teen writer had me going back to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Elizabeth Acevedo, family problems, journal writing, journaling, Teen Issues, teen writers, The Poet X | Leave a comment

AudioSync: Are You Getting Your Free YA Books?

Posted on June 16, 2020

Free YA Audiobooks from AudioFile After tomorrow, the AudioFile Audiobooks for Teens Program will be half way through. There have been some YA great titles, so if you haven’t signed up for the program yet, do so now! The titles … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Young Adult Literature | Tagged audiobooks, free audiobooks, Sync Audiobooks for Teens, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Time to Support the Local Literary Scene

Posted on June 9, 2020

Note: I have this up on my VictoriaWaddle.com blog, but am adding here because several of the books recommended below would be great for teen reads and in high school libraries. As shut down orders were put in place to … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography/Memoir, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Human Rights Issues, Mature Readers, Multicultural, Non-fiction, Short Stories | Tagged book reviews, Inlandia Institute, Los Nietos Press, Meg Pokrass, pelekinesis Press, Selena Chambers | 2 Comments

Inlandia Journeys Teen Issue is Live!

Posted on June 1, 2020

Submerged by Shaina Boal I’m so excited about the latest teen issue of Inlandia, which is live now! “Despite the notion that we are voiceless, it seems to me that the challenge of a good creative writing instructor is to … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Grief, Non-fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult Literature | Tagged essays, fiction, Inlandia Journal, Inlandia Literary Journey, poetry, short stories, teen writers, teenage writers, writing advice, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

School’s Out? Time for Audiobooks

Posted on March 18, 2020

In the past, I have posted about the great AudioFile Sync Audiobooks for Teens program. While it’s advertised as a summer program, it begins April 30 and goes for thirteen weeks. Typically, a great YA book (fiction or nonfiction) is … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged audiobooks, reading recommendations, Sync Audiobooks for Teens, YA fiction, YA literature | 2 Comments

Communist Rule in South Vietnam: Behind the Red Curtain

Posted on February 25, 2020

The Fall of Saigon Behind the Red Curtain by Hong-My Basrai details the life of a Vietnamese family during and after the 1975 fall of Saigon. As the book opens, Hong-My is a thirteen-year-old girl with typical concerns about puberty. … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Biography/Memoir, Family Problems, Fiction, Grief, Human Rights Issues, Multicultural | Tagged Behind the Red Curtain, Communist Vietnam, Fall of Saigon, Hong-My Basrai, immigrants, refugees, Saigon, South Vietnam | 2 Comments

Parameters of the YA Novel: Is Bridge of Clay Still YA?

Posted on February 18, 2020

Bridge of Clay and YA Novels What are the parameters of the YA novel? Is Markus Zusak’s Bridge of Clay still YA? I asked myself this as I read this gorgeous novel. If you’re writing a novel that focuses on … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Grief, Over 375 pages, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Bridge of Clay, brothers, death, grief, Markus Zusak, siblings, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

One Important Secret: Balance. Character, Emotion, and Story in Far from the Tree

Posted on February 11, 2020

Since I am on a YA fiction jag, I want to have a quick look at why National Book Award winning Far from the Tree by Robin Benway is so good. Happily, all the things that make this novel work … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Young Adult Literature | Tagged adopted children, Far from the Tree, foster children, Robin Benway, teen pregnancy, teen sexuality, writing advice, YA fiction, YA literature | 1 Comment

Hope in the Mail

Posted on February 4, 2020

Wendelin Van Draanen, author of Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life, wrote one of my favorite YA novels, The Running Dream. (I wrote a review of The Running Dream here. Check it out–and check out the book!) … Continue reading →

Posted in How-to, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Hope in the Mail, publishing, teen writers, teenage writers, Wendelin Van Draanen, writing advice | Leave a comment