I read 88 books in 2022. Not all of them were literary masterpieces, but I found these titles in particular to be interesting little depressants. Some of them were definitely supposed to make me cry with character deaths and heartbreak and whatnot. There were also plenty that weren’t inherently sad, but I still took them very personally for little to no discernible reason. Then, there is a little pile that I think pushed me past my breaking point.
Known Tear Jerkers
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Almost any book that starts with two suicidal teenagers is just bound to leave me blubbering. Finch as an individual character would’ve been enough to decimate me, but paired with his commitment to Violet I was done for. His little easter eggs were physically painful for me.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I honestly don’t remember exactly why I was crying so much, but I remember crying so much. I think I just really love manic pixie dream girls? I love Daisy so much and I found it mildly concerning that I related to her a lot. Camilla was also such a beautiful, and horribly relatable, character to me. I think both made me realize men are kind of awful but sometimes (or a lot of the times) bad decisions are fine.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I distinctly remember why I was absolutely weeping reading this book and it can be summed up in “the devastating luxury of panic.” The amount of main character deaths in this one were agonizing, especially when you go in knowing they all die. I read this almost a full year ago and I still don’t have all the words to describe it.
King of Scars Duology by Leigh Bardugo
This woman loves killing her darlings and I honestly don’t know how much more I can take! Matthias being murdered was already a sensitive topic, but throw in his funeral and Nina meeting his killer? Good God! Don’t even get me started on David, I’m fully in denial. I would list the entire Grishaverse as a generally harrowing affair, but this duology got me the worst. Bardugo knows how to write grief.
Questionable To Say The Least
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
I went into this book thinking “Oh! A cool little mystery!” and ended up having to take breaks to sob as I read. I also wasn’t expecting three little girls to get their skin stolen by limbo demons, so lots of surprises! Iris’ narration was very effective, her own struggle with identity made the ending so fucking sad and girl’s mother’s reaction was devastating. The complex depiction of sisterhood – the pretty and the ugly and the vicious – was one aspect that really got me invested in the book. I have two sisters so whenever there was any line about that dynamic I had a little “I know that one!” moment.
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
The sister dynamic in this one hurt me too! Zafira with both her little sister, Lana, and her best friend, Yasmine, were so touching. Both were able to balance that hard and soft love very well and their fights were so well written. They were equally understandable and upsetting for the reader. Zafira’s and Nasir’s massive self esteem and guilt issues were also so miserable it was lovely, especially seeing them combat that in the other in their relationship. Also death! Those hurt so bad.
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
This one should probably be in the top section, but I hate Colleen Hoover! Overall, the book was kind of bad, in my opinion. Her writing style is simple and predictable and I feel like almost none of the characters had any real depth. The ending scene after Lily gave birth was what had me weeping. That is arguably the best thing CoHo has ever written, but that is also a flimsy argument when you look at it too hard.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas
Another sister dynamic! I love Nesta Archeron. She has done nothing wrong ever in her life. I found her concerningly relatable. I’m not an alcoholic or that depressed, I just really love my sisters and don’t know how to show it well. However! It’s important to remember that Sarah J Mass is questionable at best and her smut is mid.
Seek Help Immediately
Devil’s Night Series by Penelope Douglas
I’m telling you right now absolutely do not read these, they’re god awful. They are, however, very entertaining! It’s really just a group of rich twenty-something men giving women Stockholm Syndrome and breaking the law. I want to say that I cried simply because of how bad the books were, but I do have to admit I do care for Banks and Emory.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
In my defense, I started reading this for a lit class right after my grandfather died, so I kind of related to Hamlet’s dramatics. I also just love insane women so I took Ophelia’s death very personally.
