Category Archives: Fiction

Hunger Games–The Guys in the Movie

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

Sneak a peek at The Hunger Games‘ Peeta and Gale. Check out this post on EW’s blog. Of course the movie is never as good as the book, but these guys could make it a close second . . .

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“Trash”

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

    Trash by Andy Mulligan Trash takes place in an unnamed third-world country in South America. (The main characters want to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil, so they must be somewhere close enough to have heard of the city.) Raphael, … Continue reading →

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“Swamplandia!”

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

Swamplandia! by Karen Russell  First the confession: I think if Karen Russell wrote a manual on how to put a bicycle together, I’d pretend not to understand the assembly process, so that I could read it over and over. Her … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Supernatural, Young Adult Literature | Tagged , | 1 Comment

“Heat” (on Ms. W’s summer reading list)

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

   Heat by Mike Lupica Michael was born to play baseball. At twelve, he can pitch a fastball at 80 mph. His Bronx Little League All-Star team, the Clippers, is a contender for league champions and hopes to make it … Continue reading →

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“An Abundance of Katherines” (on Ms. W’s summer reading list)

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green   Another really fun and funny book from one of my all-time favorite YA authors. If you haven’t read any John Green yet, you must! And although I thoroughly enjoyed An Abundance of Katherines … Continue reading →

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‘Perfect Chemistry”

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

   Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles Perfect Chemistry is neither new nor unknown to students—and even though those are the two reasons I usually review books, I wanted to find out about this novel because it’s wildly popular at Chaffey … Continue reading →

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“Matched” (on Ms. W’s summer reading list)

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

Matched by Ally Condie   “It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.” —William Carlos Williams Yes, Matched is another future dystopia, but like Hunger Games, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Controversial Issue/Debate, Fiction, Human Rights Issues, Literary Read Alike, Romance, Sci-Fi/Futuristic, Young Adult Literature | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

“Between Shades of Gray” (on Ms. W’s summer reading list)

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys    As teens, we don’t hear much about Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror in the 1940s. The terrible things that he was responsible for are often placed in the shadow of the Holocaust. Yet … Continue reading →

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California Young Readers Medal Nominees 2011-12

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

The California Young Reader Medal is one of the few programs in which the students/kids themselves vote for the winners. Millions of California students participate. I wish I had more time to encourage and provide the program, but it’s tough, … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure Stories, Fable/Fairy Tale/Fantasy, Family Problems, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult Literature | Tagged | 1 Comment

“Paper Towns” (On Ms. W’s summer reading list)

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Victoria Waddle

Paper Towns by John Green                                       Unscrew the locks from the doors! Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs! –Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself” I admit it. I just love John Green’s books. I started with Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which … Continue reading →

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