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.
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness Another can’t-put-it-down, page-turner from Patrick Ness, The Ask and the Answer is the second book in the Chaos Walking trilogy. We find Viola and Todd once they’ve reached Haven—the town they had … Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, Controversial Issue/Debate, Family Problems, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Mature Readers, Over 375 pages, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged Chaos Walking series, Patrick Ness, science fiction
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Rikers High by Paul Volponi The author’s note hooked me: “The overwhelming majority of incidents that occur in this book really happened. I witnessed them firsthand during the six years I worked as a teacher on Rikers Island. The fiction … Continue reading →
“Colony High Commemmorates Vets” turned out to be a great day for our juniors as well as for our veterans. I didn’t see any mention of this event in the newspaper, so I wanted to post a few photos for … Continue reading →
Brothers in Arms by Paul Langan and Ben Alirez (Bluford Series) It’s been a while since I’ve commented on a Bluford series book. Brothers in Arms is a good one for students looking for their next quick read. Martin … Continue reading →
Posted in Controversial Issue/Debate, Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Read 180, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged Bluford series, gangs, hi-low reading, Paul Langan, reluctant readers, YA fiction
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Check These Out! The book summaries are from the publishers–book flaps, etc. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their … Continue reading →
First Kill by Heather Brewer (First book in The Slayer series, a companion series to the Vladimir Todd series) How would it affect your life if one night you awoke hearing noises from your little sister’s bedroom? You waited outside … Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Supernatural, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged hi-low reading, reluctant readers, Slayer series, vampires, YA literature
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Congratulations to all the winners in the poster and bookmark contests for The Fault in Our Stars, our ‘Ontario Teens Read 2-12-2013’ book. Some of the winners were selected by the Board of Library Teens, a club co-sponsored by Colony … Continue reading →
Posted in Adventure Stories, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Literature
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Tagged adventure stories, illustration, JLG, john green, Junior Library Guild, Ontario Teens Read 2012-2013, romance, The Fault in Our Stars
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Heroes Arise by Laurel Anne Hill I was taking some friendly teasing the other day about how I always complain in reviews that fantasy books are too long and boring because they are repetitive. “Have you ever read a fantasy … Continue reading →
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness Most people at some time or another have wished that they could hear the thoughts of a friend, an enemy, or better yet, a frienemy. But what if they could hear … Continue reading →
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