Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Made You Cry

The "Top Ten Tuesday" meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and this week's topic is books that made you cry.

I don't cry that often over books (movies are more likely to make me sob), but I gave this list my best shot.  Beware generally of spoilers, although big spoilers I will put in white text so you can highlight them.

1.) The Baby Project by Sarah Ellis — this is one of the first books I can remember really crying over. I don't actually remember the plot much at all, but I still remember what made me tear up. Spoiler: the baby dies. Yeah. That was *majorly* sad.

2.) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien —I started bawling at the climax scene because I was so frustrated with Tolkien for making Frodo a hero for most of the book and then having him succumb at the moment we needed him most to be strong. I know, I know, Gollum always had a role to play, yada yada yada...I still felt betrayed by Tolkien.

3.) Plain Kate by Erin Bow — this one I read just recently, and while it didn't make me majorly sob, I did tear up a couple times. Spoiler: the cat dies. Then the cat is brought back to life but he gradually loses the ability to talk.

4.) Love You Forever by Robert Munsch — I've been told that this one kind of scared/disturbed me when I was little. While I don't really remember that very well, I read it again later when I was older and totally sobbed over it.

5.) The Nine Days Queen by Karleen Bradford — this was one of the first historical fiction books I read, and back then I didn't know the whole story of Jane Grey, and I didn't even really realize that the book was going to faithfully follow history. Man, was I in for a sad surprise. This book actually made me cry multiple times, even after I knew the ending!

6.) Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman — this one is really well-written, but there is one event that is practically guaranteed to make you cry (even on a re-read). Spoiler: their two children get sick and die, and it really distances the main character from her husband for a while.

7.) Marley & Me by John Grogan — if you're a dog owner, you will understand why the ending of this book is sad.

And these last 3 are books I think I cried over but I can't really remember for sure...


8.) The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford — the part where the oldest dog doesn't appear at first, and everyone thinks he's dead...and then he makes it back. But I may be confusing this with the movie they made of it, LOL.

9.) A Time For Dancing by Davida Hurwin — the best friend is diagnosed with cancer. Yep, it's one of those books.

10.) Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes — whether or not I actually cried, the ending is indisputably sad and depressing. Spoiler: a mentally challenged man is given an operation that greatly increases his abilities for a while, but it is temporary and gradually he loses everything he gained.

Edited to add: I just thought of another one! Still Alice by Lisa Genova, about a woman losing her memory through early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Very moving, sad and scary.

What books made you cry?