Books That Made Me Cry

Watch me expose myself as I talk about the list of books that have made me cry recently and why, because I don’t cry at too many books! Also, I tried a new featured image and I’m not sure how I feel about it but I thought it was time to mix it up a bit anyway!

There have only been 6 books in 2020 and 2021 so far that have made me cry. I’m an Aquarius sun and Pisces moon, so I appear cold-hearted and unemotional but on the inside I’m a bit of a cry baby. When I’m alone, I cry at a lot of films and shows, but books don’t seem to make me cry as much, so these books are obviously very sad to create that kind of response.

Tear rating: 💧

First, a quick shoutout to The Obelisk Gate for making me tear up a tiny bit at a character death. It wasn’t an unexpected death so I was slightly prepared but the way it happened hurt. At first I didn’t like this character but they really grew on me and were one of my favourite characters by the end, so I think this my reaction was justified.

Tear rating: 💧

Honestly, I don’t really know why I cried at this book. I don’t get very emotional at contemporary books even books with darker subject matter, but Yolk got me for some reason. I think it was because the characters were flawed and messy and felt so real. It was a mix of happy and sad tears at the ending because Jayne finally gets help and the journey we go on with her made me attached to her family’s fate.

Tear rating: 💧💧

2 tears means actual tears but not hysterical yet, you know? My tears completely took me by surprise because the ending changed its tone quite abruptly. This one’s hard to explain because it wasn’t really either happy or sad tears. It was just because it got more emotional and deep as it examined the meaning of space and exploration and life. I don’t know but the ending was everything I wanted.

Tear rating: 💧💧💧

Getting into lots-of-tears territory here. The Song of Achilles is such a beautiful book, and I didn’t think I would cry over a retelling of The Iliad but here we are! Although I knew what was coming, it hurt so much more because we follow Achilles and Patroclus’ relationship as they grow up together. And Achilles is portrayed in a much better light than The Iliad or The Silence of the Girls, so I sympathised with him a lot more.

Tear rating: 💧💧💧💧

When R F Kuang said bring a bucket for your tears, she wasn’t joking. I knew The Burning God would have a brutal ending, but I didn’t expect that one! It made so much sense too, but that didn’t stop me from crying after I finished or later that night remembering it. 4 tears is for the build up to the ending where everything starts to unravel and you can see everyone’s desperation. It’s hard to talk about without spoiling anything, so just know it broke me!

Tear rating: 💧💧💧💧💧

I love and hate this book for what it did to me. It had no right to be that sad! What’s great about The Sword of Kaigen is the climax in the middle of the book, and after that the characters have to deal with the fallout. There’s one character who deserved so much better and I don’t think I’ll ever recover from that death. This quote still gets me: “What the world would never know, was that he was the second youngest.” It gets 5 tears because I sobbed at the middle part and also cried a bit at the ending, so good job at ruining me!

Thanks for reading! Do you cry at books a lot or not? I find it really interesting what books made people cry, so let me know any you’ve cried over so I don’t feel alone!

—ella♥

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