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The ReadDown

15 Sad Books that Will Emotionally Wreck You

Sometimes you just need a good cry. So grab a tissue and settle in because each book in this list is guaranteed to break your heart into a million pieces.

  1. 1
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture
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    Giovanni’s Room

    by James Baldwin

    From one of the most brilliant and provocative literary figures of the past century comes a groundbreaking novel set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris, about love and the fear of love — “a book that belongs in the top rank of fiction” (The Atlantic).
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture
    Giovanni's Room Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $16.00

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  2. 2
    When Breath Becomes Air Book Cover Picture
    When Breath Becomes Air Book Cover Picture
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    When Breath Becomes Air

    by Paul Kalanithi

    This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living?
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    When Breath Becomes Air Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $26.00

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  3. 3
    Mother of Strangers Book Cover Picture
    Mother of Strangers Book Cover Picture
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    Mother of Strangers

    by Suad Amiry

    Set in Jaffa in between 1947 and 1951, this “fable-like historical novel of young love … darkly humorous and touching” (Oprah Daily) is based on a true story during the beginning of the destruction of Palestine and displacement of its people.
    Mother of Strangers Book Cover Picture
    Mother of Strangers Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $27.00

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  4. 4
    To Die Beautiful Book Cover Picture
    To Die Beautiful Book Cover Picture
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    To Die Beautiful

    by Buzzy Jackson

    A heartrending novel based on a true story of love, loyalty, and the limits we confront when our deepest values are tested, by award-winning writer Buzzy Jackson.
    To Die Beautiful Book Cover Picture
    To Die Beautiful Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $28.00

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  5. 5
    Tuesdays with Morrie Book Cover Picture
    Tuesdays with Morrie Book Cover Picture
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    Tuesdays with Morrie

    by Mitch Albom

    A special 25th-anniversary edition of the beloved book that has changed millions of lives with the story of an unforgettable friendship, the timeless wisdom of older generations, and healing lessons on loss and grief.
    Tuesdays with Morrie Book Cover Picture
    Tuesdays with Morrie Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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  6. 6
    Stay True Book Cover Picture
    Stay True Book Cover Picture
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    Stay True

    by Hua Hsu

    A gripping memoir on friendship, grief, the search for self, and the solace that can be found through art, by the New Yorker staff writer Hua Hsu. A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.
    Stay True Book Cover Picture
    Stay True Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $26.00

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  7. 7
    A Thousand Splendid Suns Illustrated Edition Book Cover Picture
    A Thousand Splendid Suns Illustrated Edition Book Cover Picture
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    A Thousand Splendid Suns Illustrated Edition

    by Khaled Hosseini

    A story as timely today as when it was first published, Khaled Hosseini gives voice to two women living in Afghanistan as they face challenges both in the streets of Kabul, as well as inside their own homes. Even though these women are from two different generations, the battles they face are the same, and only in each other will they find the strength to keep moving forward.
    A Thousand Splendid Suns Illustrated Edition Book Cover Picture
    A Thousand Splendid Suns Illustrated Edition Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $29.95

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  8. 8
    Sea Change Book Cover Picture
    Sea Change Book Cover Picture
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    Sea Change

    by Gina Chung

    An enchanting novel about Ro, a woman tossed overboard by heartbreak and loss, who has to find her way back to stable shores with the help of a giant Pacific octopus at the mall aquarium where she works.
    Sea Change Book Cover Picture
    Sea Change Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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  9. 9
    Only Love Can Hurt Like This Book Cover Picture
    Only Love Can Hurt Like This Book Cover Picture
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    Only Love Can Hurt Like This

    by Paige Toon

    In the spirit of Colleen Hoover and Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: is love worth risking everything for?
    Only Love Can Hurt Like This Book Cover Picture
    Only Love Can Hurt Like This Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $17.00

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  10. 10
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Book Cover Picture
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Book Cover Picture
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    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    by Maya Angelou

    Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Book Cover Picture
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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  11. 11
    Dear Edward Book Cover Picture
    Dear Edward Book Cover Picture
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    Dear Edward

    by Ann Napolitano

    When a plane crashes mid-flight, twelve-year-old Edward is the sole survivor. In the face of such profound loss, Edward must make the choice to pick up the pieces and move forward. With beautiful illuminating prose, Ann Napolitano has managed to create a book that is at turns heartbreaking and funny. It is a book about grief, but it centers on hope.
    Dear Edward Book Cover Picture
    Dear Edward Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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  12. 12
    I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home Book Cover Picture
    I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home Book Cover Picture
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    I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home

    by Lorrie Moore

    Lorrie Moore’s first novel since A Gate at the Stairs — a daring, meditative exploration of love and death, passion and grief, and what it means to be haunted by the past, both by history and the human heart.
    I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home Book Cover Picture
    I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home Book Cover Picture
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    Hardcover
    $27.00

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  13. 13
    Transcendent Kingdom Book Cover Picture
    Transcendent Kingdom Book Cover Picture
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    Transcendent Kingdom

    by Yaa Gyasi

    This stunning book from the author of Homegoing, focuses on Gifty, a PhD candidate studying depression and addiction. Reeling from the overdose of her brother, she aims to find answers in her studies, but she is also pulled into the evangelical church she grew up in. Gifty finds herself at the crossroads where the mysteries of God collide with scientific fact.
    Transcendent Kingdom Book Cover Picture
    Transcendent Kingdom Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $16.00

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  14. 14
    All My Rage Book Cover Picture
    All My Rage Book Cover Picture
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    All My Rage

    by Sabaa Tahir

    From bestselling author Sabaa Tahir comes a brilliant, unforgettable, and heart-wrenching contemporary novel about family and forgiveness, love and loss, in a sweeping story that crosses generations and continents.
    All My Rage Book Cover Picture
    All My Rage Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $12.99

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  15. 15
    On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Book Cover Picture
    On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Book Cover Picture
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    On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

    by Ocean Vuong

    This gorgeous debut novel is written as a letter from a son to his mother, who cannot read. It is a coming-of-age story about growing up as an immigrant in America and about finding and holding on to one’s identity. Written with beautiful and poetic language, this book will leave a lasting impression.
    On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Book Cover Picture
    On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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  16. 16
    This Time Tomorrow Book Cover Picture
    This Time Tomorrow Book Cover Picture
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    This Time Tomorrow

    by Emma Straub

    With her celebrated humor, insight, and heart, beloved New York Times bestseller Emma Straub offers her own twist on traditional time travel tropes and a different kind of love story.
    This Time Tomorrow Book Cover Picture
    This Time Tomorrow Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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  17. 17
    Me Before You Book Cover Picture
    Me Before You Book Cover Picture
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    Me Before You

    by Jojo Moyes

    A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common — a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?
    Me Before You Book Cover Picture
    Me Before You Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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  18. 18
    A Little Life Book Cover Picture
    A Little Life Book Cover Picture
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    A Little Life

    by Hanya Yanagihara

    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.
    A Little Life Book Cover Picture
    A Little Life Book Cover Picture
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    Paperback
    $18.00

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