Book Recommendations
for People who Like to Cry!
for People who Like to Cry!
The other day, I did a post about sad books becoming sad movies, and I had been thinking about all the books which have made me cry. When I was younger, I had some sort of impenetrable heart. I never cried when reading, but once I became a mom, I went soft. This list contains some of the books, that have made me cry, and I am talking about sad tears, not happy tears (which happens too), and maybe they have, or will, make you cry too. **The majority of each of this books is not sad, but they contain some really tragic and sad parts.
Morgan Matson
Series: n/a
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
You know from the first chapter how this is going to end. You would think, that knowing this was not going to end well would give me time to prepare. That was not the case. I cried something fierce, and I cried a lot. There was snot and my eyes were practically swollen shut, but I still thought this was a beautiful story.
Jennifer Niven
Series: n/a
Publisher: Knopf
Gosh darn it! There are tears in my eyes as I try to write about this book. I read this book back in 2014, and I still cry every time I think about it. I fell in love with the characters in this book, and the ending was very difficult, but again, this was a beautiful story. "I was alive. I burned brightly."
Jeff Zentner
Series: n/a
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Zentner really knows how to deliver the feels. He brought me to my knees with that certain part of this book, and pretty much left me crying for most of Goodbye Days. He makes me care so deeply about these characters, and then he delivers that tragic blow. I forgave Zentner for what he did in TSK, because it did contribute to moving the story forward.
Laura Nowlin
Series: n/a
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
This is another book, where you knew how it was going to end, but it still did not soften the blow. I bawled! It was tragic and sad and broke my heart. I think there was a small part of me, which believed that it would end differently, but it didn't and I was still crying days later.
Lauren Oliver
Series: n/a
Publisher: HarperCollins
You know Sam's ultimate fate from the beginning of this book. She keeps reliving the same day, over and over, every time with the same result. But, over the course of the book, she changes so much, and I just wanted a better ending for her.
Adele Griffin
Series: n/a
Publisher: Soho Teen
I am now starting to think that somber stories are Griffin's thing. This is a story of girl, who burned so brightly, that she just burnt out way before her time. Untimely deaths get me every time, but again, because I grew so attached to Addison, her death affected me that much more.
Shannon Lee Alexander
Series: n/a
Publisher: Entangled: Teen
Young people with illnesses will alway break my heart, but when you get the whole story on this one, your heart will crack open. I openly sobbed during this one, and then full out bawled when I read Alexander's afterword. *wipes tears from eyes.*
Lara Avery
Series: n/a
Publisher: Poppy
Another young person, who is ill, so sad. But wait! It's a terminal disease. Even sadder. But wait! It is a horrible, terrible disease, and she is recording her memories, because this horrible, terrible disease will rob her of everything eventually, including her memories. I cannot even express how moving this story was, and I am so verklempt right now.
Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices, #3
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
I was pretty much an emotional wreck during this book. There were these really beautifully sad moments that I experienced, and wow! Way to resolve a love triangle. I would never have wanted to be in Tessa's position, and here I am, crying again.
Marie Lu
Series: Legend, #3
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Seriously, the last part of this book abused me. I looked at my review, and it said that I "bit my nails, I gasped for breath, I sobbed, and I smiled." It was an emotional roller coaster, and quite a surprising choice Lu made at the very end. It was beautiful and meaningful, but still a little difficult to accept.
BONUS SAD BOOK:
These are not YA books, but they left me a snotty mess.
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Before I Fall!!! I definitely shed some tears with that book. I'm curious about the movie-- although the trailer looked SO different than what I pictured in my head. At least now if I watch it and cry, I'll be at my house :)
ReplyDeleteSame for me. I wait for the sad adaptations to come on cable. I was really excited about this movie after seeing Lauren Oliver talk about it at BookCon 2016. Fingers crossed it keeps the essence of the book.
DeleteBefore I Fall is on my list as I've been meaning to read more Lauren Oliver. And I've heard it's quite good. :) Marie Lu's books have been recommended to me too.
ReplyDeleteLegend is still my favorite Lu series. I am not a huge dystopian fan, but this series just hit all the right notes for me.
DeleteI took weeks to get over Me Before You!
ReplyDeleteNow I have tears in my eyes! What I got out of Me Before You, was someone putting another person's needs about her own. Lou loved Will so much, and she wanted him to fight, but she understood that he had no fight, that he was in constant pain, and she supported his choice. To me, that was a beautiful gift for her to give him. I still have not seen the film. I am not sure my heart could handle it.
Delete:D I wanted to write that this is a fun list but it's not, is it? Really good idea though! :) Champion's ending had me in tears as did Me Before You. I'll add some of these on my TBR...sometimes you just need a good cry
ReplyDeleteThese books had sad parts, but there was so much beauty in the pain with most of these. Some were just really tragic, but what did my co-blogger tell me about sad books -- it's cathartic. The ending to Champion surprised me, but then I think back to when June was doubting their love and what she said, and then I thought it was beautifully brilliant.
