When I was creating the Best Feel Good Books I also thought of the ones that made me cry. I thought of the ones that made me completely ugly cry, and the ones that were just so wonderfully heart-tugging that I shed tears for the end of the experience and time spent with those characters.
Below are the books that I think are the best to give you a good cry. Don’t you love when that happens when you are reading? I love these kinds of books, personally!
Tin Man by Sarah Weinman: I couldn’t see at the end of this one, I was crying so hard!
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes: This should be the number one book when listing ones that make you seriously ugly cry. It was the one where I needed to go hide in my basement. The crying was like the kind I did after watching The Fault in Our Stars movie and my family threw an entire roll of paper towels at me to mop up my ugly tears – that’s the kind of crying I did for this book.
The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rassmussen: Oh boy, Milly and Twiss broke my heart and I didn’t want this one to end ever. Have you read this one? I really think I want to re-read it! So good!
The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce was such a heartbreaking delight! Seriously – so wonderfully told! That little twist to your heart at the very end. Only think of this one with great fondness!
The Rain Before it Falls by Jonathan Coe: This was such a very sad story about Rosamunde, but such a wonderful, wonderful story too.
Dear Evelyn by Kathy Page. Oh my, that ending. Such sad yet wonderful tears for the ending of this remarkable story of a long-time marriage. And all the tears and love for Harry!
When All is Said by Anne Griffin. Goodness what an exceptional debut! So many tears shed for Maurice!
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein: That ending! Such a great, great story! Excellent in audio!
The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes by Anna McPartlin. The title of the book should give it all away, and there were so many tissues needed, especially at the end, but I laughed as much as I cried when reading this one too.
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico is simply beautiful and very moving. It’s only 45 minutes when you listen to the audio. Stunning.
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. Yeah, you just need the tissues for sure with this one.
On Canaan’s Side by Sebastian Barry. So good! So sad and poignant. Lilly Bere haunted me, her story was so heartbreaking.
A Good American by Alex George had me crying so hard while reading that the words were swimming in front of my eyes.
The Unlikely Redemption of John Alexander by Lesley Choyce. John Alexander left me in a puddle of tears.
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I distinctly remember hiding in my basement and crying great big buckets of never-ending tears! So much ugly crying for Owen Meany!
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy. I think this is the OG book to make me cry. Great big hiccuping tears!
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay – oh my goodness, this was heartbreaking wasn’t it?
The Help by Kathryn Stockett “You is smart, you is kind, you is important!” I think that’s all you have to say right?
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It was that ending that had me in tears. I can’t wait for the movie adaptation! The Fanning sisters that were cast to play the sisters have now grown on me – I’ll admit to not seeing it when they were first announced, but I’ve since changed my mind.
Have I missed any? Do you have any recommendations? I do love a book that makes me cry, I consider it a mark of an excellent book!
