35 of the most heartbreaking books to read

“Backstory: It’s about a girl named Jess whose father died years ago. Because of her grief and because she is the only queer kid at her school, she gets into a lot of fights and has to go to therapy. Then when she gets to high school, everything is fine because the freshmen are in a different wing than the other years and she now has her anger management under control. When she gets to sophomore year, her therapist has moved away and she is scared, but she falls in love with a girl named Vivi who loves birds. They start dating and on a tragic night two years later, Vivi dies of a flu-like illness made worse by her asthma.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking and so meaningful. I lost my best friend (to gun violence) three and a half years ago and never really started to accept that or deal with it in a healthy way until I read this book. I’ve read it 13 times and I still cry every time because Vivi reminds me so much of Sebastian and I recognize myself in Jess and the lake scene makes me sob every time. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and there are really no twists or dramatic elements. It’s an easy read but leaves you feeling like someone has hollowed out your heart and put it back in with more love. 100000/10 recommended.”

—I’m dead in Taylor’s version