Top 20 Books to Break Your Heart

We asked our Facebook followers for their favourite heartbreaker; that one book that broke your heart, left a lump in your throat and a sudden desire for ice cream and cuddles.
We had over a thousand responses and over two hundred different titles were mentioned but ten stood out. Here they are, the top twenty weepies according to you.

Standing head and shoulders above all of the other nominees is Markus Zusak’s WW2 tale of Liesel. The Book Thief seems to be able to reduce even the stoniest heart to mush.

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The Book Thief US
The Book Thief UK

In a respectable but distant second is The Fault in Our Stars, a tale of young love in the face of adversity.

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The Fault in Our Stars US
The Fault in Our Stars UK

The classic Of Mice and Men is your third placed choice. John Steinbeck’s tale of gentle giant Lennie, his troubles and his good friend George’s battle to keep him safe resonated with many of you.

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Of Mice and Men US
Of Mice and Men UK

The final book in Veronica Roth’s Divergent Trilogy left 49 of you needing a hanky and a hug.

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Divergent Trilogy US
Divergent Trilogy UK

Where The Red Fern Grows, a story of a boy and two dogs by Wilson Rawls has all the ingredients guaranteed to leave you sobbing into your pillows.

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Where The Red Fern Grows US
Where The Red Fern Grows UK

Nicholas Sparks had several titles mentioned in the results of this poll but A Walk To Remember seems to have been the one to tug on your heartstrings the most.

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A Walk to  Remember US
A Walk to Remember UK

Another popular author was Jojo Moyes, your favourite though is Me Before You, a tale of a man who has lost his reason for living and a woman who finds herself becoming his new reason.

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Me Before You US
 Me Before You UK

Harry Potter is surprisingly high on this list, for me anyway. 28 of you point to a death (no spoilers here) in the final novel as your reason for crying over J.K. Rowling’s record breaking series.

HP and the Philosopher’s Stone Review

Harry Potter US
Harry Potter UK

S.E.  Hinton’s The Outsiders is in ninth place. A classic tale of a teenager who doesn’t fit in; the dark underbelly of life is laid bare in this modern YA classic.

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The Outsiders US
The Outsiders UK

And our final weepy? Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, this beautifully written book thoroughly deserves its spot in our top ten and if you come away from it dry eyed, you should go and have yourself checked over, you may not have a heart.

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The Kite Runner US
The Kite Runner UK

The next ten books, in the order of nomination are:

My Sister’s Keeper~Jodi Picoult
The Diary of a Young Girl~Anne Frank
Black Beauty ~ Anna Sewell
Love Story~Erich Segal
Anna Karenina~Leo Tolstoy
PS I Love You~Cecilia Ahern
Message in a Bottle~Nicholas Sparks
Little Women~Louisa May Alcott
Rage of Angels~Sidney Sheldon
The Bridges of Madison County~Robert J Waller

Wow, you do love a sad story don’t you. I hope we haven’t upset you too much with these weepy wanderings down memory lane and as always, if there’s a title you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments.