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.

Communist Rule in South Vietnam: Behind the Red Curtain

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Victoria Waddle

The Fall of Saigon Behind the Red Curtain by Hong-My Basrai details the life of a Vietnamese family during and after the 1975 fall of Saigon. As the book opens, Hong-My is a thirteen-year-old girl with typical concerns about puberty. … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Biography/Memoir, Family Problems, Fiction, Grief, Human Rights Issues, Multicultural | Tagged Behind the Red Curtain, Communist Vietnam, Fall of Saigon, Hong-My Basrai, immigrants, refugees, Saigon, South Vietnam | 2 Comments

Parameters of the YA Novel: Is Bridge of Clay Still YA?

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Victoria Waddle

Bridge of Clay and YA Novels What are the parameters of the YA novel? Is Markus Zusak’s Bridge of Clay still YA? I asked myself this as I read this gorgeous novel. If you’re writing a novel that focuses on … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Grief, Over 375 pages, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Bridge of Clay, brothers, death, grief, Markus Zusak, siblings, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

One Important Secret: Balance. Character, Emotion, and Story in Far from the Tree

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Victoria Waddle

Since I am on a YA fiction jag, I want to have a quick look at why National Book Award winning Far from the Tree by Robin Benway is so good. Happily, all the things that make this novel work … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Young Adult Literature | Tagged adopted children, Far from the Tree, foster children, Robin Benway, teen pregnancy, teen sexuality, writing advice, YA fiction, YA literature | 1 Comment

Hope in the Mail

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Victoria Waddle

Wendelin Van Draanen, author of Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life, wrote one of my favorite YA novels, The Running Dream. (I wrote a review of The Running Dream here. Check it out–and check out the book!) … Continue reading →

Posted in How-to, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Hope in the Mail, publishing, teen writers, teenage writers, Wendelin Van Draanen, writing advice | Leave a comment

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Victoria Waddle

Being a Teen=Lack of Control Over Life Smack in the middle of his junior year of high school, Norris Kaplan has to move from Montreal, Canada to Austin, Texas when his mom secures a professorship at the University of … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Humor, Multicultural, Romance, Sports, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Austin, Black youth, book reviews, Canada, coming of age, friendship, Haitian immigrants, Montreal, parent-teen relationships, romance, school problems, Teen Issues, Texas, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Teen Writers! Submit Your Work NOW!

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Victoria Waddle

Call for Submissions for a Special Teen Issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey Now accepting fiction, poetry, nonfiction, graphic novel excerpts, zine excerpts, book reviews, and art for a special issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey, Inlandia Institute’s online literary … Continue reading →

Posted in Young Adult Literature | Tagged Inland Empire, Inlandia Journal, Inlandia Literary Journey, submissions, teen artists, teen writers, teenage writers | Leave a comment

Focus on Teen Writers and Artists: Inlandia Launch

Posted on May 6, 2019 by Victoria Waddle

Thursday evening, the Inlandia Institute celebrated the launch of this spring’s teen issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey at “Literature on the Lawn,” part of Riverside’s monthly Art Walk. Several of our teen writers and artists spoke as their family, … Continue reading →

Posted in Young Adult Literature | Tagged Inlandia Institute, Inlandia Journal, Inlandia Literary Journey, teen writers, teenage writers | Leave a comment

Sync Audiobooks for Teens Free Now!

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Victoria Waddle

I didn’t realize that AudioFiles summer Sync Program for teens has started this week! It’s a great program–free audiobooks for teens for ten weeks of the summer. Each week books are thematic pairs. Sometimes one is a classic and one … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Teen Issue of Inlandia will be Out Soon!

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Victoria Waddle

So excited about the second annual teen issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey! Submissions were open to all Inland Empire teens. Ten ten editors selected the pieces that will be in the journal–art, photos, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, microworks, and reviews. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Non-fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult Literature | Tagged CA, Inlandia Institute, Inlandia Journal, Inlandia Literary Journey, literary event, Riverside | Leave a comment

Absurd Science Questions and Answers: What If?

Posted on March 13, 2019 by Victoria Waddle

Absurd Science Questions and Answers: What If? is a great book for divergent thinkers. Continue reading →

Posted in Non-fiction | Tagged absurd, humor, Randall Munroe, science, space, technology, xkcd | Leave a comment