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.

Horror! “Unnatural Creatures: Stories Selected by Neil Gaiman”

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

Unnatural Creatures: Stories Selected by Neil Gaiman Lots of teens know who Neil Gaiman is. They’ve read some of his books or seen movies made from those books–Coraline, The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere. And Gaiman’s written several frightening adult … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged book reviews, horror, Neil Gaiman, scary stories, short stories, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Adult Books for Teens: Common Core: “The Devil in the White City”

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson The World’s Columbian Exposition took place in Chicago in 1893 and was commonly known as the Chicago’s World Fair. It was a beautiful triumph of architectural genius, of hard work … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Non-fiction, Over 375 pages | Tagged Adult books for teens, architecture, book reviews, Chicago, Chicago World's Fair, Daniel Burnham, Ferris Wheel, Henry H. Holmes, Herman Mudgett, serial killings, serial murder, World's Columbian Exposition | 5 Comments

Bullying Books: “I Swear”

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

I Swear by Lane Davis Leslie Gatlin commits suicide in the prologue to I Swear, fulfilling the wishes of a group of girl bullies, who had been urging her to kill herself. Why did these girls do this? Much as … Continue reading →

Posted in Controversial Issue/Debate, Family Problems, Fiction, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, bullying, cyberbullying, high school students, YA fiction | Leave a comment

Colony Library Lady has moved!

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

If you arrived here by searching for Colony Library Lady, you are in the right place! The Colony Library Lady and Chaffey Library Lady sites are now combined here at School Library Lady. After September 22, 2013, the link for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Historical Fiction: “Code Name Verity”

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein This is a must-read for teens. And for adults. It’s no more only a ‘teen book’ than The Book Thief is a ‘teen book.’ Never mind how the publisher describes it. Read it. Since … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Human Rights Issues, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, espionage, fighter pilots, French Resistance, friendship, Nazis, pilots, spy stories, women air pilots, World War II, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

COHS teacher discussion: “The Global Achievement Gap”

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

This is a guest entry by COHS teacher Nathalie Bellitti The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need— and What We Can Do About It (2008) by Tony Wagner CHAPTER … Continue reading →

Posted in Non-fiction | Tagged 21st century learners, critical thinking, education, educators, Global Achievement Gap, high school students, life skills, lifelong learning, teachers, Tony Wagner | Leave a comment

COHS teacher discussion: “The Global Achievement Gap” Chapter 4

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner, Chapter 4 Reinventing the Education Profession The Trouble with Educators Teacher Preparation: Teacher preparation programs are terrible because the required classes are irrelevant to teaching, and students don’t get useful feedback on their … Continue reading →

Adult Books for Teens: Common Core: “Creation”

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

Creation: How Science is Reinventing Life Itself by Adam Rutherford Here’s a book title that I was surprised to find is not hyperbole. Science really is creating new life forms. Rutherford doesn’t mean cloning life forms we know. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Controversial Issue/Debate, Environmental Issues, Non-fiction | Tagged Adult books for teens, biology, book reviews, Common Core standards, environment, science, synthetic biology, synthetic genetics | Leave a comment

Adult Books for Teens: Biography: “Full of Heart”

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

Full of Heart by J. R. Martinez with Alexandra Rockey Fleming You may know J. R. Martinez due to his fairly recent celebrity. In 2003, he was a nineteen-year-old soldier in Iraq. Only in the country for a month, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography/Memoir, Family Problems, Non-fiction | Tagged Adult books for teens, book reviews, Dancing with the Stars, Iraq War, J. R. Martinez, military, military service, U.S. army | Leave a comment

Adult Books for Teens: Biography: “Breaking Night”

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

Breaking Night by Liz Murray Being the child of drug addicts makes for a life both frightening and weird. There’s no stability, the strangers in house can be anyone, including child sexual predators. And the parents themselves are pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography/Memoir, Family Problems, Human Rights Issues, Non-fiction | Tagged Adult books for teens, child-parent relationships, children of alcoholics, drug addiction, homeless teens, homelessness, New York, New York City, sisters | Leave a comment