When I decided that I wanted to share with you the books that made me cry, I did not realize how many books I have read that brought tears to my eyes! There are too many to share in one blog post! I will have to write a part two of this at some point in the future. If someone tells me that a book is going to make me cry than I am much more likely to read it. I prefer to read books that make me cry versus books that make me laugh. Is that weird??
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I have this vivid memory of reading this book in bed and just blubbering like a baby. I probably looked like such a mess! I could barely read through my tears.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Truly all of the books that I shared in this post talking about my favourite WWII fiction made me cry, but I think I was so caught off guard by The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and it just hit me like a ton of bricks.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
If you have read this book or know how it ends then I think you understand why it broke my heart. I love these characters and I was so devastated.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
This entire novel is just so heavy and sad. I felt so drained while reading it. I was devastated for Melinda and the journey that she had to go through.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
This story is so harrowing and almost hard to read. It is a book that left me feeling sad for a few days.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
I think we all know why! Broke my heart! Why J.K. Rowling Why??????!!!!!!!
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
All of his books are sad so I should I really could have put any of his books on my list but this is the one that got to me most. I can’t watch the movie without bawling my eyes out.
The Outsiders by S.E Hinton
I think that this is the first book that made me cry. It made me realize the affect that books can have on you. I have been wanting to reread The Outsiders but I have been putting it off because I do not think I am emotionally ready.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
I do not think I have ever been so mad at the death of a character before. I actually threw the book across the room. I was crying angry tears! I have not continued with the series or picked up another Patrick Ness novel. I am still not over it!
Do books made you cry? I would love to know what books broke your heart since apparently I am sadistic and crave books like that.
Also, do you prefer books that make you laugh or cry?
They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera is the last book I read that really made me cry like a baby.. I don’t cry THAT easily but with that one.. Behold, the flood!
I have yet to read The Fault in Our Stars but I cried while watching the movie, so… Yeah, I’ll probably cry while reading as well, haha.
I almost bought They Both Die in the End but I wasn’t ready for the emotions! Hopefully one day!
It’s a case of “Nope, not going to cry. Not going to cry. I know how it ends, so I’m not going to cry.” and.. Then you do exactly that, haha.
Hope you’ll read it eventually!
I love it when a book makes me laugh. I feel like it’s a lot harder for a book to make me laugh than cry. Sometimes when a book makes me cry, I feel like it’s deliberate manipulation, especially in the case of Nicholas Sparks.
That is a good point. There are very few books that make me laugh! Nicholas Sparks is definitely a manipulation but I know that going in. His books are definitely guilty pleasure books for me!
OMG i cry aaaaall the time while reading books. i am in general a very emotional person and i start to cry so easily! 😀
this is a very good list. all books you mentioned that i have read too, i also cried 😀
Haha we are so similar! There are so many other books that have made me cry! It is actually a little ridiculous!
no it’s not! you’re an emotional person and that’s good. i often wonder how people do NOT cry while reading certain books 😀
and i am really like you. i prefer cry-worthy books over happy books haha 😀
So do I! I think books that make us cry just stay with us longer. I want a book to have an affect on me.
exactly, that’s the point! 😀
I’m just like you – I much prefer books that make me cry to books that make me laugh. I love emotional, heart-wrenching books (I’m weird, too lol).
Awww, the kite Runner!! I love that book! It’s indeed harrowing and heart-breaking but I also thought it was a story of redemption and loyal brotherhood. The last sentence made me cry. Oh, my.
I recently ordered the Outsiders! Cannot wait to read it 🙂
You’re so right about The Kite Runner!
The Outsiders is heartbreaking but so good!
Yayyy, now I’m looking forward to reading it!
Yes make me cry.. or at least try… I’m not an easy one :-). I did a post myself with 5 books that did it for me.. and the one which turned me most emotional was Bright Side.
I watched the movie A Walk to Remember and The Fault in our Stars and I read The Kiterunner but I can’t remember crying (maybe I’m just choosing not to though). A great post!
Thank you! I will definitely check out Bright Side!