DeleteThe Infernal Devices looks so good! I've only read the first TMI book but I might just skip ahead to this series.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT for this week.
I don't feel like you have to read TMI to read TID. If you read City of Bones, I think you have enough Shadowhunter background to read it, since it takes place with different characters in a much different time period. My co-blogger is the Shadowhunter aficionado, so she would probably smack me for saying this, but I think it would be ok. However, the Dark Artifices pulls in the MCs from TMI and TID, so I would read them before starting the TDA.
DeleteI've been meaning to read All the Bright Places for so long! I've read Holding Up the Universe, but people tell me that ATBT is much better.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, I didn't cry while reading Champion!
You need to read ATBP before the movie comes out. It really is a very beautiful book, but the last bit is tough. HUTU was great, and I was glad it was not tragic. I don't know, the ending of Champion was so sad but lovely, and Lu let it build with the choice June made leading up to the end.
DeleteOh yes! So many of these books have made me tear up. Especially Me Before You!
ReplyDeleteMe Before You = all the tears! Shoot! I am crying again. 😭
DeleteGreat list, Sam! If I Stay would be at the top of my recommendations list! But I've def read lots of books in the past that have made me cry. I think that Mockingjay actually made me cry... and even The Hunger Games did! Hahah! I'm pretty empathetic and I can get attached to characters quickly, which is dangerous. :( Before I Fall and All the Bright Places wrecked me. Read 'One' by Sarah Crossan - that one had me bawling my eyes out! Oh, and I did cry during The Fault in Our Stars too. What else? There would be a big list! Let's stop there...
ReplyDeleteCass @ Words on Paper
Forman did such a good job creating this family that you loved and then, tragedy! I cried buckets during that one. TiFOS was an ugly cry too. I have had One on my TBR. I will need to mark it as an cry book. That is exactly it, though. We become attached to these characters, and when something bad happens to them, it guts us.
DeleteI like a book that makes me feel so much! I read Second Chance Summer recently and man, that one destroyed me. Totally agree with a few others on your list too and there are a few I still need to check out!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, my eyes were swollen shut from second chance summer. I read it soon after my father's cancer diagnosis, so it hit me really, really hard.
DeleteATBP, Me Before You and The Nightingale all made me ugly cry. I loved all three of them so much. I have to get to Second Chance summer because I love Morgan Matson so much. I also have The Memory Book and The Serpent King to get to. I will be ready for the tears!!
ReplyDeleteSecond Chance Summer was a serious sob-fest for me. You know where the story is going from the beginning, so there is this cloud of sadness that hangs over the whole book. The same for The Memory Book. The Serpent King is more like something tragic happens, so it hits really hard, and you don't expect it, so it's a different pain. All beautiful books.
DeleteThis is a list for my 17-year-old. She's a Hallmark/Lifetime movie junkie. :D
ReplyDeleteI've not read any of these but James Patterson's book, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas, destroyed me. Another that ripped me apart was I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi. The ending hurt the most.
Here is my TTT.
I wanted to read I Liked My Life. Now I know it's sad, I will have to prepare myself for it. I actually prefer Hallmark movies because they always have the HEA. ☺️
DeleteClockwork Princess - yes, that was an emotional roller coaster!
ReplyDeleteThat book ripped my heart out. It's a happy-sad, and shoot! I'm crying again.
DeleteSecond Chance Summer made me bawl. I would add Bright Side by Kim Holden to this list.
ReplyDeleteSecond Chance Summer is such an emotional read. It just broke me apart. In 2015, I went to Utopia Con in Nashville, and Kim Holden was one of the keynote speakers. She made this video that was build around Bright Side, and that totally made me cry, so I cannot imagine what the book will do to me.
DeleteI tend to avoid books that I think might make me cry. The only one on your list that I have read is Garrett and I honestly don't remember crying with that one. Of course, it has been a while since I read it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, Olivia's illness hit me hard, and then that beautiful, stupendous, amazing epilogue made me cry the happiest tears ever.
DeleteI love books that get to me enough to make me bawl. A lot of these are new to me too so I'm taking notes as I scroll, lol. Completely agree with you about All the Bright Places, The Nightingale, and Me Before You.
ReplyDeleteJust saying the title, Me Before You, would make me cry for at least a month or so after I read that book, and the Nightingale had such a strong impact, probably even more so, because it's based on something real.
DeleteLOVE this post! I actually almost did the same topic actually, until I got lazy and didn't. Oops? But yeah, The Serpent King would have been on my list no question! And definitely The Memory King! I also cried a lot at ATBP (because who didn't!?) and Before I Fall. These are such awesome choices! I do love a book that can make me sob!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was getting the GR links for this, your review was up near the top, and you were going off to cry for 3-4 months. ( ( HUGS) ) Tough books, but they also warmed my heart.
