Books That Made Me Cry

Have you ever felt like you just need to get a good cry in, but you don't have anything to cry about? Well boy do I have a solution for you! Just pick up any of these books and you will be in for a marathon of crying. Besides the effect they have on your tear ducts, these books are extremely well written and are a guaranteed fantastic read. Just make sure you always have extra tissues on hand! In addition to my regular spoiler free review, I have also included a rating for how much this book will make you cry. This way, you can make sure you have enough ice cream to balance out the tears!  

1. What We Should be Reading During Eating Disorder Awareness Week (Part the First) 

This book earns three crying faces on the scale, as you should be prepared to use up a box of tissues. Stevie's emotional journey is a roller coaster that goes from the present; to a flashback (AKA time to cry), to an interaction with another patient at the treatment center, to a therapy session (AKA also time to cry). This book is so beautifully written that I have actually decided to use it for an interpretive reading in speech and debate. (Speech and debate nerds, don't you dare steal my idea! I will hunt you down and send you a strongly worded letter!) This book truly captures how an eating disorder can completely take over a person. I have a lot of friends who are currently struggling or have struggled with an eating disorder and reading this book actually helped me to understand what is going on just a little bit more. I very much encourage young girls to read this book and hopefully it will inspire you to extend your awareness about eating disorders, as well as show just how much each of our lives are worth.   

Paperweight by Meg Haston
My rating: ❤❤❤❤
How much will this book make me cry?:😭😭😭

Readers will be shocked by this emotional masterpiece guaranteed to make you bawl your eyes out in Paperweight by Meg Haston. 17 year old Stevie has lived a hard life, and she is ready for it too end. Stuck in an eating disorder treatment center, she has lost all control of her life, and is being forced back into the state she views as fat. Worst of all, they won't even give her satisfaction of being anorexic. No, instead they call her bulimic, reiterating her knowledge of just how weak she is. But it's okay, it only has to last for 27 days, just until the anniversary of her brother's death. Then she can repent for her role in losing her brother, by giving in to the sweet, sweet, release of death. This book was so well put together. The combination of flashbacks to Stevie's life and her meetings with her therapist caused me to just cry my way through the whole book. The characters in this book were so complex, and some how, the author managed to give them the development most characters get over the course of three books, in just one. The writing in this book is very real and relatable: especially for young women dealing with body image issues. I would highly recommend this book to all young adults as it deals with so many issues that hit very close to home. This book makes you want to smile through the tears and I beg you all to read it!
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2. What We Should be Reading During Eating Disorder Awareness Week (Part the Second)

This book portrays eating disorders from the other end of the spectrum. Butter shows the difficulties of obesity through the mindset of a male. In YA we get a lot of books portraying young girls with anorexia and bulimia and obesity, but not as many from the male perspective. I have actually yet to read a book with a male main character dealing with anorexia or bulimia. This book gets a two on the crying scale as it cuts through the sadness with a lot of comedy, so you don't really cry until the ending. Please, please read this book. It is entertaining and gives a really important message.
Butter by Erin Jade Lange
My rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
How much will this book make me cry?:😭😭

Readers should prepare themselves for this dark comedy showing the true effects of depression; loneliness, bullying, and obesity in the stunning novel Butter by Erin Jade Lange. At 423 pounds, Butter, as the world calls him, is the picture of obesity. With no friends; a world full of bullies, and no real reason to live, Butter has decided to take matters into his own hands. He is going to be the first person to eat himself to death and live stream it on the internet. When his tormentors at school get wind of his plans, Butter expects ridicule, but instead gets popularity based on their morbid fascination with his plan. Butter finally has friends and it looks like the girl he has been in love with forever might finally notice him. As the due date for his suicide approaches, Butter isn't sure if he will be able to go through it, why give up when you finally have something to live for? I read this book after a marathon of Fat Kid Rules the World and Skinny. I don't know what I was thinking because I couldn't stop crying for the rest of the day. This book is so impactful and it gets at a mindset I feel like we don't see a lot of in books. The writing in this book is actually very funny and the author uses a lot of dark comedy to portray Butter's personality. I loved this as it created a balance between the sadness and the horrifying reality of Butter's situation. This book shows a different side to eating disorders that I feel a lot of people overlook, but are equally important to spread awareness about. I would highly recommend this book to all young adults because it is just funny enough to capture the attention of people who would not usually read a book like this as well as it promotes education about important topics of everyone.
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3. Heartbreaking Novel Showing the Sometimes Dark Side of Love

