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Tearjerkers Books to make you cry, just a little |
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Right Back at You by Carolyn MacklerMason's parents have just split up, and there's a guy at school who won't get off his case. As part of an assignment, he writes a letter to Albert Einstein and it ends up getting a little too personal. He throws the letter into his closet . . . and the next day he gets a letter back from a girl named Talia, who lives in 1987. She has problems of her own, including classmates who make jokes because she's Jewish. She thought her friends would have her back. But it ends up the only person she really has to talk to is . . . a random boy from the future?
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The Strongest Heart by Saadia FaruqiMo got used to tuning out his father's rage, and after mama leaves, Mo and Abbu move to Texas to live with family. As Mo starts to see a future, he knows the monster within his father can come anytime.
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Candle Island by Lauren WolkAfter the death of her father, Lucretia Sanderson and her mother, a famous artist, move to tiny Candle Island, Maine, where she learns the power of art and being true to yourself.
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Schooled by Jamie SumnerEleven-year-old Lenny navigates grief while grudgingly attending an experimental middle school located on the college campus where his father teaches.
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Olivetti by Allie MillingtonOlivetti, the Brindle family's typewriter, who has been recently replaced by a computer, breaks the only rule of his “kind” and types back to introverted, 12-year-old Ernest when he believes he can help find Mrs. Brindle, who has mysteriously gone missing.
Please note, this title can be found in the Juvenile section of the library.
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The Songbird and the Rambutan Tree by Lucille AbendanonAfter sabotaging her only chance to evacuate before the Japanese army invades Batavia in 1942, twelve-year-old Emmy is confined in the Tjideng prisoner-of-war camp, where she must overcome a tragedy from her past to find her voice and truly be free.
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Just like Jackie by Lindsey StoddardTeased by a school bully because she does not resemble the dark-skinned grandfather who is raising her, young Robbie wonders about her other family members and worries when her grandfather's memory begins to fail.
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Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRoccaTold in verse, Reha, already dealing with being the only Indian American student in middle school, must now take care of her mother who is diagnosed with leukemia.
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Glitter Gets Everywhere by Yvette ClarkRelocating from London to New York City with her family in the aftermath of her mother's death, Kitty struggles to adjust to a different culture, before an unlikely friendship inspires alternate perspectives on how to keep her mother's memory alive.
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One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly HuntCarley uses humor and street smarts to keep her emotional walls high and thick. But the day she becomes a foster child, and moves in with the Murphys, she's blindsided. This loving, bustling family shows Carley the stable family life she never thought existed, and she feels like an alien in their cookie-cutter-perfect household.
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Mixed Up by Gordon KormanPlagued by strange flashes of memory that don't belong to them while, at the same time, their own memories begin to fade, Reef, who is trying to remember his late mother, and Theo, who discovers a newfound sense of freedom, must discover what's happening before it's too late.
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Farther than the Moon by Lindsay LackeyWhile attending the Junior Astronaut Recruitment Program, 13-year-old Houston Stewart struggles to meet the program's rigorous demands but is determined to honor the dream of his brother, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, even if it seems like an impossible mission.
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Remember Us by Jacqueline WoodsonIt seems like Sage's whole world is on fire the summer before she starts seventh grade. As house after house burns down, her Bushwick neighborhood gets referred to as "The Matchbox" in the local newspaper. And while Sage prefers to spend her time shooting hoops with the guys, she's also still trying to figure out her place inside the circle of girls she's known since childhood.
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Repairing the World by Linda EpsteinWith the help of a new perspective from Hebrew school and supportive new friends, 12-year-old Daisy grapples with her grief over the tragic loss of her best friend, in this heartfelt middle grade novel about learning to look forward.
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Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicollA neurodivergent twelve-year-old girl is shown an amazing new technology that gives her another chance to talk to the best friend she lost. But she soon discovers the corporation behind the science hides dark secrets that only she can expose in this heartwarming and heroic sophomore novel from the award-winning author of A Kind of Spark.
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Shot Clock by Caron ButlerWhen the police officer who killed his best friend, a hoops phenom, is back on the job, Tony, the statistician for the AAU basketball team, must deal with his own grief and help his community heal while leading his team to victory.
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Black Bird, Blue Road by Sofiya PasternackTo save her sick twin brother from the Angel of Death by taking him to find doctors who can cure him, Ziva accidentally frees a half-demon boy instead, who leads them to a fabled city where no one dies.
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Jennifer Chan is Not Alone by Tae KellerWhen Jennifer Chan, a new girl who believes she can find aliens, goes missing, Mallory Moss sets out to find her and must figure out why Jennifer might have run and face the truth inside herself.
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Courage: My Story of Persecution by Freshta Tori JanAs a girl and as part of an ethnic minority in Afghanistan, Freshta Tori Jan was persecuted relentlessly. With a voice that is both accessible and engaging, Freshta brings forward a captivating first-person account of strength, resilience, and determination. She delivers compelling narrative nonfiction by young people, for young people.
Note: This title may be found in the nonfiction section.
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Caprice by Coe BoothOffered a place at the school of her dreams, Caprice, plagued by internal doubt and family drama, is pulled back towards the past and to an abuse she's never told anyone about.
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