Category Archives: Adventure Stories

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

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

Truth, lies, and fiction: Mac Barnett in TED Talk

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

He’s right–fiction is the intersection between truth and lies. Readers, writers and artists have always known this, but Mac Barnett has a great way of making us fall in love with that knowledge. Enjoy!

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fable/Fairy Tale/Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novel | Tagged children's books, fiction, imagination, lies, Mac Barnett, TED Talk, time travel, truth, whales | Leave a comment

“More Than This”

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

More Than This by Patrick Ness In a chilling prologue, a boy is drowning at sea. He tries over and over to save himself, but the water is too cold, the waves too rough, the craggy rocks too close. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Over 375 pages, Romance, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged adventure stories, book reviews, death, England, GLBT, GLBTQ, LGBTQ, life after death, Matrix readalike, More Than This, Patrick Ness, sci-fi, science fiction, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Historical Fiction: “Rose under Fire”

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Rose under Fire by Elizabeth Wein This is another great one by the author of Code Name Verity. It’s a companion piece to that book and begins in Great Britain, 1944, just about where Code Name Verity let off. While … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fiction, Historical Fiction/Historical Element, Human Rights Issues, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein, fighter pilots, France, Germany, Great Britain, historical fiction, pilots, Rose Justice, Rose under Fire, women air pilots, women's issues, World War II, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Common Core: Nonfiction: “Little Princes”

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Little Princes: One Man’s Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan In 2004, Conor Grennan had no wife or children, and had saved some money. So he decided to take a year off work and … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Biography/Memoir, Faith-Based/Religious Element, Human Rights Issues, Non-fiction | Tagged Adult books for teens, adventure stories, autobiography, biography, book reviews, child trafficking, Common Core standards, Conor Grennan, Himalayas, Little Princes, memoir, Nepal, nonfiction, orphanages, orphans | Leave a comment

More sequels!

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

I know we’ve been working on these for a while–thankfully, they are now here! Unsouled (book 3 of the Unwind series) by Neal Shusterman Champion (book 3 of the Legend series) by Marie Lu Fever (book 2 of the Chemical … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fable/Fairy Tale/Fantasy, Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Romance, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged Amanda Hocking Battle, Awaken trilogy, book reviews, Chemical Garden Trilogy, His Fair Assassin series, Hunted trilogy, Katie Kacvinsky Dark Triumph, Lauren DeStefano Tidal, Legend trilogy, Marie Lu Fever, Michael Vey trilogy, Neal Shusterman Champion, Nightshade series, Richard Paul Evans Prey, sequels, Skinjacker trilogy, trilogies, Unwind trilogy, Watersong series, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Sci-Fi: “Ship Breaker”

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi In the aftermath of environmental apocalypse, in the world of ship breaking on the Gulf Coast, Nailer survives by pulling copper wire from grounded oil tankers. He, like everyone else he knows, is looking for … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Environmental Issues, Family Problems, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, clipper ships, drug abuse, drug addiction, drug dealers in literature, environmental issues, moral dilemmas, New Orleans, oil tankers, poverty, recycling, science fiction, The Gulf Coast, wealth, YA fiction, YA literature, yachts | Leave a comment

“Out of Reach”

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos Rachel’s brother Micah is a meth addict. She’d like to think he is getting better—after his stint in rehab, especially. But Micah never wanted to go to rehab, and he is back to using … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Family Problems, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, brothers and sisters, drug addiction, drug dealers in literature, family problems, meth addiction, methamphetamine, methamphetamine addiction, National Book Award Finalist, San Diego, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

“How to Lose Everything”

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Victoria Waddle

How to Lose Everything: A Mostly True Story by Philipp Mattheis Sam, Eric, Schulz, and Jonathan are four friends living in a surburb of Munich, Germany. They mostly hang out at the skateboard park, a group of lost boys, adrift. … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Controversial Issue/Debate, Family Problems, Fiction, Hi-Low/Quick Read, Mature Readers, Young Adult Literature | Tagged abandoned houses, conduct of life, drugs, ethics, friendship, Germany, hi-low reading, high school students, Read 180, teenage boys, theft, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment