30 Day Book Challenge: Day 6 — A Book That Makes You Sad

When I think of the phrase, “a book that makes me sad,” I mostly think of books that leave me feeling sad, which perhaps isn’t quite what is being asked here. Lots of books have made me cry; several books have broken my heart; a few have incited guttural sobs… So saying a book “makes me sad” feels like either an understatement or the wrong phrase altogether. But for the purposes of this challenge, I’ll go with the first book I remember having a really good, long cry over:

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

For those of you who have read this book, you know why it made me cry. But I read it at a really young age, and I remember it being really deep, pretty heavy, and resonating with me on a very human level even at age seven or eight or whenever I read this. Besides the obvious cry-worthy reasons, this book tells the story of someone— a child— who made the wrong choice for selfish reasons, and had to live with the consequences. I remember thinking, “I know exactly what that feels like,” and I’m thankful that children’s literature includes such realistic, flawed characters.

Curious about the rest of my answers? Find a list of them here.