I have a large collection of books. Some make me laugh, some make me look away in disgust, some I want to throw across the room in rage, but although I have these feelings a lot of the time when I read, not many books make me cry. It takes good writing, characters I get very attached to and a damn good reason to spark tears. So here are four books that made me, and hopefully you too, cry.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Taylor has become one of my favourite authors after reading two of her books, two! She comes up with simplistic yet unique stories that make you go, “wish I would’ve thought of that,” one of those books being The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, possibly one of my favourite reads of 2021, thus far.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo details the life of (fictional) movie and fashion icon Evelyn Hugo, documenting her rise to fame, the price she paid to have her name on the silver screen and the seven husbands she had through it all. This story of love and embracing who you are is so powerful, and it shows how money and fortune don’t always bring happiness, also character deaths don’t help the matter.
Wonder
By R.J Palacio
“I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.” This quote is on the back of the book and is a spectacular (and sad) way of showing how low our main character’s self-esteem is at the very beginning.
The book has a nice balance of moments of deeply saddening and heartwarming moments. R.J does a great job at describing Auggie’s inner turmoil, how he is trying so hard not to be influenced by the kids who are picking on him for something he has no control over and the love he’s receiving from the few friends he’s made.
All in all, a great read if you want to cry and go through middle school nostalgia.
Crooked Kingdom
By Leigh Bardugo
The second book in Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology (a heist book, similar to all the Oceans movies) brings us back to Ketterdam, where our lead characters are trying to stay afloat in a country that wants them all dead. I love Leigh Bardugo’s books, anything she writes is an instant read for me and Crooked Kingdom is no exception.
Delving deeper into the characters backstories was the equivalent of driving a spear into my heart, sort of, all of their lives were sad and filled with pain, sorrow, anger and any other unhappy emotion that crosses your mind.
Leigh’s writing latches onto you like a hook, refusing to let go until you’re completely immersed in the spectacular world and characters she’s created over many years.
Blood & Honey
By Shelby Mahurin
The second book in her soon-to-be trilogy, Serpent & Dove, we find our characters knee deep in trouble they definitely shouldn’t and never intended to be in.
Shelby has definitely become one of my favorite authors over the past few months, the settings she creates are so detailed I can see them in my mind and her characters are funny and lighthearted while also being extremely deadly and serious.
The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat and in the final hundred pages or so, I had a hand to my mouth in shock and a box of tissues beside me for good measure.
I won’t reveal too much, because well, spoilers, but I will say that this is 100% worth it.
And there you have it! Some books that made me cry like a child, I really do recommend all of these novels to everyone since they are some of my absolute favourites and the authors incredibly talented at what they do.