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.
I’m discussing the top banned books of the 2023-24 school year over at Be A Cactus. These are the top three: You can look back at the post on Perks and at this one on Alaska if you want to see why I think those books … Continue reading →
Posted in "Banned Book", banned books, bullying, Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Human Rights Issues, Multicultural
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Tagged book reviews, child abuse, child sexual abuse, family problems, friendship, hi-low reading, Nepal, poverty, sex trafficking, sexual slavery, Teen Issues, YA fiction, YA literature
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That Librarian is a memoir by Amanda Jones detailing the defamation and death threats she has had to endure after speaking in the public comments portion of a Livingston Public Library meeting in July 2022. She makes clear that her speech … Continue reading →
Posted in banned books, Biography/Memoir, bullying, censorship, Controversial Issue/Debate, Faith-Based/Religious Element, Human Rights Issues, Mature Readers, Non-fiction
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Tagged Adult books for teens, Amanda Jones, banned books, book reviews, censorship, librarians, memoir, nonfiction, school librarians, That Librarian
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Wallis seeks to show, through scripture, that Christian nationalism is not Christianity at all, but simply racism with a side of misogyny. Continue reading →
Posted in Faith-Based/Religious Element, Human Rights Issues, Mature Readers, Non-fiction
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Tagged Adult books for teens, book reviews, Christian nationalism, christianity, faith, False White Gospel, fascism, Jim Wallis, misogyny, politics, racism, religion
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A Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic is a fictional work that takes inspiration from the adventures of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew on the Endurance. Its protagonist is Clara Ketterling-Dunbar, an eighteen-year-old American suffragist. Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, bullying, Fiction, Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Human Rights Issues, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged adventure stories, Antarctic, antarctica, book reviews, endurance, ernest-shackleton, history, shackleton, shipwreck, Suffragist’s Guide to the Antarctic, YA fiction, YA literature, Yi Shun Lai
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What does it mean for a church to be anti-racist? Is it simply to follow the example of Christ? Is it to explicitly work against racism by protesting police brutality (this is the period of George Floyd’s murder) and exploring the reasons behind the largely White makeup of the congregation? Continue reading →
Posted in Faith-Based/Religious Element, Non-fiction
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Tagged Adult books for teens, Anabaptists, book reviews, Christian churches, Circle of Hope, Eliza Griswold, liberal religion, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, religion
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“This is a story of chaos, of fragmentation, hidden beneath the facade of a happy family. This is a story of escape and risk and making it all worth it. This is a story of psychological, emotional, financial, and spiritual abuse. This is my story of survival.“ Continue reading →
Posted in bullying, Faith-Based/Religious Element, Family Problems, Human Rights Issues, Non-fiction
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Tagged Adult books for teens, book reviews, Cait West, family problems, fundamentalism (religion), memoir, parent-teen relationships, patriarchy, religion, religious hypocrisy, Rift, stay at home daughter movement
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Sapphic Romance: Enemies to Lovers She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen came to my attention through an article in the Sojourners newsletter. Sojourners is a left-of-center interdenominational Christian organization that works towards social and racial justice. I’m reading books … Continue reading →
Posted in Faith-Based/Religious Element, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged basketball, book reviews, cheerleading, friendship, LGBGTQ, parent-teen relationships, romance, Teen Issues, YA fiction, YA literature
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I thought you’d be interested in my most recent Substack post concerning Utah’s statewide ban of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. Below, I’m excerpting the part of that post discussing this topic. I also always … Continue reading →
Posted in "Banned Book", banned books, censorship, Fable/Fairy Tale/Fantasy, Family Problems, Fiction, Mature Readers, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged book reviews, family problems, friendship, romance, YA fiction, YA literature
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The following is part of my post for this week over at “Be a Cactus” on Substack. Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books is not a YA book. However, it does have some teen characters, one of whom incites the … Continue reading →
Posted in "Banned Book", banned books, censorship, Family Problems, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Humor
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Tagged Adult books for teens, banned books, book banning, book reviews, books, censorship, family problems, libraries, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books
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A review of “The Well-trained Wife” and book challenge/ban news A Well-trained Wife A Well-trained Wife details Levings’ descent from strict Baptist to Gothard woman (think the Duggars) to Calvinist following the model of Puritan Jonathan Edwards. Levings quotes “Sinners … Continue reading →
Posted in banned books, bullying, censorship, Faith-Based/Religious Element, Family Problems, Grief, Human Rights Issues, Mature Readers, Non-fiction
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Tagged A Well-trained Wife, book bans, book challenges, book reviews, Calvinism, fundamentalism (religion), Gothard women, librarians, libraries, religion, Tia Levings
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School Library Lady 