Today's challenge, "A book that makes you sad," was a difficult one for me. There are many books that have sad parts and 'made me sad' but aren't necessarily sad books and I couldn't see myself putting them into that category. For a while I considered going with a cliche answer such as "A Fault In Our Stars" because it made many people sad and cry; however, it did not affect me in such a way so I finally decided against it. Then, out of the blue, two books I had read came straight to my head. Both books were incredibly sad and left a lingering sensation of sadness that still weighs down on my heart when I think of it today, though I read both those books while I was in elementary school (and both are incredibly beautiful books that I would reread today if I had the guts). The first of these is:

Frozen Summer by Mary Jane Auch

This book is the second in a trilogy about a pioneer family's journey to a new home. It takes place in the year 1816 when after the Mount Tambora volcano eruption the Northern Hemisphere experienced a 'little ice age.' That year 'the year without a summer' resulted in great food shortages and hardships for many people across the northern hemisphere. This creates immediate hardships for the family that are only increased by the mother's post-partum depression and the father's increased worry and therefore disconnect from the family. And nothing ends well in this little book. 

The second book is called Marie, Dancing by Carolyn Meyer

This book was excellent but so sad. Basically everything Marie loved and hoped in was destroyed and I cried. A lot. I can't really even talk about this much without wanting to cry more. 

So those are the two saddest books that came to mind for me, though I am sure there are others I have read that could fall in the same category....I read a lot of sad books when I was younger...