DeleteI totally agree about All The Bright Places and The Serpent King. Such devastating books.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
They were the gut punch books too, because everything seemed to be going so well and then BOOM! Tragedy.
DeleteSometimes I don't mind a good cry when it comes to my books. Oh no, Second Chance Summer is on my TBR. I must prepare myself before reading it. The first book I think of when it comes to the ugly cry is The Book Thief. I ugly cry just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteSecond Chance Summer is just about something very sad, it had no chance of being anything but sad. I swear you will smile and cry happy tears along with the sad. The Book Thief is another book, where subject matter guaranteed it would evoke some tears.
DeleteHmm, I’m kind of the in the mindset of younger you. I don’t cry for ANY movie/show/book, but maybe that’ll change? haha. I really enjoyed ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES, BEFORE I FALL and THE UNFINISHED LIFE OF ADDISON STONE. The latter was so original! Can’t wait to read several of the other titles on your list :)
ReplyDeleteYeah! Another Addison Stone fan. I thought that book was incredible, and the way the story was written made her seem like a real person.
DeleteI am the worst I avoid really sad books because I know I will become a mess. I haven't read a lot of these on your list sadly. I read The Fault in Our Stars and my husband was really worried about me I was so sad afterwards and I sort of knew what was going to happen.
ReplyDeleteTFIOS was brutal! Ugly cried during the book and the movie. Knowing the outcome didn't soften the blow one bit
DeleteCHAMPION. That book hurt. A lot.
ReplyDeleteI think that's the only one on this list I've actually read. A few are on my TBR list.
The Book Thief was heartbreaking, and I read it four years ago and still can't find the courage to discuss it because it's TOO SOON.
I'll have to look into a few of these other titles when I'm in the mood for crying. ;) Thanks!
MY TTT: http://bit.ly/2v6jGpG
The Book Thief seems to resonate with many, and well, how could it not with what it is based on. I have only read the synopsis and I get chills. Champion was tough, but I thought there was something brilliant and it was giving June that opportunity that she wondered about. Then she would not have to doubt their love.
DeleteOh, this post... you have me reliving all my favorite crying books. Um, thank you? ;) Seriously though, I do love a book that get can me so invested, so connected and then pulls out all the emotional stops to actually bring me to tears. Kudos to those books because they are some of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe Serpent King - Even though I didn't *love* the book as a whole (one character just annoyed me in a big way), I was still so moved by it. And that scene... OMG, that scene. I listened to this on audio and will never forget the line, "Is my mom there? Is my mom there?" It broke me.
Clockwork Princess - Possibly the Best. Epilogue. Ever. Cue the tears.
Ugly Love - The second CoHo book I ever read. And it shattered my heart.
The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah has long been a favorite and I read whatever she writes, but The Nightingale is in a league of its own. So many tears.
I couldn't imagine that part of TSK on audio. CoHo loves to make you cry. She is good at it too. Did you read The Air He Breathes by Brittiany Cherry? That was wrought with so much sadness. (It had this OTT moment, but otherwise, good read)
DeleteI actually have The Air He Breathes sitting on my shelf and have been meaning to pick it up for quite a while. Another blogger friend has been urging me to read it and promising that I will love it.
DeleteIt is really gut wrentching
DeleteFANTASTIC choices here. Before I Fall and Second Chance Summer made me cry so hard, as well as The Serpent King and All The Bright Places! Loved these books. I also loved if He Had Been With Me, it was such a lovely story :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't expect Before I Fall to cause so an emotional outburst from me. So, applause for Lauren Oliver there.
DeleteIt's been ages since I read a book that made me have a good ol' cry, but I do love the experience. The one that always comes to mind is Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier which makes me cry for ALL the reasons: despair, anger, frustration, happiness. A damn fine book!
ReplyDeleteI have to check this one out. Ooh, a retelling. The assault would definitely bring me to tears. I cry whenever I see news stories involving sexual assault. It is just so savage and a total violation of a person and something I will never understand.
DeleteAHH second chance summer and all the bright places really got me ugly crying! both books last few chapters were so hard to get through- second chance bc taylor's dad quick descent and i'm just NO NO NO PLS MORE TIME and all the bright places bc i'm dreading what violet would find *sobs* with cp2 and champion is more "i'm happy with how it ends but i'm sad to let go my babies" xD
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress
I totally felt the same way with Second Chance Summer. You knew he was going to die from chapter 1, but still, when it happened, it was devastating. Violet's search was utter pain. Champion was such different kind of cry. I would like to think that things went in the positive direction and June got her answer to how real their love was.
Delete