Top 10 Saddest Books of All Time

Surely we have read a novel or two in our life. If it wasn't a novel study in English it may have been a long train trip or so forth. I hope this inspires you to read them if you haven't already. What do you think is the saddest book?
The Top Ten
1 Night - Elie Wiesel

I'm reading this book right now. I've read multiple memoirs of people who have survived the death camps and so far this one is beyond the most tragic of them all.

Epic. The ones who say divergent, dude, read some books. I'm not even a high school student yet, read some books, it benefits.

Read this and I absolutely loved it. It was full of emotion and did not hide the truth at all.

2 Old Yeller - Fred Gipson

Everyone says it's sad. After my experience with where the red fern grows I didn't read it so... I don't have the best insight on the matter.

It was heartbreaking when Travis had to shoot Old Yeller, his best partner and friend-- it all happened so fast.

Why, stupid wolf-with-rabies, why? Old Yeller was my dream dog...

3 Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls

It was so sad. I was in tears for like a hour. It was an amazing book, so well wrote... it made me care about the characters so much . And then Old Dan and Little Ann died. It was awful. Such good writing. Such a sad ending.

A heartwarming story about love and an inseparable between dog and boy. Little Ann has the brains and Old Dan has the brawn. This is a true adventure for all ages to enjoy. Not only is there a boy impaled by an axe, but there are many other fun and happy events! Such as... Dangling entrails, skinning rodents, abusing cats, and so much more!

4 Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson

Oh my gosh I LOVED this book. It was so unexpected and it really kicked me in the feels.

This isn't sad. It's more bizarre than sad. They cuss and so what some kid dies?

This is very sad I almost cried at school when I finished it!

5 The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

Beautifully written, but it did not make me cry. Despite being a young teenage girl, this was an amazing book to read but it did not pull on the heart strings as much as I would have hoped. The book was well paced, had brilliant language techniques and rounded off the conclusion quite nicely. At the end of the book, I felt that it was sad but it was inevitable. They were both prepared for the worst and they both fell in love knowing that one of them was not going to continue for too long. Us as readers were well prepared and throughout the book there was no false hope that they were gonna live happily ever after. His death was accepted by himself and his loved ones-he already had been fitted for his death suite.

6 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - David Fickling

This book made me bawl my eyes out as I read it and made me quite depressed for days afterward, this deserves a higher spot on the list. It reflects real world problems and though it is fiction, it makes you realize how absolutely horrific the Holocaust actually was, from the point of view of one of its victims. Anne Franks diary was also very sad, and from the point of view of a Holocaust victim, but it's more inspiring than depressing and while it is very tragic, it's more a story about hope and pushing through to the end. While this book, it's just downright SAD.

7 The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

Cut off abruptly, showing that they found her and killed her. I would suggest reading Night if you want to learn more about what happened. Still very well written and sad.

10 when I read this, it was only a year ago so it's still in my mind- I had to read the afterword and the ending 20 times to believe that was really what happened. 15. God dang it, Hitler. She was 15.

The holocaust has always interested me because I have always wanted to learn more about it.I cried when I read this book because it really tugged at my heartstrings

8 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult

I read this book at the age of 12 after seeing the film in cinema and it was the first heartbreak I ever experienced. Jodi Picoult is a fantastic author and I have continued to read many of her books due to this one. She incorporates something into each of them that have nothing to do with the storyline but she makes it relevant. In My Sister's Keeper, it's astrology. The ending to this book is different from the film and, if you watch the film first, you will not expect this ending (probably the reason I cried for about 3 days after finishing this book). It's a book I can pick up and read at any time, I'll finish it within a day and it will still break my heart as if it was my first time reading it. I can't recommend this book enough.

9 Allegiant - Veronica Roth

I honestly didn't really like these books. I mean, I might have, but I read a lot of dystopias (they're my FAVORITE genre), and I have REALLY high standards when it comes to these kinds of books. To me, this series was pretty bland compared to things like Hunger Games and Children of Eden (which isn't my favorite but I find it interesting), and it's just so confusing and unnecessarily complicated that I couldn't really get into it. Flowers for Algernon though, that made me cry so hard. I think it should be above this one.

10 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

I think I can safely say I've read more books than every 13 year old in year 9(10th grade) in my school and I often say I have read the saddest book ever but even though Of Mice and Men was the shortest book I've ever read since primary school it truly the saddest, overwhelming, heartbreaking and emotional book I will ever read and I honestly was so depressed by the ending and I cries so much.I can't give enough words to describe even an 8th of how I felt.I almost which I never read it but I am glad I did.

