YA fiction Archives - Victoria Waddle

26 Mar 2025

I Have a Novel! Keep Sweet!

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Book Reviews, Inlandia Institute, Victoria's Books, YA authors, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

Family. Faith. Stability. Chosenness. Who suffers when these ideals are exploited by powerful patriarchs? Keep Sweet traces Elizabeth’s path of resistance as she navigates the Prophet’s terrible maze of expectations and discovers the shocking complicity of his accomplices within their religious community. scape may be dangerous, but a teen’s disruptive questions uncover surprising allies along the way.

8 Aug 2022

Censoring Empathy: Let’s Challenge Erasure

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Book Reviews, Censorship, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

Book censorship is far more threatening than it was ten years ago because it erases anyone who doesn’t look or think like the censor.

18 Jun 2022

Serious Summer Reading

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Book Reviews, Literary Journeys, newspaper column, YA fiction | 0

When we think of summer reading, we think ‘beach reads,’ books we can’t put down that provide an escape from reality. But in these longer summer days, we may find ourselves with time to tackle a goal that eluded us … Continued

31 Aug 2020

Teen Voices and The Poet X: Keep a Journal

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Book Reviews, Creativity, Inlandia Institute, Literary Journals, YA authors, YA fiction, YA literature | 2

A recent experience with a teen writer had me going back to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. I’d originally purchased and listened to The Poet X on audiobook–a powerful narration by the author herself, which I highly recommend. A … Continued

1 Jun 2020

Inlandia Journeys Teen Issue is Live!

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Creativity, Inlandia Institute, Inspiration, Literary Journals, Literary Journeys, YA authors, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

Submerged by Shaina Boal I’m so excited about the latest teen issue of Inlandia, which is live now! “Despite the notion that we are voiceless, it seems to me that the challenge of a good creative writing instructor is to … Continued

25 Feb 2020

One Important Secret in ‘Far from the Tree’

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Book Reviews, Writing Advice, YA authors, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

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, one important secret that makes this novel work … Continued

11 Feb 2020

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

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Writing Advice, YA authors, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

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 … Continued

29 Jan 2020

Hope in the Mail: Writing Advice for Young Writers

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Book Reviews, Creativity, Inspiration, Writing Advice, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

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!) … Continued

25 Apr 2019

The Teen Issue of Inlandia will be Out Soon!

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Author Events, Inlandia Institute, Literary Journeys, YA authors, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

Inlandia is celebrating its second all-teen journal issue! Come join us!

18 Mar 2019

Publishing Advice, Publishing Experiences, and Elevator Pitches

by Victoria Waddle | posted in: Author Events, Character Development, Conferences, Creativity, Inspiration, Writing Advice, YA authors, YA fiction, YA literature | 0

Last week I wrote about the three keynote addresses at the Ontario Teen Book Fest on March 9, 2019. (See that post here). The day continued with more advice from and fun with multiple YA authors in breakout sessions as … Continued