I prefer books that make me laugh and cry those are the best kind😁
So true. Such a rare combo! Hard to find books like that!
I’m also a very emotional person when it comes to books, so it often happens that I cry while reading, but I think that’s what makes a book really stand out and that’s great, right?
As for recommendations: I agree with you when it comes to The Kinfe of Never Letting Go. It was heartbreaking and I’m still not other it, either, but the series is honestly incredibly good. I highly recommend the next books in the series, and everything Patrick Ness writes, for that matter. I understand, though, that the Chaos Walking series isn’t for everyone, but I would still say give his other books a try, they are pretty different.
As for other books, one that is all the way up in the book-that-made-me-cry list is Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys. It’s a truly heartbreaking book, but at the same time a must-read in my opinion.
Also sad, but at the same time really good (although you’ve probably read it already), is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak!
I enjoyed the first book but I was just too devastated! I really want to read more of his books though. Which one of his is your favourite?
Ruta Sepetys is high on my list. Funnily enough I just bought A Salt to the Sea on bookoutlet five minutes ago. Can’t wait to read it!
The only other book of his I read was A Monster Calls, which was a very very good albeit short read, but also absolutely devastating.
I’ve heard great things about More Than This, too, and that one is very high on my tbr 😊
Salt to the Sea was great as well! I liked Between Shades of Grey a liiiittle bit more, I think, but Salt is also a wonderful book!
I definitely also prefer books that make me cry. I LOVED The Outsiders, I remember that one hit me really hard when I read it. I haven’t read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas yet but I’ve been really loving John Boyne’s adult fiction lately – The Heart’s Invisible Furies and The Absolutist both made me sob.
I have not picked up his other books because I know they will make me cry! They are on my Christmas list though and I can not wait. Glad you enjoyed them!
This was a great list! Some of these I’ve only seen the movie but totally agree with so many of these picks – especially Speak!
Thank you! The movies are just as sad!
I’ve only read Kite Runner and HP from your list. But a friend of mine read The Boy in Striped PJ and she cried as well – one reason why I didn’t read it. I don’t like to cry. 😉
That book is so devastating. Definitely do not read it if you hate crying!!
I like books that make me laugh, but I feel a more powerful emotional connection to the ones that make me cry. To this day I will never forget the first time a book made me cry. (Where the Red fern Grows. I was reading it during recess in 5th grade and I started to bawl.) Some of my favorite books are ones that made me cry. I don’t know why people avoid certain books just because they know they’re going to be sad. Sad things are a normal part of life and we can’t really avoid them.
I have never read Where the Red Fern Grows but I have heard it’s really sad! I love books that make me feel and cry I just have to be prepared for them. It is a part of life and it is important to see that reflected in books.
What a great list! I love books that make me cry, but I cry so easily lol! My list would be outrageously long! All of Spark’s books make me cry like a baby. The Kite Runner was heartbreaking…
Thank you. I cry easily too! I will definitely be writing a part two!
You’re welcome! I can’t wait to read your part two 🙂
Omg I agree with so many of these! Harry Potter made me cry SO MUCH. And Chaos Walking, I still can’t believe he did that. Like that was one of the worst deaths in a book ever (the rest of the series is awesome though, you should definitely try it!)
It is good to hear that the rest of the Chaos Walking series is good! That death though!
The Fault in Our Stars had me in floods of tears, such an emotional book! I cry at so many books, but Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson broke me.
I read Second Chance Summer too. I forgot how sad that book is!
Speak is a necessary book and I hope that libraries across the world offer it. Losing one’s voice and reclaiming it after pain deserves conversation. While the book didn’t make me cry, I welcome its presence.
Beautiful said. It enrages me that me that Speak is often banned and challenged. It is a book that I would want my children to read and learn from.
