Tag: Tear-jerker

What's your favourite tear-jerker novel?

Bookish Question #25 | What’s your favourite tear-jerker novel?

What’s your favourite tear-jerker novel?

As I said last week, I’m not a big fan of tear-jerker novels (and it seemed about half of you agreed with me, and the other half love them!)

I like happy endings … and novels that make me cry don’t always have happy endings. Some tear-jerkers do manage to have happy endings. More have emotionally satisfying endings—endings that feel right as a reader, even if the characters don’t get to live happily ever after.

Others have frustrating endings.

These might be the reason I avoid tear-jerkers—I’m afraid of the frustrating ending e.g. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (which I haven’t read, but I know the ending because my daughter read it and got very cross and shouty when she finished it).

Contrast that with The Fault in Our Stars by John Green or My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, where the endings were sad but felt right (although I heard they changed the ending of the movie, which would ruin it).

But the reviews of some novels are so good that I’m prepared to overcome my natural reluctance and give them a go. I have a few of these on my to-read pile, waiting for me to be in the right frame of mind to read them (whatever that is).

Two Christian novels come to mind as real tear-jerkers in a good way.

This first is Carry Me Home by Dorothy Adamek. I’ve had the privilege of staying with Dotti in her beautiful Melbourne home, and she shared with me her story of how she got into writing fiction. I knew I’d have to fight off the tears in reading Carry Me Home, and I mostly succeeded. But I don’t want to say more, because … spoilers. Click here to read my review of Carry Me Home.

The other book that comes to mind is a young adult novel, This Quiet Sky by Joanne Bischof. It’s probably more a novella than a full-length novel, but it manages to pack a lot of punch in that small package. I can’t remember who recommended it to me (Dorothy Adamek, perhaps?), but whoever it was didn’t warn me I’d need tissues. But I did. You have been warned. This is not the novel to download as an audiobook to listen to during your morning commute.

What about you? What’s your favourite Christian tear-jerker novel?

For those of you who do like tear-jerker novels, here are some of the suggestions from the ladies in Avid Readers:

A Fragile Hope by Cynthia Ruchti

Beneath a Southern Sky by Deborah Raney

Even Now by Karen Kingsbury

Freedom’s Ring by Heidi Chiavaroli (which I reviewed last week)

Hold the Light by April McGowan (which I’m currently reading)

Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar

Life After by Katie Ganshert

Long Way Gone by Charles Martin (click here to read my review)

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (a classic)

Safely Home by Randy Alcorn

Shattered Justice by Karen Ball

The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers (especially the Author’s Note at the end)

The Lady and the Lionheart by Joanne Bischof

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

The Space Between Words by Michele Phoenix (which I’ve recently reviewed)

Do you read tear-jerker novels?

Bookish Question #24 | Do you read tear-jerker novels?

Today’s question comes from a recent question on the Avid Readers of Christian Fiction Facebook group. A reader was asking for recommendations for a “three-tissue tear-jerker”. There were over 100 comments on the post. Most were recommending books—some I’ve read, some I haven’t, and some that are on my to-read or to review pile.

But one commenter said she doesn’t read tear-jerker novels.

I can relate! I’m not a fan, in that while I sometimes read tear-jerker novelss, I don’t go deliberately out of my way to find them.

I think one of the reasons I tend to steer away from tear-jerker novels is because I like happy endings … and tear-jerker novels don’t always have happy endings. They’re often emotional and even emotionally satisfying, but happy? Not always.

When I do read a tear-jerker novel, it’s often because I’ve been taken by surprise.

It might be that I offered to review the book without realising it was going to be a tearjerker. For example, I’ve agreed to review Hold the Light by April McGovern … which one Avid Reader recommended as a three-tissue tearjerker. (I guess now I’m prepared.)

Less often, I choose a tearjerker because someone—or many someones—have recommended the book for the great story or great writing. Great writing often hits at the emotions, and that often means tearjerkers. I suspect The Lady and the Lionheart by Joanne Bischof will fall into this category (I’ve bought it … but I haven’t read it yet even though *everyone* tells me I must).

When I actually read a tearjerker I usually enjoy it—especially if it’s one of those books that’s been recommended to me because of the writing.

It’s hard to write strong emotion well.

Some authors fall back on the emotional equivalent of kicking a kitten to incite emotion. That incites emotion in me—frustration because the author is obviously trying to manipulate me.

I prefer my emotional manipulation to be more subtle, for the writing to draw me into the characters and the plot so deeply that I don’t realise when the tears start. That’s great writing. And that’s why these tearjerkers are often the novels that win awards.

What about you? Do you read tear-jerker novels?