Sad Books for When You Need a Cry - Jacque

 Books can give you many emotions. From anger, to fear, to suspense, well-written books can make you feel vivid emotions as if you were experiencing the situation in real life. Today, I'll be giving you recs for different books that give you different types of sadness. Along the way, I'll be giving them a "cry-meter" score. A score of 1 means that it made me a little sad but I was able to move on with my day without tears, and a score of 5 means that I had a full on breakdown over this book and I haven't been the same since. Now that the ratings have been set, let's get on with it.

For a hopeless romantic cry:

Are you a hopeless romantic? Do you enjoy sad love stories? This one is for you. It's called They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. Now, I promise I didn't just spoil it for you. That's actually the title. This book puts an inevitable spin on the concept of lovers dying together. Two men, Rufus Emeterio and Mateo Torrez, both get a call from the futuristic death-predicting service: Death-Cast. The call is a world-wide omen. Once you get the call, you know for sure you will die before the clock strikes the next day. Grappling with this, Mateo and Rufus must ask themselves: What will I do with my final day on Earth? This book follows them as they do that just that. It's the first book to have made me dry-heave sob in a while. It's definitely a heart wrenching story to see unfold. Cry-meter score: 4/5

For an "I am so angry that I'm sad" cry:

This is one is less of a want-to-read, but a need. It follows the life of a young lesbian in Africa, who's unable to come out in a safe environment. Her one solace is music. She's invited to host a new DJ show through her father, and uses it to cultivate a space where queer people can just listen to music and be themselves at her own risk. The book is called Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell. This is a heavy, heavy book. There are many warnings to be said such as extreme homophobia, sexual assault, and murder. I think a lot of that is why it's such an important book to be read. It may not be based off a true story, but it's a reality that many young queer people in Africa are facing at this moment. It's incredibly heartbreaking and saddening, but it's also reality. It's a definite tear jerker and despite having read it nearly 4 years ago, I still think about it. Cry-meter score: 5/5

For a funny, then romantic, then sad, then happy, then sad, then happy cry:

Emotions are a roller coaster. What better to take an emotional rollercoaster than a book that has a rollercoaster of a plot? This book is called Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. If you're like me and read a lot of queer books, then you've definitely read of this book before. It focuses on Alex Claremont-Diaz, the first son of the first female president of the United States, and Prince Henry, the second prince of Great Britain. When Alex is invited to the Royal Wedding and knocks the wedding cake over, just to watch it fall over, they both have to deal with the media fallout and they become closer in the process. A lot happens and it's not easy to be in a relationship while being the FSOTUS (First Son of the United States) and the Prince, but they make it work somehow. It's a great book. Cry-meter score: 2/5

Thanks for reading! Is there any books that make you cry? Let me know, and maybe I'll read them myself.