Fancy a Cry?: Books with the Saddest Endings

Books just about guaranteed to leave you in tears.
Updated October 2, 2022
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The remains of the day
Ishiguro, Kazuo
Paper Book
BOOKER PRIZE WINNER * From the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, here is "an intricate and dazzling novel" (The New York Times) about the perfect butler and his fading, insular world in post-World War II England.   This is Kazuo Ishiguro's profoundly...
The kite runner
Hosseini, Khaled
Paper Book
The 20th anniversary edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel beloved by readers the world over, with a new afterword by the author The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant,...
A little life : a novel
Yanagihara, Hanya
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A stunning "portrait of the enduring grace of friendship" (NPR) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century. NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * MAN...
Where the red fern grows : the story of two dogs and a boy
Rawls, Wilson
Paper Book
Read the beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man's best friend. This edition also includes a special note to readers from Newbery Medal winner and Printz Honor winner Clare Vanderpool. Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when...
Eleanor & Park
Rowell, Rainbow
Paper Book
A gorgeous first-ever-paperback edition featuring sprayed edges with a stenciled script design. Bono met his wife in high school, Park says. So did Jerry Lee Lewis, Eleanor answers. I'm not kidding, he says. You should be, she says...
The road
McCarthy, Cormac
Paper Book
At once brutal and tender, despairing and rashly hopeful, "The Road" is a fierce and haunting meditation on the tenuous divide between civilization and savagery, and the sometimes terrifying power of filial love.
Of mice and men
Steinbeck, John
Paper Book
A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression "A thriller, a gripping tale . . . that you will not set down until it is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick." --The New York Times John Steinbeck's classic novella follows an...
Flowers for Algernon
Keyes, Daniel
Paper Book
 Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, the powerful, classic story about a man who receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.   Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually...
The end of the affair
Greene, Graham
Paper Book
The classic tale of love, hate, and faith from one of the 20th century's greatest novelists "This is a record of hate far more than of love," writes Maurice Bendrix in the opening passages of The End of the Affair, and it is a strange hate indeed that compels him to set...
Marley & me : life and love with the world's worst dog
Grogan, John
Paper Book
The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Now with photos and new material. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans. ...
Crying in H Mart : a memoir
Zauner, Michelle
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American--"in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself" (NPR). * CELEBRATING...
The color purple
Walker, Alice
Paper Book
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that tells the story of two sisters through their correspondence. With a new Preface by the author.
Bridge to Terabithia
Paterson, Katherine
Paper Book
The classic Newbery Award-winning title by beloved author Katherine Paterson, with brand-new bonus materials including an author's note by Katherine herself, and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo.  Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can...
The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
This anniversary edition of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller features pages of bonus content, including marked-up manuscript pages, original sketches, and pages from the author's writing notebook. "Life-changing." --The New York Times  

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