Bloggin' 'bout Books: 04/30/17

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- ~~Alaska~~ (1)

- ~~Arizona~~ (2)

- ~~Arkansas~~ (1)

- ~~California~~ (8)

- ~~Colorado~~ (2)

- ~~Connecticut~~ (1)

- ~~Delaware~~ (1)

- ~~Florida~~ (3)

- ~~Georgia~~ (1)

- ~~Hawaii~~ (1)

- ~~Idaho~~ (2)

- ~~Illinois~~ (2)

- ~~Indiana~~ (2)

- ~~Iowa~~ (1)

- ~~Kansas~~ (1)

- ~~Kentucky~~ (1)

- ~~Louisiana~~ (2)

- ~~Maine~~ (4)

- ~~Maryland~~ (1)

- ~~Massachusetts~~ (3)

- ~~Michigan~~ (2)

- ~~Minnesota~~ (2)

- ~~Mississippi~~ (1)

- ~~Missouri~~ (1)

- ~~Montana~~ (1)

- ~~Nebraska~~ (1)

- ~~Nevada~~ (1)

- ~~New Hampshire~~ (2)

- ~~New Jersey~~ (1)

- ~~New Mexico~~ (1)

- ~~New York~~ (5)

- ~~North Carolina~~ (3)

- ~~North Dakota~~ (1)

- ~~Ohio~~ (4)

- ~~Oklahoma~~ (1)

- ~~Oregon~~ (2)

- ~~Pennsylvania~~ (1)

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- ~~South Carolina~~ (1)

- ~~South Dakota~~ (1)

- ~~Tennessee~~ (2)

- ~~Texas~~ (3)

- ~~Utah~~ (1)

- ~~Vermont~~ (2)

- ~~Virginia~~ (3)

- ~~Washington~~ (2)

- West Virginia

- ~~Wisconsin~~ (3)

- ~~Wyoming~~(1)

- Washington, D.C.*

International:

- Australia (8)

- Austria (1)

- Canada (4)

- England (26)

- Fiji (1)

- France (1)

- Ireland (3)

- Italy (3)

- Mexico (1)

- Morocco (1)

- New Zealand (1)

- Norway (1)

- Romania (1)

- Scotland (3)

- The Bahamas (1)

- Vatican City (1)

Thin Plot + Whiny Heroine = Ho Hum, But Hopeful YA Novel

8:44 PM

(Image from Amazon)

http://www.blogginboutbooks.com/p/lds-authors.html

Megan Riddick should have died when she was two years old. The only reason she's still alive is because Bryon Exby saved her, sacrificing his own life in the process. Now 16, Megan's a quiet, serious honor student who only feels truly comfortable when onstage performing school plays. Which doesn't mean she needs more drama in her life. But that's just what she gets when Charlotte Exby—Bryon's 14-year-old daughter—enrolls at Megan's high school. Thanks to Megan, Charlotte never knew her father. And she's not happy about that.

Although the girls don't exactly hit it off, the pair reluctantly decide to work together to fulfill the bucket list Bryon drafted prior to his death. In the process, they learn some important lessons about friendship, family, and things both fragile and fierce.

If the plot summary for The Truth About Fragile Things by Regina Sirois seems a little thin, that's because it is. The novel has no real driving plot, which makes the story rather episodic and unfocused. Which isn't to say the book isn't interesting or compelling. It is; the threads of the novel just feel as if they're very, very loosely woven together. Megan, our heroine, isn't overly likable. She's "fragile," which seems to mean she has to be whiny, melodramatic, and helpless. While these things definitely bug, The Truth About Fragile Things is, overall, a hopeful novel with some thoughtful insight. It's not a book that's really stuck with me, but it's not a bad one either.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can't think of anything. Can you?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love: Another library ~~fine~~ find

Books Read in 2026 (asterisks denote favorites)

