"I Walked Around My House A Blubbering Mess" — 17 Books So Heart-Wrenching, Readers Had To Put Them Down

    "Mentally I just got to the point where I had to put the book down."

    Amy Glover
    by Amy Glover

    BuzzFeed Staff

    I recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community which books they thought were so scary, frustrating, or sad, that they literally had to put them down. I've already talked about which ones were so terrifying, people quit them early — now for the books people found so sad, they couldn't finish them.

    BTW, ⚠️huge spoiler alert⚠️ for these books! 

    1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

    Effie Trinket and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games on the left; Rue hiding in the woods on the right
    Lionsgate

    "The Hunger Games books. From Rue’s death (WTF, that little girl did nothing wrong!) to Cinna and Mags and Finnick... and then Prim. The whole reason Katniss got into this thing was gone in a second. I was sobbing for hours. I cried so much —  I even cried for Cato, for God's sake. And then the prequel… that was terrible. A good book, but scarring." 

    —anstr30

    2. The Loop by Ben Oliver.

    Book cover for "The Loop" by Ben Oliver, featuring a futuristic design with the title prominently displayed
    Chicken House

    "One of the characters is an 11-year-old boy who spent months completely isolated in prison because his foster family told him to deliver packages, which turned out to be illegal. He breaks out with a few other prisoners and gets three days of freedom, which are spent in fear before he ends up dying. His last words are, 'Am I going to be alone again?' GOD, I walked around my house a blubbering mess for at least ten minutes."

    —karmakills69

    3. Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet by Kira Breed-Wrisley and Scott Cawthon.

    Book cover with title "Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet" by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley
    Scholastic

    "It's a mini horror series, but the ending was really sad. Charlie dies, but when John visits her grave, he sees Charlie's ghost (or hallucination). The book ends with them walking up a hill together, and we see Charlie's grave. Of course, I had to be listening to a sad song then, so I almost cried." 

    —thaliartrucios

    4. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee.

    Book cover of "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee showing a dog walking away on a barren landscape
    Secker & Warburg /  Vintage; 1st Vintage Edition

    "It’s set during apartheid South Africa, which is harrowing enough. I still think it’s one of the greatest books I have ever read. But the ending of it is so disturbing and sad, I threw it across the room and wept. I never read that book again." 

    —fayeesnow

    5. Phantom by Susan Kay.

    Book cover of "Phantom" by Susan Kay featuring a white half-mask on a black background
    Doubleday

    "I have never cried so much over a book in my life, and I’ve reread it at least a dozen times. I own multiple copies." 

    —saramoodie76

    6. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

    Book cover of "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara, featuring a close-up of a man's distressed face cradled by hands
    Doubleday

    "Beautifully written, but excruciating to read. I hope it gets better by the end, but I had to put it down. I just felt like the main character was being tortured and tortured and tortured. It was so depressing." 

    —sunnydawn

    7. I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid.

    Person with curly hair standing indoors, looking concerned, perhaps a scene from a book adaptation
    Netlfix

    "It put me into a depressive funk that lingered more than a few days. It's about as chipper as the title suggests. I don't recommend." 

    —moncul

    8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling.

    Harry Potter in distress, Sirius Black appearing distressed in background
    Warner Bros,

    "I was reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with my mom (I was at the age where the teacher had asked our parents to have us practice reading aloud)l, and she refused to continue the book when Sirius died. We picked back up the next day but, to quote her 'we need to take some time to mourn.'" 

    —rnd13001

    Editor's Note: BuzzFeed does not support discriminatory or hateful speech in any form. We stand by the LGBTQ+ community and all fans who found a home in the Harry Potter series and will work to provide a safe space for fans. If you, like us, feel impassioned about trans rights, learn more or donate here.

    9. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.

    Book cover for 'A Monster Calls' by Patrick Ness, featuring a dark figure with a house and moon in the background
    Walker Books

    "It may be a short book, but so, SO incredibly heart-wrenching and I sincerely recommend everyone read it if you have a few hours to spare."

    —jamiedubois

    10. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.

    Two people sitting close on a bench, facing each other with a gentle touch, expressing affection
    20th Century Studios

    "I’ll admit to tearing up quite a bit the first time I read A Fault in Our Stars when I was younger." 

    —jamiedubois

    11. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare.

    Book cover of "Lord of Shadows" by Cassandra Clare, featuring a figure falling beside a large, lit structure
    Margaret K. McElderry Books

    "It was fun to read, suspenseful, fast-paced, and would have you on the edge of your seat. But the end of that book hit me like a gut punch. I was utterly destroyed and heartbroken. The third and final book after it, Queen of Air and Darkness, picks up shortly where they left off and I just couldn't do it. I have yet to finish that book." 

    —antionettetg

    12. Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran.

    Cover of "Cleopatra's Daughter" by Michelle Moran, featuring title and author's name with an illustration of a woman in historical dress
    Quercus

    "I’ve read this book three times and every single time I’ve had to stop reading because I start sobbing so hard." 

    —moderntree68

    13. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence.

    Two characters from a film about to kiss, wearing early 20th-century attire
    Netflix

    "I am a very patient reader, but Lady Chatterley's Lover BUMMED me the fuck out. I don't think I even got a quarter of the way through it, far too depressing for me." 

    —jensucka

    14. Beartown by Fredrick Backman.

    Cover of "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman, featuring title over snowy town illustration with two figures
    Atria Books

    "The whole trilogy is my favourite, but my God, does it make you cry. Every time you get attached to a character, something bad happens to them or they die. He also foreshadows that someone will die at the start of each book. He tells you at the start of the third book who specifically dies. They were my favourite and I’d made the mistake of reading them in the bookshop!" 

    —liamaex

    15. Heartless by Marissa Meyer.

    Book cover titled "Heartless" by Marissa Meyer with stylized heart and vines design
    Macmillan Children's Book

    "As soon as you truly see the end coming you'll question why you started the book, but you'll finish it anyway because there's beauty in the tragedy." 

    —sparklesthecupcake

    16. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.

    Simon & Schuster

    "My God, that poor girl/woman. That book is just chapter after chapter of awful, awful shit that she had to deal with in her life. It’s super heavy and I was going through my own things, and mentally I just got to the point where I had to put the book down. I got most of the way through and I plan to finish it one of these days. It’s a good book and I think it is important when it comes to child actors, but it’s not a read for everyone." 

    —brieannad

    17. Misery by Stephen King.

    Woman smiling, holding papers, wearing a sweater over collared shirt indoors
    Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Columbia Pictures / MGM Home Entertainment / New Line Home Entertainment

    "For some reason that just got me so down and sad that I could not read any more of it. I do love the movie, but as the book went on, I just started to feel so hopeless about his situation and it was pretty bleak. To this day I have not finished it." 

    —emilypost

    Thanks to the BuzzFeed Community for their amazing responses!

    Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.        

    Do you have any titles to add? Let us know in the comments below!