(TTT is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish)
 
 
Today we have the honor to welcome author Rasheedah Prioleau to our guest as part of her virtual book tour for her new book American Specter. The book is out today, so I highly recommend for you to check it out. (I will post my review later this week, so stay tuned)
And here's Prioleau's list of books that will make you cry.

Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry:



Little Women – Louisa May Alcott

I read this book in elementary school because my older sister read it for middle school. I remember how engrossed she was in it as the book jacket took over her face for several days.  A girl named Jo with dreams much bigger than her station in life.  It’s obvious what part makes us actually cry, the heartbreaking loss of Beth, the only sister that never ventured from home.  But, I often think about those twist and turns in the book that make Alcott a women of extraordinary vision and insight.  I can only marvel at what she might have written if she were here today.  Jo’s words “I should have been a great many things,” still echo so poignantly today.


Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is by far the hardest writer to actually read. But, when you have to do it for school you find that he’s actually worth it.  The long and tedious build up to the poignant moments of this story are greatly rewarded.  After nearly a life time of false impressions regarding wealth and selfworth Pip learns he has a vagabond to thank for his great success and Mrs. Havisham learns the only thing worse than having a broken heart is breaking an innocent heart.  Tragically beautiful.   


Cry the Beloved Country – Alan Paton

Upon the death of Nelson Mandela I reflected on this story that surrounds apartheid and amnesty in South Africa.  A father journeys to find his son in Johannesburg during a time of great racial unrest and comes across a spectrum of social issues that face the country. What I took away from this book was that there are no easy answers, no quick fixes.  It is hard to draw a line around innocence and justifying violence, even for self-preservation.   


Dear John – Nicholas Sparks

Unlike the movie, the book actually takes an in-depth look at the relationship that John has with his father. Sparks does an excellent job of writing in the conflicts surrounding becoming an adult and caring for a parent. When John has to face putting his father in a nursing home where his OCD has the potential of crushing him, I cried.  It’s hard for me to think that there could ever come a day when I am unable to care for my mom and have to put her in a home or hospital. 


The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan

I read this book when I was in college and just beginning to see the difference between expectations and opportunities for females vs. males.  All of the stories in this book are sad and heartbreaking especially when you get the feeling that women of post WWII China and current day America are not far removed from each other.  Tan’s observation that tradition has a way of transcending progress and modern ideas really reminds us that the fight for equality has been long fought and isn’t over because it is a battle of the mind.  How we as women see ourselves will be the deciding factor in how society treats us. 


The Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank

Obviously the saddest part of the book is the end because we know why it ends.  She was just a regular girl with the same hopes and dreams all young girls have.  It makes me sad the people that took her and her family didn’t see them as people. 


The Memory Keeper’s Daughter – Kim Edwards

A doctor’s decision to get rid of his daughter because she has Down Syndrome is enough to make me cry.  This book never makes it okay. Even though the girl is adopted by his nurse and raised with love and care, dark clouds that make their lives quite miserable chase all of the characters.  The sad thought is really what could have been if the doctor had been brave enough to love his daughter. 


I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou

Reading about the sad childhood of this amazing writer makes me cry for two reasons. First, no child should have to go through the things she did as a child.  Second, the amount of courage it took for her to get over feeling shame for things that were not her fault.  It reminds us why the fight to protect children is so important. 


Heaven Casteel Series – VC Andrews

Just about all of VC Andrews’ books are sad.  But, this series in particular stuck with me because of the element of poverty that was so well written.  Heaven grows up in the cold mountains and helps raise her brothers and sisters until her mother decides to run away. Her father chooses to sell off all of the children and she is tossed and turned from there. She is quite desperate to belong somewhere and be loved. 


A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Again, Dickens is hard to get through but the poignant moments of this book make it worth it.  “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”  One man takes the place of another man on the guillotine.  I honestly didn’t get anything else about the book, but that line pierced my heart, the ultimate sacrifice for a greater good.