2026 Reading Challenge

Listopia > Sadness Book Lists

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine PatersonThe Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankCatching Fire by Suzanne CollinsThe Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The kid(s) die! (another cautionary list)
243 books — 120 voters
The Hate U Give by Angie ThomasThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersPride and Prejudice by Jane AustenThe Joy Luck Club by Amy TanBrave New World by Aldous Huxley
ATY 2020 - A Book with an Emotion in the Title
622 books — 108 voters

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna KaysenUprooted by Peter J. BoniSeparate Things by Ashley Marie BerryVoluntary Madness by Norah VincentAwakenings by Oliver Sacks
Biographies/Memoirs with Mental Hospitals and Asylums settings (nonfiction)
100 books — 78 voters
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. JamesHelping the Retarded to Know God by H.R. HahnThe Secret by Rhonda ByrneHow to Pick Up Women by Eric WeberHow to Avoid Huge Ships by John W. Trimmer
Do Not Read Book List
392 books — 61 voters

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. WhiteBridge to Terabithia by Katherine PatersonHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. RowlingWhere the Red Fern Grows by Wilson RawlsOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Books with a Sad Ending
84 books — 56 voters
The Joy Luck Club by Amy TanMisery by Stephen KingBrave New World by Aldous HuxleyPride and Prejudice by Jane AustenEthereal by Phillip Bainbridge
Emotions in Titles
853 books — 48 voters

Blubber by Judy BlumeTears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall SmithRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. TaylorCry, the Beloved Country by Alan PatonTrail of Tears by John Ehle
Tearful Titles
621 books — 46 voters
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine PatersonThe Fault in Our Stars by John GreenA Monster Calls by Patrick NessNever Let Me Go by Kazuo IshiguroThe Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Fiction Books About Grief, Death and Loss
244 books — 42 voters

Feeling Left Behind by Kim MurdockCome As You Are by G. Scott GrahamLove Me Back to Life by Elle G. MrazGrief Survival Toolkit by J.C. GraceHeal My Broken Heart by Elle G. Mraz
Dealing with the Loss of a Spouse
52 books — 36 voters
Sonny's Blues by James BaldwinEven Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom RobbinsReservation Blues by Sherman AlexieHow Do You Lose Those Ninth Grade Blues? by Barthe DeClementsLady Sings the Blues by Billie Holiday
The Blues
510 books — 36 voters

Empath Empowerment in 30 Days by Rose RosetreeThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankThe Master Empath by Rose RosetreeThe Empowered Empath by Rose RosetreeShe Who Rose From Ashes by Sita Bennett
Best Books For Empaths
74 books — 33 voters
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine PatersonThe Thing About Jellyfish by Ali BenjaminOlive's Ocean by Kevin HenkesA Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan SmithMick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park
Death of a Child in Middle Grade Fiction
117 books — 28 voters

Gray Street by Annie WoodMessages From Heaven by Collette SinclaireInterviews With the Dead, Part 1 by Collette SinclaireThe Real Book of the Dead by Collette SinclaireLola's Prayer Cocktail by Y.L. Mitchell
Heart Written - Breaking Free
21 books — 20 voters
Dazzled by Darkness by Erica MilesClockwork Angel by Cassandra ClareCity of Bones by Cassandra ClareWuthering Heights by Emily BrontëThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Bittersweet Love Stories
33 books — 17 voters

Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontëThe Book Thief by Markus ZusakThe House of the Spirits by Isabel AllendeLittle Women by Louisa May AlcottGone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Best Dramatic Fiction
38 books — 12 voters
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams BiancoThe Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamilloSome Kind of Happiness by Claire LegrandRuby on the Outside by Nora Raleigh BaskinMy Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara
Kids needs sad books
84 books — 9 voters

The Book Thief by Markus ZusakPostmortem by Patricia Daniels CornwellHere One Moment by Liane MoriartyThe Dilemma by B.A. ParisMort by Terry Pratchett
Books that focus on Death!
21 books — 9 voters
Just Like Animals by Hettie IversGreen Darkness by Anya SetonSuccubus Blues by Richelle MeadThe Dream Dilemma by Lloyd A. GreenAn Enchanting Time by Virginia Aird
Bittersweet Paranormal Stories
15 books — 8 voters

Wuthering Heights by Emily BrontëFrankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyNo Longer Human by Osamu DazaiFlowers for Algernon by Daniel KeyesThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Alienation, isolation and melancholy
30 books — 7 voters
Michael Rosen's Sad Book by Michael RosenWhen Sadness is at Your Door by Eva ElandThe Red Tree by Shaun TanLucky G and the Melancholy Quokka by Amy Wilinski-LymanMy Mom Hates Me in January by Judy Delton
Best Books about Depression for Young Children.
11 books — 6 voters

selected unpublished blog posts of a mexican panda express em... by Megan BoyleThe Brandon Book Crisis by Brandon Scott GorrellDuring My Nervous Breakdown I Want to Have a Biographer Present by Brandon Scott GorrellSometimes My Heart Pushes My Ribs by Ellen KennedyThe Borderline Between Life and Poetry by A.S. Minor
Muumuu House books
5 books — 4 voters
Inexhaustible Life of Chaos by Robert M LevasseurForest of Noise by Mosab Abu TohaEmotional Colors by Marve HendryOil Spill by Dylan SaucedoMy Blind Lover by Celeste M. Packer
Beautiful Poetry Books About Hard Feelings
8 books — 4 voters

I died for beauty, but was scarce by Emily DickinsonSoul Support by Joan Paddock MaxwellNow You See the Sky by Catharine H. MurrayCarrying the Tiger by Tony StewartBecause I Could Not Stop for Death by Emily Dickinson
Books About Facing Death And Terminal Illness
57 books — 4 voters
December by Linda Oatman HighThe Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiereHappy Holidays, Jessi by Ann M. MartinThe Little Match Girl by Hans Christian AndersenThe Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen
Tragic Christmas Stories
56 books — 2 voters

My Blind Lover by Celeste M. PackerThe Raven and Other Poems by Edgar Allan PoeForest of Noise by Mosab Abu TohaThe Raven by Edgar Allan PoePoems In A Time of Grief by G. Greene
Tragic Poems and Sad Poetry Collections
18 books — 2 voters
The Wedding War by Liz TalleyThe Stand-In by Lily ChuConstance by Matthew FitzSimmonsMexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-GarciaBig Chicas Don't Cry by Annette Chavez Macias
The Lab's List of Recommendations
94 books — 1 voter

Strangers by Taichi YamadaWhen Haru Was Here by Dustin ThaoYou've Reached Sam by Dustin ThaoThe Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price by Jennifer MaschariTin Man by Sarah Winman
"All of Us Strangers" Read-Alikes
26 books — 1 voter

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