Books That Made Me Cry

Let’s talk about some books that made me cry, y’all. I love a good cry, in fact, they are my favorite books to read. I’m really not a happy ending kind of gyal, I need to feel the heartbreak. I just be feeling like happy endings aren’t always realistic, sometimes things don’t always go our way or as planned and those are the stories I want to read.

1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 

Starting off with a bang. If you haven’t read this yet then make this the next book you read. This should be required reading in all honesty. My first ever job was working at a public library which was so fitting, it was meant to be. And one day we got a box donation from someone or somewhere. A coworker and I were going through the box when she pulled out a book, showed it to me and asked if I ever read it before. It was this book. I said no and without saying another word she just handed it to me and went back to sorting the books in the box. I still have that same copy and this was back in the days when I would get recommendations and read them right away 😂 so I read this book not too long afterwards. The thing I remember the most is when I was at a certain moment in the book while reading it on the bus and that was when I started tearing up. I was like, yeahhhhh… I’m not about to start sobbing on this bus, so I immediately stopped reading it. This book is so good and well written. It should be on everyone’s to read list.

2. Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

I love my history when it comes to this book because it’s so fascinating. I first read this book in 2013 during a time when I was very depressed, it was really clouding my mind. So I decided to pick this up and read during a time when I was also away at University. I read it and didn’t think much of it. At the time it was very meh to me, I’m honestly not even sure if I was really paying much attention to the story. I gave it 3 stars. I then decided to reread it in 2018 which was one of the happiest times of my life. My mood was great during this period… I could really go for another 2018 right now, lol. And while rereading this book I had the complete opposite reaction: I was in love! This story broke my heart when I would just think about it after the reread. I teared up at the end. I remember where I was when I was reading the last bit of this. It was so good that I brought it down to the basement with me while I was doing laundry just to finish it because I couldn’t put it down. Those last 50 pages or so were just so good. If I were to reread this book again I’m positive that I would still have the latter reaction. 

3. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

If you got a sister and you’re close to her then you’re gonna feel this one. Though I had a hard time following what was going on with this story in regards to the war this book portrayed (the Biafran War) I was still engrossed in the story and characters. Adichie is a great writer and you can’t go wrong with her novels. This one is my favorite so far that she has written, I still have a few others of hers to read. I remember fighting hard not to cry by the end of this story.

4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

This one took me by surprise. I think the only reason I got around to this was because I was doing some reading challenge and I already owned this book. I was pleasantly surprised with how humorous this was. I listened to the audiobook which intensified the feels by the end. I was a sobbing mess.

5. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

At this point I feel like I’m talking about the same 10 books on this blog page 😅 It is what it is though. This one is also a devastating one. I don’t want to give any spoilers but this was a hard story to swallow. Whether I’m reading this or even watching the movie it just gets me every time. Another sobbing mess of a story.

6. Invisible by Pete Hautman

This was the first book to ever make me cry. It’s great because it’s one of those stories where after you finish it you have to reread it because of the type of story it is and what it’s telling which I don’t think I’ve ever read another book like this since, or rather it’s a rare sight. I’m more likely to see this type of device in movies that I watch so that’s awesome for this book. But, yeah, that ending was so sad and rough.

7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I read this book so long ago that I honestly can’t remember if it actually made me cry but I want to badly say yes because this was a sad story. I also had a similar incident while reading this on the bus, same with The Kite Runner. It’s one of my favorite reads so I believe it’s a really good book. 

8. The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman 

This is hands down one of my top favorite books of all time. Wouldn’t even have known about it if it wasn’t for my mama’s box of books I found when I was 14. I just love this little book and its sad story and heartbreaking ending.

9. Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore

This is a more recent read and it’s one of my most recent favorites. I loved everything about this book and it was so fun and entertaining. I started to really get in my sad feels near the end of the book where it talked about the main character’s mother and what was happening with her. There’s actually a song I discovered from this book that I now love which is called Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. It’s a great song but I read this book during a time when my dad was in the hospital sick and he ended up passing away months later. I love this song but I can’t really listen to it without starting to cry because it makes me think of him.

Type soon 🥹🫶🏾