Books That Made Me Cry

I think I have read at least a couple hundred books in my life. Maybe more. My count might be higher but many of them are repeats. (I think it might be a genetic flaw that I have to read The Scarlet Pimpernel every 18 months or so.)

But I can actually only think of 3 of them that have made me cry. Like more than moisture at the corner of my eyes kind of thing. Well, 4 if I count Bridge to Terabithia when my teacher read it out loud to us in 6th grade. But I am going to chalk that up to 12-year-old insanity. So here is my list of books that made me cry like a little girl.

1. Ender's Shadow - Now, I am fully willing to admit that I have not read the entire Ender's saga. But I have read Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow several times each. Interesting books because they are "parallel" novels. They both cover basically the same course of events, but from the point-of-view of two different characters. The first time I read Ender's Game, I was blown away. I read the short story first for a Science Fiction / Fantasy class for my English degree. (We can talk the validity of a humanities degree another time.) A couple of years later I read Ender's Shadow. I knew the story. I knew the characters. And yet somehow, as the story reaches the climax, the spin from this character's POV (the acronym for point-of-view, for all you camera/literature nerds like me...) struck me in a new and very unexpected way. I bawled.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - I'm not ashamed to admit I love Harry Potter. I think this series will stand the test of time and take its place in the ranks of classic fiction with JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. It is that good. And after experiencing life with Harry through his 6 years of school and 1 year of hunting, I was a little emotionally invested. It probably didn't help that before each new book came out, I would start the series over again so they would be fresh in my mind. By the time Harry took his walk in the woods to meet Voldomort, I felt a little like it was my own brother walking into a no-win situation. It was hard. And I cried.

3. The Confession - This is a relatively new John Grisham book. Well, old enough to be in paperback. But still new enough they released it in the not-normal-sized paperback. The wrong man is accused and convicted of a crime, and 3 days before his execution, the right guy steps up and admits that he did it. ***WARNING - I don't know how to tell you about this one without a spoiler. So stop reading if you think you might want to read this book and don't want me to ruin the surprise.*** Ok, back to the story. You spend the first half of this book waiting for justice to catch up to the truth. And even though I didn't really like him, I was cheering for the guy who decided to step up and admit his guilt. But the right people wouldn't listen. So this sweet and innocent kid is sent to the death chamber for a crime he doesn't commit. And even as they strap him down I was still waiting for that last second phone call to set it all right. When I finally realized that there was not going to be an 11th hour miracle, I started sobbing. It was truly, honestly heartbreaking.

Do I get a little wrapped up in stories? Yeah. But that is what make reading so enjoyable for me. It is an experience!!