Author Archives: Victoria Waddle

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.

“Kendra”

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Kendra by Coe Booth Kendra is tired of her Nana’s constrictive rules about the way she dresses and whether she can talk to boys. Her Nana is tired of having to take care of Kendra and hopes to avoid … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Mature Readers, Multicultural, Read 180, Romance, Young Adult Literature | Tagged African Americans, book reviews, child-parent relationships, Coe Booth, family problems, hi-low reading, Kendra, New York City, parent-teen relationships, Read 180, romance, teen fathers, teen mothers, teen pregnancy, the Bronx, urban teens | Leave a comment

Adult Books for Teens: “Colorless Tsukuri Tazaki”

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami Sometimes I love a book so much, it’s hard to know what to say about it without the effusion seeming insincere. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki is one of those books. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mature Readers, Multicultural, Over 375 pages | Tagged betrayal, college, Colorless Tsukuri Tazaki, engineers, friendship, Haruki Murakami, high school, Japan, Japanese culture, meaning of life, mental depression, metaphysics, pilgrimage, secrets, suicide, train stations | Leave a comment

Adult Books for Teens: “The Powers of Two”

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

The Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs by Joshua Wolf Shenk The Powers of Two insists that the most creative grouping is pairs. Author Joshua Wolf Shenk uses lots of famous folks to make the … Continue reading →

Posted in Non-fiction, Uncategorized | Tagged Abigail Van Buren, Adult books for teens, book reviews, Charlie Munger, Common Core, creativity, Joshua Wolf Shenk, nonfiction, pairs, Paul McCarthy, rivalries, sibling rivalries, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, The Powers of Two, Warren Buffett | Leave a comment

“Freaks Like Us”

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Freaks Like Us by Susan Vaught Sunshine is the one person who understands Jason, who helps him when the voices in his head make it hard to know what is real and what is an illusion. The two of … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Read 180, Young Adult Literature | Tagged ADHD, book reviews, Freaks Like Us, friendship, missing persons in fiction, mystery, romance, schizophrenia, selectively mute, Special Education, Susan Vaught, suspense, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Adult books for teens: “The Burn Palace”

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns A nurse in the obstetrics ward of the Morgan Memorial Hospital comes back to her post after a quick tryst with Dr. Balfour. In sleepy Brewster, Rhode Island there hasn’t been much … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Mature Readers, Over 375 pages, Supernatural | Tagged Adult books for teens, book reviews, dark comedy, horror, mystery, Rhode Island, Rosemary’s baby, snakes, Stephen Dobyns, suspense, The Burn Palace, thriller | Leave a comment

Adult Books for Teens: “Out There”

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Note: I wrote this for the Inlandia Institute blog (which is published on the Press-Enterprise website) and as an article for the Press-Enterprise book section this Sunday. I’m reposting here because I think teens will enjoy Out There. While this … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fiction | Tagged Adult books for teens, adventure, book reviews, danger, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Iraq War, Magic Realism, Mexico, Mexico City, motorcycles, New Mexico, Out There, post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, road trip, Sarah Stark, soldiers, war | Leave a comment

Does Your School Have a Teacher Librarian?

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Throwback Thursday: “Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Company”

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Company by Maria Amparo Escandon Libertad Gonzalez has spent her life on the road with her trucker dad, crisscrossing the United States. Somehow, she ends up in the Mexicali Penal Institute for Women. While life … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Family Problems, Fiction, Multicultural | Tagged book reviews, Gonzalez and Daughter Trucking Company, Maria Amparo Escandon, Mexicali Penal Institute for Women, Mexican American youth, Mexican Americans, Mexican prisons, prisons, storytellers, storytelling | Leave a comment

“Daughter of Smoke and Bone”

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor Karou has been filling her sketch book with strange creatures for so long that her few friends have treated those creatures as a part of her life. The strange wishmonger … Continue reading →

Posted in Fable/Fairy Tale/Fantasy, Family Problems, Fiction, Over 375 pages, Romance, Supernatural, Young Adult Literature | Tagged angels, artists, book reviews, chimaera, chimera, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, devils, Greek mythology readalike, mythology, paranormal romance, Prague (Czech Republic), romance, strange creatures, supernatural, YA fiction, YA literature | 1 Comment

Orca Soundings: “Tell,” “Lockdown,” and “Jacked”

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

I’m excited to have the READ 180 class back in for a book talk today. Since our last visit, I’ve read three Orca Soundings books that I want to share: Jacked by Carrie Mac Zane Is bored with his shift … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Read 180, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Diane Tullson, hi-low reading, Norah McClintich, Orca Soundings Series, Read 180 | Leave a comment