I read this book under the impression that it would not make me cry. I had originally stayed away from it as I was not in the mood to cry, but then my sister read it. "Oh no Becca I didn't cry at all, you will be fine." It is a good thing I read this book alone because as I got to the ending, I was not a pretty sight. I am surprised the book isn't completely ruined by tear stains. (Though nothing could make this book ugly. I mean just look at this cover!) This is why I gave It Ends With Us a four on the crying scale. If you are a heartless monster like my sister (she knows I love her dearly so don't worry) then you can go ahead and read this book at any point in your life. If you a big softy like me then pick an extended time where you can get comfortable and bawl your eyes out.  

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
My rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
How much will this book make me cry?:😭😭😭😭

This emotional masterpiece showing the darker side of love will leave readers reaching for the box of tissues in It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. Lily was never one to give up. Growing up in an abusive household has made her even more determined to get what she wants out of life. After making a shocking speech at her father's funeral, Lily meets Ryle Kincaid, the handsome neurosurgeon who she can't seem to stop thinking about. Suddenly all of Lily's dreams are coming true and she is happier than ever. But when her old love Atlas Corrigan resurfaces, Lily has to reevaluate her feelings. Is her love for Ryle greater than her old feelings for Atlas? This book is extremely powerful. Colleen Hoover packed in so much personal experience into this novel, causing it to give off a very impactful message. The idea that you can love someone, but also hurt them is explained so perfectly in this book. It is hard to explain all of the literary devices at work without giving away the story, so I will keep this pretty short. There is a very large theme of abuse in this book and how it affects not only the person being abused, but also the people who care about them. As expected with every Colleen Hoover novel, the book unravels almost like a mystery. The characters show tremendous growth in a relatively short book. The setting is well done, the plot is interesting and engaging. Basically, this book is spectacular and you should read it. This book deals with mature subject matter and it is not for all readers.
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4. The Book that the TV Show Selena Gomez Produced is Based On

First of all I would like to make it very clear that I am recommending the book, not the TV show. I tried to watch the TV show and did not enjoy it. I did very much enjoy the book. Thirteen Reasons Why is still one of the best books to explain teen depression and suicide. It is hard to have characters who kill themselves explain why they did it and this book is a master at it. I did read this book a while ago and I can not remember exactly how much I cried, but I am pretty sure it was around a three on the crying scale. One thing I love about this book is the comedy that cuts through the morbid nature of the story. I know a lot of you have read this book already, but if you have not, then I hope I have inspired you to read it!
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
My rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
How much will this book make me cry?:😭😭😭

The pain and honesty of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher will leave readers raw and horrified, yet still craving more. When Clay finds a package on his doorstep the last person in the world he would expect it to be from is his crush Hannah, especially since she committed suicide two weeks before. The old cassette tapes allow Hannah to narrate the story of death, giving 13 reasons why she ended her life. What shocks Clay is how he is one of the reasons. This book shares how all the little and not so little ways we interact with others can have a catastrophic impact on their lives and if they choose to keep living them. I read this book before I started really getting into YA books. I don't remember why I picked it up, I think I had gotten a Barnes and Noble gift card and this book popped up under teen books. What I do remember is not leaving the couch for four hours in an effort to not put the book down. This book is part of what got me into loving reading. As someone who has never dealt with depression, reading about it in such a beautifully put together way was shocking. I have only read this book the one time, but it still sticks out in my memory how engaging the plot was; how funny the dark comedy of Hannah's narration was, how much the characters grew and changed in a very short time period. I loved this book and I recommend it to all young adults as I hope they will love it too.
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I would like to end this by saying that the last book was going to be The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, but after staring at my computer for 20 minutes and being unable to write anything, I took it as a sign that it was not meant to be. The Fault In Our Stars is already very famous I doubt I need to introduce it to all of you. I it would be hard for me to explain my thoughts on the book besides that is gets a five on the crying scale and that it is fantastic. Enough said. I hope you enjoyed this blog post and happy reading (Or sad reading I guess)-Becca