I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green this weekend and cried for the last I-don’t-even-know how many pages. In honor of the cry-fest, I thought it would be fun to look back at books that have made me cry in the past. Now, I’m not talking about “there’s something in my eye” cries, where you blink away the tear drop before it falls down your cheek. I’m talking about tears streaming down my face as the pages turn cries. Cause those are the best, right?
1. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. I read this in one sitting when I was in high school. I think my parents were a little concerned when they came home and found me sitting in a chair, surrounded by tissues. I held up the book between sobs when they asked what was wrong and they both ignored me for the rest of the night.
2. The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks. Another from my high school days. I was actually sitting on the back porch of the house of some family friends when I finished this and had tears streaming down my face. They both came out to check on me and when I went back into the house they were standing in the kitchen, asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?” Yep, it was just a book.
3. If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I gave a copy of this to my friend once and told her that if she didn’t cry during this book she was cold-hearted. And then she didn’t cry. So I proclaimed her to have a heart of stone and I still believe that to this day, because have you read this book? I didn’t just cry at the end, like I did with pretty much every other book on this list. I cried at different points throughout this book. Maybe that’s why Where She Went is my favorite of the two? (Actually, there are other reasons why it’s my fave, but If I Stay is amazing, too.)
4. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Now, this is a tricky one. I almost left this off and included Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, but I don’t remember actually crying during that one, I’m just certain that I probably did. (That is one of my all-time favorite books, though.) I feel like I really have no right to include this book, because I’ve seen YouTube videos of people crying as they finished this one, and I didn’t cry like they did. I predicted certain things about this book before it was ever released and I think that took some of the emotion out of it for me. But I did cry for multiple pages, so it fits my definition.
5. Anything by Lurlene McDaniel. At least, the books of hers that I read when I was in high school. Along with making me think that I had whatever disease she wrote about, I was a pool of tears by the time I turned the final page.
What are some of the books that have made you cry?