This book in my opinion is the saddest book because of the feeling of loneliness within the characters. If you google the theme of this book, it says it's about the "grim existence of human lives". Truly depressing.

The Contenders
11 The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

This is the saddest book I have ever read, and I have read The Fault in Our Stars. The deaths at the end and Liesel's reactions are some of the best described I have ever read. The book seemed less distant than the Fault in Our Stars, probably because I know people Liesel's age, and because I know about WWII. The Fault in Our Stars, on the other hand, while sad, seemed far away from me, most likely because I don't know any teenagers with cancer. I do know young men and women who are close friends, and it makes me think about what would happen if this was real among the people I know. That's what makes it sadder than The Fault in Our Stars.

12 Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

We have the movie version. Maybe I should watch it and see if I cry.
I asked my mom about it. She said (I think it was the movie, can't remember) that his IQ was low from the start (68), but when it went back down after it rose, she said his IQ was even worse than before. Poor Charly...

I did not expect to like this book but MAN does it hit ya!

13 Wonder - R. J. Palacio

I read this, the Julian chapter, Pluto, Shingaling, 365 days of wonder AND saw the movie, and I don't think it was sad. If it was about a 'normal' kid who was bullied, would it be sad? Auggie wanted to be treated the same as everyone else, he just so happened to look differently. It's unfair how he was treated, of course, but it's not sad. The ending does make you cry a bit, but that's because he overcame the year and was able to make friends. This book isn't sad. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

Ok if this book is #20 then the whole hunger games trilogy should be in this list. I did indeed find this sad but definitely not as sad as like tfios or Allegiant. You should read The Julian Chapter all in Julian's perspective. It was just as sad. I still love this book so much and did think it was a little sad but not #20 sad. I love wonder!

14 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

A tragic and heart-breaking, but amazing end to a 7 book series.

Harry potter and everyone dies.
Go vote for the road. (It's depressing not sad, this book is sad though *cough* the prince's tale *cough*)

15 Band of Brothers - Stephen E. Ambrose

Shows what life was like for soldiers in ww2 very vividly, based on true events.

16 The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

To some readers this wasn't sad. But if you comprehended it and knew the story its very upsetting because SPOILER/SPOILER/ Charlie discovers his flashbacks of Aunt Helen molesting him after Sam kisses him and feels his leg

You then realize the whole time why he misses her so much and has the trauma. His breakdowns and everything alone with the film. Will have you in tears and speechlessness

I could really relate to Charlie. I've always felt like someone that people fall back on when no one else is there. When Charlie was sad, I felt sad.

17 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

This book made me so sad, but I somehow read the whole book three times...looking for a book which will make you bawl your eyes out, this is definitely it.

This books is something that will stay with me till the day I die!

18 The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton

The first bit alone says the main character's parents are dead. It gets worse from there.

This book shows that the character don't know the emotion of happiness.

19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 A Child Called It - Dave Pelzer

This book is sadder than any of these books! It is about a boy who is abused by his mother I cannot say anything else as it would announce spoilers but believe me just read it!

This book is easily one of the most depressing works I've ever read. True story or not, I still cried a pail of tears over David's hardships.

Oh my god this book was so sad and the 2 other books after it got me right in the heart

21 The Death Cure - James Dashner

If you're a Newt fan, do not read this. I did and it brought me so much pain. Been emotionally unstable for 3 days until I accepted what happened. Either way, one of the best books ever.

Kill me. If you've ever been my friend, kill me.

Don't read this if you're a fan of Newt!

22 1984 - George Orwell

Why is this #31?!?! I can't believe it! This book is the most depressing book I have ever read! I started crying at the end, and it made me so scared of the future... Trust me, this is one of the best books ever written.

The fact that by the end, Winston betrays everyone he was working with and loves Big Brother, and that the villains win. That is depressing.

I agree, the ending was so...so devastating. The fate of humanity in the parties hand, the torture put forward to mark. I...l was really shocked at the end. This is one of the best books I have ever read.

23 The Road - Cormac McCarthy

I know this book is fiction but it deserves to be in the top 10 at least.

24 Out of My Mind - Sharon M. Draper
25 The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay

It actually left quite a memorable mark on me! Even though it took me a while to get through it, it was definitely worth it!

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