I love to cry with books!! Well I love to laugh too obviously. Some that made me ugly cry where A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole and When it Rains by Lisa De Jong 😉
I have not read either of those but definitely going to check them out on goodreads. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome list! Got so upset at Fault in Our Stars that I then refused to read another John Green novel! Also, I think out of the Harry Potter books, the 5th one actually made me cry the most 😢
Amazing list. Especially A Walk To Remember, by far Nicholas Sparks’s best. I keep waiting to find a book with characters like those two… though I guess that Dear John has similar characters and I loved that too.
It’s funny because Dear John is my other favourite of his too! His more recent books are nowhere near as good.
I think when he deals with characters that are opposites, it works a lot more.
When I read a book where I truly connect with the characters and the story then it is so much easier for me to cry when something happens. And sometimes I’m just really in the mood for that, while other times I just want a happy feel-good book. So laughing or crying depends on how I’m feeling.
Having a connection to the characters is definitely a big factor in whether or not I will cry. If I don’t care about the characters than I won’t be invested in what happens to them. I would like to read more books that make me laugh but so few books do!
I cry all the time while reading! I bawled during The Outsiders (stay gold Ponyboy…), Deathly Hallows, and so many others. I’ve never read the Fault in our Stars, and it’s already been spoiled for me. Do you think it’s still worth it?
I still think it is worth reading because it’s a charming book and there are parts besides the ending that made me cry as well! I think you know the ending is will still get to you!
It’s so weird! I cry at a LOT of books but not these ones and I’ve read most of them. Harry Potter I came close. I think the two I cried the most at were Eleanor & Park and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I can’t keep my tears in when someone is super nice. Great post!
That is sweet. I also cry happy tears and during sweet moments!
I love books that make me cry, I’ve read a few on your list but not all. John Boyne is a new favorite author so I’m adding The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to my tbr now! Some of my very favorite tearjerkers are A Little Life, One Day, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Great post idea!!
I definitely want to read more of his books! I have heard so many good things about A Little Life and I know that it is so sad. The Seven Husbands is one of my favourite books of the year!
Girl, you sound like me! I’m always crying at books and it feels like every time I do, it sneaks up on me. Some books I’ve cried at are The Hate U Give, The Names They Gave Us, We Are Okay and Dear Martin. I’m just a crier especially when something happens to characters I’ve become attached to.
I don’t really have a preference for books that made me laugh or cry. I enjoy when a book can do both or if a book can make me laugh at all. Most of the time, it’s hard for me to laugh when I’m reading, not sure why!
I just bought The Names They Gave Us in Book Outlet! Really looking forward to that one!
I very rarely laugh while reading as well. I don’t know why either!
Ahhh I didn’t know it was on Book Outlet, but I really want to get it now!
Good, I’m glad I’m not alone 😛
I didn’t cry but felt and emotion equivalent to crying when I read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Kite Runner
Such emotional books for sure!
Two years ago almost all of my students knew entirely what The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was about. Apparently, they watched the movie in elementary!?! That’s some heavy stuff for 3rd and 4th graders! I’ve only read HP and The Outsiders, and when I reread The Outsiders recently I cried, too. I don’t think I did the first time I read it in high school. I cried when I first read HP, too.
This would be a great topic to suggest! You can do your Part 2 for that day!
That is definitely very heavy for elementary school aged children! It was heavy for me and I was an adult when I read it!
That is a great idea!
I love books that make me cry as well, I just love feeling tons of emotions while reading a book <3 <3
This is such a great list – I cried like a baby while reading both TFIOS and A Walk To Remember, same when I watched the movies ahah. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks also made me cry a little bit ahah 🙂
Great post! 🙂
The movies were just as sad as the books. The Walk to Remember movie is one of my favourites. Gets me every time! The Notebook movie makes me tear up too!
Oh yes, The Notebook movie is so sad ahah. why do we put ourselves through this hahaha
Totally had the same reaction with Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Kite Runner!
It seems like everyone agrees with me about those two books!
I read Speak in high school so I don’t remember it all that much but I do remember that it made me so sad! I really want to read The Outsiders. Otherwise I haven’t read many things on this list >.< hahaha
I want to reread Speak some time soon since I also read it in high school. I highly recommend The Outsiders!