7 YA Books to Read When You’re Sad

So Sad You Can’t Believe It: We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart
Cady spends every summer vacationing on a private island near Cape Cod with the rest of her family. She and her cousins, the so-called “Liars,” concoct elaborate schemes and pranks and cause trouble all summer…until Cady gets a head injury one summer that leaves her shaky, fragmented, and forgetful. She can’t remember how she got the injury, but when she returns to the island, she can tell her family is hiding something from her. The trouble is, her mother, her grandfather, and the rest of the family seem to be feuding, and neither Cady nor the rest of the Liars seem to understand why—which means she’s stuck putting the pieces back together all by herself.

So Sad You’re in Denial: I Was Here, by Gayle Forman
When Cody’s best friend Meg commits suicide, Cody is shocked, guilty, and not quite ready to let go. How could she have been so out of the loop with her best friend? How could she have missed the signs? But when she packs up Meg’s belongings to deliver to her family, she starts to realize just how much she didn’t know about Meg’s life—and gets suspicious about the cause of Meg’s death. It’s a heartbreaking story of dealing with loss and coming to grips with the things you’ll never understand, no matter how much you want to, and you’ll be loving (and sobbing through) every minute of it.

So Sad You’d Do Anything: Life By Committee, by Corey Ann Haydu
Tabitha’s best friends have ditched her, and she’s crushing on a guy who has already got a girlfriend—plus her hippie parents are expecting another child, and they’re already talking about how they’re going to raise this one better. So when she discovers Life By Committee, an online community of people who share and keep secrets in return for doing assignments that push their comfort zones, it seems like exactly what she needs. And it’s great, at first. Tabitha gets braver and bolder and a little less sad. But trusting a bunch of internet friends with all your secrets isn’t exactly safe, and when Tabitha said she’d do anything, did she really mean it? (Hint: we hope not.)

So Sad You’re Wallowing in Guilt: Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour, by Morgan Matson
Amy’s father died in a car accident, and now her mother wants to move them across the country. The trouble? Amy’s supposed to drive the car to their new home…and Amy doesn’t drive anymore. Cue Roger—handsome, kind, funny Roger, who’s going to help Amy drive to Connecticut, and who happens to be inconveniently attractive and slightly unavailable, and is doing his best to convince her to make an extra stop or two along the way. Somehow, in between sharing epic playlists, sleeping in the back of the jeep, and eating greasy fast food, they just might fall in love—and Amy might learn to let go of her guilt over what happened.

So Sad You Want to Smash Stuff: Lady Midnight, by Cassandra Clare
Emma Carstairs has never gotten over her parents’ murder, or the fact that (to her mind, anyway) it’s still unsolved. So when a string of murders pop up in Los Angeles that seem eerily similar to her parents’, Emma hopes she might finally be able to track down their killer and get justice. She’s ready for vengeance, but she’s not ready for her confusing feelings for her parabatai, Julian, or the unexpected return of Julian’s half-fae brother, Mark, or the dangerous demons caught up in the plot.  If you can’t decide whether you want to cry or punch things (or maybe cry AND punch things), you’ll definitely relate to Emma Carstairs.

So Sad You’re Just Sad: Love Letters to the Dead, by Ava Dellaira
Laurel has been depressed and unstable ever since her sister, May, committed suicide. Before May died, Laurel was just the little girl in her shadow. After, she’s just the little girl in the dead girl’s shadow. It’s hard to decide which is worse. (No, it’s not. This is definitely worse.) When Laurel’s teacher instructs her class to write a letter to a dead person, Laurel begins with Kurt Cobain; it’s the first in a series of letters she writes to try to understand her grief, her new family dynamics, and her own accusations against May. And as she writes, she starts to slowly break out of the shell she’s been hiding in since May died, and learn how to live for herself.

Sad, but You’re Coming to Terms: Dumplin’, by Julie Murphy
Willowdean is pretty comfortable with herself and her body, no matter what her former beauty queen mother may say about her weight or her looks. But when she starts getting attention from Bo, the hot former jock who works with her, Willow finds it hard to believe he’s actually interested. As insecurities she didn’t know she had rise to the surface, Willow starts to win back her confidence in the one way she never thought she would: by entering a beauty pageant. This book may not be traditionally sad, but parts of it will break your heart—only to build it back up again in the best way possible.