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Books that gave you a good cry with their tragic or untraditional ending. Here boy doesn't always get girl at least not easily and nothing lasts forever. Any genre is acceptable.
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23

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3.91 avg rating — 294,613 ratings
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4.25 avg rating — 364,159 ratings
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25

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3.85 avg rating — 847,628 ratings
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4.20 avg rating — 5,414,630 ratings
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27

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3.98 avg rating — 247,566 ratings
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28

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3.84 avg rating — 301,908 ratings
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29

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30

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31

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3.96 avg rating — 1,741,476 ratings
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32

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3.80 avg rating — 870,926 ratings
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33

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34

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35

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36

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3.70 avg rating — 3,182,852 ratings
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37

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38

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3.85 avg rating — 181,338 ratings
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39

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3.87 avg rating — 408,069 ratings
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40

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41

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4.24 avg rating — 789,274 ratings
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42

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3.81 avg rating — 57,996 ratings
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43

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4.11 avg rating — 382,611 ratings
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44

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4.02 avg rating — 217,518 ratings
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45

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3.86 avg rating — 1,047,210 ratings
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46

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3.99 avg rating — 276,055 ratings
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47

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4.31 avg rating — 141,018 ratings
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48

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4.44 avg rating — 632,133 ratings
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49

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3.89 avg rating — 1,015,249 ratings
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50

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4.45 avg rating — 2,722,537 ratings
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51

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3.71 avg rating — 373,212 ratings
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52

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53

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3.94 avg rating — 1,748,148 ratings
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54

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4.23 avg rating — 552,772 ratings
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55

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56

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3.99 avg rating — 126 ratings
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57

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58

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3.44 avg rating — 916,005 ratings
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59

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3.86 avg rating — 61,512 ratings
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60

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3.72 avg rating — 106,303 ratings
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61

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62

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63

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4.18 avg rating — 419,589 ratings
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64

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65

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4.16 avg rating — 191,827 ratings
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65

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3.57 avg rating — 270,079 ratings
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67

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68

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3.79 avg rating — 230,671 ratings
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69

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70

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71

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72

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4.21 avg rating — 841,196 ratings
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3.81 avg rating — 1,304,306 ratings
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74

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3.69 avg rating — 154,292 ratings
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75

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4.04 avg rating — 116,370 ratings
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76

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3.98 avg rating — 49,382 ratings
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77

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78

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80

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81

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3.63 avg rating — 70 ratings
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82

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83

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3.96 avg rating — 275,902 ratings
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84

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4.13 avg rating — 1,861,327 ratings
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85

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3.86 avg rating — 139,019 ratings
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86

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4.13 avg rating — 213,035 ratings
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87

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4.15 avg rating — 3,426,395 ratings
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88

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4.39 avg rating — 33 ratings
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89

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4.13 avg rating — 439,350 ratings
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90

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3.84 avg rating — 13,836 ratings
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91

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3.87 avg rating — 62,491 ratings
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92

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4.14 avg rating — 5,392 ratings
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93

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3.88 avg rating — 58,935 ratings
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94

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4.46 avg rating — 125 ratings
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95

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3.58 avg rating — 19,494 ratings
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96

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4.14 avg rating — 357,544 ratings
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97

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4.05 avg rating — 61,320 ratings
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98

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3.90 avg rating — 1,868,899 ratings
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100

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779 books · 1,063 voters · list created January 30th, 2010 by Buggy (votes) .
Tags: emotional, ending, sad
134 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Buggy 2021 books
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Feliz 2176 books
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Katie 119 books
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Booklover Butterfly 3458 books
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Stef 786 books
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Comments Showing 1-17 of 17 (17 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Buggy (new)

Buggy Yay LEB, Thanks for adding books!


Booklover Butterfly You're most welcome! It's just too bad that I haven't read more sad stuff that I could add. Remind me in 6 months to update my version of this list because I may have more tear inspiring reads.


message 3: by [deleted user] (new)

If I may suggest....when my book "The Summer of Skinny Dipping" hits the shelves June 1, it's going to drive up the sales of Kleenex. Or at least, I hope it will. :) It's a romance with a tearjerker of an ending...


message 4: by Buggy (new)

Buggy Add it to the list Amanda and thanks for the recommendation


message 5: by Justsane (new)

Justsane you know, i hate to be a nitpicker, but this list is appearing under the memoirs heading, and virtually all of these books are novels.

there. i feel happier now.


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads The tags also include "fiction" as well, though.


message 7: by Buggy (last edited Aug 21, 2011 07:54PM) (new)

Buggy Nit pick away :) If you would like me remove the memoirs tag I will however I just thought that sometimes a life story doesn't have a happy ending either. Teri Erwin's memoir in particular comes to mind.

I will remove fiction


message 8: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (last edited Aug 21, 2011 08:44PM) (new)

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Wait, is this list for novels, or biographies and memoirs? Or both?


message 9: by Justsane (new)

Justsane i arrived at this list through the genre heading, memoirs, so of course my expectation was to find a list of memoirs, or biographical works, that had unhappy endings. perhaps i don't know how these lists get categorized...


message 10: by Buggy (last edited Jan 14, 2013 04:05PM) (new)

Buggy My intention was for this list to contain books (in any genre) that don't have a traditionaly happy ending. I'll work on making the heading clearer


message 11: by amara (new)

amara nice list


message 12: by Buggy (new)

Buggy Thanks Amara


message 13: by Laura (new)

Laura It says right in the description that any genre is accepted...


message 14: by Nicole (new)

Nicole I am not even surprised Nicholas Sparks's books top the chart.


message 15: by PinkPanthress (new)

PinkPanthress Beautiful!


message 16: by Tony (new)

Tony I find it a bit awkward that many of the books on this list are from part way through a series, which means you've either got to start at book #1 to get to the one on the list, or jump in with book no #3 in a series.
E.g "Tigers Voyage", book #3 of the "Tiger" saga, and "The End", which is the LAST of the "Lemony Snicket" books.I'll read "The End", but I sure won't be reading the previous 12 in the series.


message 17: by Lynette (new)

Lynette Eklund Gret list! I'm looking for interesting male protags. in this category. (Possibly a Great Gasby type as a protag.) Also, "simple" or eccentric male protags. Any suggestions?


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