Tag Archives: book reviews

Horror! “Monstrumologist”

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey Another entry in the true horror category, The Monstrumologist starts with the gruesome discovery by a grave robber of a partially-eaten corpse around which is wrapped another corpse of a human-like creature. The grave robber, … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Over 375 pages, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, grave robbers, horror, monsters, Monstrumologist trilogy, scary stories, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

Horror! “Scowler”

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

Scowler is a great October read, one in a YA branch of the true horror family. So—this is NOT your love triangle with some supernatural creatures thrown in ala Twilight and its progeny. Scowler is Dark. Scowler is Disturbing. After … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Horror/Mystery/Suspense, Young Adult Literature | Tagged book reviews, farms, horror, Iowa, meteorites, post traumatic stress disorder, psychopaths in fiction, PTSD, the family farm, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment

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

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

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: “The Silver Linings Playbook”

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick Pat Peoples seems like the sweetest man on earth, but for some reason he’s coming home from a mental institution to live with his parents—in his mid-thirties—and he completely loses it when he … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Movie Tie-In, Romance, Sports | Tagged Adult books for teens, book reviews, football in literature, mental depression, mental illness, movie tie-in, Philadelphia Eagles football team | Leave a comment

Bullying Books: “Reason to Breathe”

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Victoria Waddle

Reason to Breathe, by Rebecca Donovan I was talking to another teacher at Chaffey High, Mrs. Vanderbeck (who used to work at Colony as well), about the bullying books I was reading this year. She told me about one … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Mature Readers, Sports, Young Adult Literature | Tagged basketball, book reviews, bullying, child abuse, child-parent relationships, children of alcoholics, soccer, sports, YA fiction, YA literature | Leave a comment