1. Such a Clever Girl by Darby Kane (Jan)
2. When No One Else Will by Amanda Skenandore (Jan)
3. Atomic Habits by James Clear* [re-read] (Jan)
4. Murder on the Farm by Kate Wells (Jan)
5. Murder at Ochre Court by Alyssa Maxwell (Jan)
6. Not Dead Yet: The Memoir by Phil Collins* [audio] (Feb))
7. The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen (Feb)
8. The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers (Feb)
9. One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day (Feb)
10. A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard (Feb)
11. Bluebird by Sharon Cameron* [re-read] (Feb)
12. The Lake Escape by Jamie Day (Feb)
13. Treacherous is the Night by Anna Lee Huber [audio] (Feb)
14. The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly (Feb)
15. The Missing by Kristen Landon (Feb)
16. Dark and Bright by Catherine Lyon (Feb)
17. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown* [audio] (Feb)
18. Boiled Over by Barbara Ross (Feb)
19. Some of Us Are Looking by Carlene O'Connor (Feb)
20. Coach by Jason Reynolds* [audio] (Feb)
21. The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey (Feb)
22. The Claiming by Jasmine Warga (Feb)
23. Dark and Deep by Catherine Lyon (Feb)
24. Ours is a Tale of Murder by Nora Murphy (Feb)
25. Zoom With a View by Jess Cannon (Feb)
26. The Nowhere Child by Christian White (Feb)
27. An Ordinary Kind of Evil by Kelley Armstrong* (Feb)
28. Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater (Feb)
29. Murder at 30,000 Feet by Susan Walter (Feb)
30. Dive Bar at the End of the Road by Kelley Armstrong (Feb)
31. You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart [audio] (Feb)
32. In Case I Go Missing by R.N. Swann (Mar)
33. A Lie for a Lie by Ren DeStefano (Mar)
34. Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton [audio] (Mar)
35. Murder is a Piece of Cake by Valerie Burns [audio] (Mar)
36. Murder at the Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon (Mar)
37. Death at the Dinner Party by Ellie Alexander [audio] (Mar)
38. The Secret Lives of Murderers' Wives by Elizabeth Arnott (Mar)
39. A Holiday Homicide by Elile Alexander [audio] (Mar)
40. Summer's Never Over by Darby Bozeman (Mar)
41. The Body in the Woods by April Henry [audio] (Mar)
42. Every Borrowed Beat by Erin Stewart (Mar)
43. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston (Mar)
44. Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen (Mar)
45. This Weekend Doesn't End Well for Anyone by Catherine Mack (Mar)
46. A Victim at Valentine's by Ellie Alexander [audio] (Mar)
47. Rock-Solid Relationships: Strengthening Personal Relationships With Wisdom from the Scriptures by Wendy Watson (Apr)
48. A Body at the Book Fair by Ellie Alexander [audio] (Apr)
49. Our Marriage is Murder by Carol Goodman (Apr)
50. A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee (Apr)
51. Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce [re-read] [audio] (Apr)
52. Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker (Apr)
53. Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton (Apr)
54. The Rush by Beth Lewis* (Apr)
55. Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter [audio] (Apr)
56. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown [re-read] (Apr)
57. The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald (Apr)
58. Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee (Apr)
59. The Murder at World's End by Ross Montgomery (Apr)
60. Weightless: A Doctor's Guide to GLP-1 Medications, Sustainable Weight Loss, and the Health You Deserve by Rocio Salas-Whalen (Apr)
61. Dust by Alison Stine (Apr)
62. What I Mean When I Say I'm Autistic by Annie Kotowicz (Apr)
63. The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper [audio] (Apr)
64. A Cute Little Murder by Molly Harper (Apr)
65. Pretty Dead Things by Kelsey Cox (May)
66. Stabbed in the Baklava by Tina Kashian (May)
67. The Chambermaid's Key by Genevieve Graham* (May)
68. The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian (May)
69. This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (May)
70. Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray (May)
71. The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth* [re-read] (May)
72. Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander [re-read] (May)
73. Last One Out by Jane Harper (May)
74. Missing Molly by Natalie Barelli (May)
75. Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn (Jun)
76. A Map to Murder by Michelle Chouinard (Jun)
77. How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz* (Jun)
78. What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally (Jun)
79. Devils at the Door by Tessa Wegert (Jun)
80. The Chow Maniac by Vivien Chien (Jun)
81. My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeney (Jun)
82. The Secret Thread by Eve Chase (Jun)
83. Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Munoz [audio] (Jun)
84. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown [re-read] (Jun)
85. The Hike by Lucy Clarke (Jun)
86. The Foundling by Ann Leary (Jun)
87. Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen* (Jun)
88. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth* [re-read] (Jun)
89. 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke (Jun)
90. You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke (Jun)
91. Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston (Jun)

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Thin Plot + Whiny Heroine = Ho Hum, But Hopeful YA Novel

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2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

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Books Read in 2026 (asterisks denote favorites)