About Victoria Waddle
Victoria Waddle is a Pushcart Prize-nominated writer and has been included in Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest. Her books include a collection of feminist short fiction, Acts of Contrition, and a chapbook on grief, The Mortality of Dogs and Humans. Her YA novel about a polygamist cult, Keep Sweet, launches in June 2025. Formerly the managing editor of the journal Inlandia: A Literary Journey and a teacher librarian, she contributes to the Southern California News Group column Literary Journeys. She discusses both writing and library book censorship on her Substack, “Be a Cactus.” Join her there for thoughts on defiant readers and writers as well as for weekly library censorship news.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson William E. Dodd wasn’t President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first choice for United States Ambassador to Germany in the early 1930s, just as Adolf Hitler rose to power–nor even the president’s second … Continue reading →
Posted in Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Human Rights Issues, Non-fiction
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Tagged Adult books for teens, assassinations, Common Core, Common Core standards, Germany, Hitler, human rights, Martha Dodd, memoir, Nazis, nonfiction, William E. Dodd
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Game of Love by Ara Grigorian Though a citizen of Great Britain, Gemma Lennon is a Spanish beauty with azure eyes. While her celebrity has made her wealthy, it is her talent as a tennis player that she dreams … Continue reading →
Posted in Fiction, Romance
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Tagged Adult books for teens, Ara Grigorian, celebrity, family problems, fiction, friendship, Game of Love, love, rape, romance, tennis
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The Harder They Come by T. C. Boyle A cruise to Central America and a stop in Costa Rica sound like a vacation dream for a middle class retired couple. After all, Costa Rica is supposed to be a … Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, Controversial Issue/Debate, Environmental Issues, Family Problems, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Mature Readers, Over 375 pages
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Tagged Adult books for teens, book reviews, child-parent relationships, Common Core, Costa Rica, death, drug addiction, drug cartels, drug dealers, family problems, grief, Mendocino, mental depression, mental illness, murder, parent-teen relationships, schizophrenia, school problems, small towns in fiction, T. C. Boyle, The Harder They Come
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Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis “Lynn was nine the first time she killed to defend the pond.” Those are the first words of Not a Drop to Drink, and they start you on a reading session … Continue reading →
Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged book reviews, child-parent relationships, coming of age, death and dying, drought, farms, future dystopia, Mindy McGinnis, murder, Not a Drop to Drink, Ohio, parent-teen relationships, ponds, poverty, rape, romance, water, YA fiction, YA literature
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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr A French girl whose father is the master of the locks at the Museum of Natural History in Paris goes blind when she is only six years old. Her father … Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, bullying, Family Problems, Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Human Rights Issues, Non-fiction, Over 375 pages
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Tagged Adult books for teens, All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr, Brittany, bullying, child-parent relationships, coming of age, France, Germany, Hitler Youth, miners, mining, Nazis, Paris, precocious children, Pulitzer Prize, Saint-Malo, World War II
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A Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White This tale of disparate people coming together to grant one another a bit of peace, the opportunity to find their places at the table, begins with brother and sister James … Continue reading →
Posted in bullying, Faith-Based/Religious Element, Family Problems, Fiction, Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Multicultural
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Tagged 1920s, 1970s, A Place at the Table, Adult books for teens, African Americans, book reviews, bullying, child-parent relationships, coming of age, Georgia, LGBTQ, New York, North Carolina, Southerns, Susan Rebecca White, The South in fiction
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A Curious Mind: the Secret to a Bigger Life by Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman Brian Grazer is the producer of many well-known films (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Grinch, Splash) and some TV series (24 is the best known). … Continue reading →
Posted in Biography/Memoir, Non-fiction
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Tagged 21st century learners, A Curious Mind, Adult books for teens, autobiography, biography, book reviews, Brian Grazer, Common Core, Common Core standards, creativity, critical thinking, curiosity, nonfiction
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Motherless Child by Glen Hirshberg Bad girl Natalie doesn’t immediately realize that her wild night with pop singer The Whistler and best friend Sophie has done her damage forever . That’s really forever rather than a lifetime; she has … Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense
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Tagged Adult books for teens, book reviews, child-parent relationships, Glen Hirshberg, horror, Motherless Child, North Carolina, Twitter, vampires
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Age of Acquiescence: The Life and Death of American Resistance to Organized Wealth and Power by Steve Fraser I picked up Age of Acquiescence because it was recommended as a companion work to Capital in the 21st Century. Age of Acquiescence … Continue reading →
Posted in Controversial Issue/Debate, Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Human Rights Issues, Non-fiction, Over 375 pages
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Tagged Adult books for teens, Age of Acquiescence, book reviews, capitalism, Common Core, Common Core standards, critical thinking, economics, nonfiction, poverty, Steve Fraser
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Blackbird by Anna Carey OK, yes, you have read this sort of story before, and you‘ve seen it in movies. Someone with amnesia wakes up. Without a memory, that person has to piece his or her life together … Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged amnesia, Anna Carey, Blackbird, book reviews, Los Angeles, murder, mystery, romance, YA fiction, YA literature
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School Library Lady 