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Children’s / Middle Grade Books I Wanted To Cry At The End Of (And Maybe I Did A Little)

I’ve come to realise that you don’t have to be a kid to like children’s or middle grade books and feel moved by them in the same intensity as any other young adult book.

It just comes naturally with some books which are so well-written that they might as well be the best middle grade books you ever find. These are just like those books that will make you cry.

These are book recommendations for 9 middle grade books that made me cry, like, legit sob. It’s not just that I was young while reading them; it’s just that sometimes you really want to indulge yourself in a pure sob story.

So, if you’re all in for children’s books that can make even the parents cry, these are your book recommendations.

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Middle Grade Books that Will Make You Cry

#1 From Ant To Eagle, by Alex Lyttle

Probably one of the first middle grade books I read and cried about.

(No, wait, I just realized it was Fred’s Death in the Harry Potter series. I mean, everyone cried for that).

But I remember reading this children’s book when I was very young and then crying at the end because it was just so…so tragic.

Like, wow. One word, wow. It has been some two or three years since I last opened this book, but the memory’s as vivid as ever. 

“My name is Calvin Sinclair, I’m eleven years old, and this is a story about my brother.”

This. 

I didn’t know at that time that by the end of this book, I would be crying both for Calvin, and for his little brother. The relationship this author showed between the brothers was so truly and heart-warmingly described.

Like siblings often don’t, they didn’t really show their love to each other, until a situation brought them together and reminded them of what it truly felt like to have a brother and a family you could depend upon.

The emotion at the end was raw and devastating. And I am sure it would keep your heart throbbing all along, waiting for the conclusion and wondering what would happen next. Nonetheless, you would all along be praying for the book to end on a happy note. 

Get the book on Amazon if you want to read an amazing story about siblings’ love.

#2 A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness

Colin’s mother is dying, and he’s watching her trying to battle cancer all the while he remains to distant with his father.

On top of this, there is a scary monster tree in there that talks. He’s like the bad wolf, except that he tells three stories to Colin that look simple to the eye but hold fascinating morals and ethical dilemmas. And they’re meant to teach him something.

Will Colin be able to learn his morals? Will the tree be any useful, or just wreck his life? Most important of all, will Colin be able to acknowledge that deep, haunting secret that’s buried somewhere in the corner of his mind?

This secret can put his emotional state, and the image you’d have created for him by reading the book—all in jeopardy.

The conclusion was fabulous, and because I had seen such an amazing character development arc, I could really feel what he was feeling at that time. 

He felt like family. And that maybe, might’ve brought some tears to my eyes. 

Buy this book if you’re in for those magical fantasy vibes.

#3 Ten Thousand Tries, by Amy Makechnie

Has there ever been a more perfect book? Like, has there ever? This is part of the best middle grade books I’ve ever read.

“You can overcome anything, if and only if you love something enough.”

That’s Golden for you.

Soccer is why he’s living and breathing on earth. With his mother being the coach, and his father having been a pro soccer player, Golden was obviously supposed to be fanatic for the sport too. And he’s doing it all, thinking about getting a growth hormone prescription (Messi did it too!), putting in all his ten thousand hours to be the master, practising hard to be his school team’s captain.

And nothing’s going right. His dad is sick.

He’s got his best friends by his side, his sisters sharing in the scary feeling of having a sick parent, and the kids at school always knowing his dad as a ‘legend’. But is all this support enough to save him?

Golden notices that he’s losing everything. His dad, his team, his best friends, even the game. And he’s doubting whether his love for all of them can even save them or not.

What happens when things go wrong and there’s nothing you can do to stop it? You put in ten thousand tries before giving up on anything. But what if those ten thousand tries aren’t enough either?

This book made me cry. And it will make you cry too, get it here.

#4 You Only Live Once, David Bravo, by Mark Oshiro

David is in a dilemma.

After a school presentation goes wrong in a humiliating way, and he gets sick for eating bad spinach in the school cafeteria, and he’s directly or indirectly the one responsible for his best friend spraining his ankle in a race, David is sure the day couldn’t get any worse. That is so, until he sees a dog that talks.

Talk about weird.

The dog offers David a chance to redo one mistake in his life, one thing he regrets. And so it begins. Every time he tries to change one mistake, he ends up committing another. And the outcome never changes.

What David doesn’t know is that the more he tries to find the perfect-something reality, the farther he’s going to get from it. And when they try to redo one timeline, they couldn’t have guessed how bad it would actually get. Now, everything is screwed.

“David, no one knows the future! Everything is a guess! And if you keep living your life so frightened of what’s to come, you’re never going to choose anything!”

As the end drew closer, the anticipation grew, keeping me at the edge of my seat, guessing and then second-guessing myself about what might be the truth after all. And when it finally came out in the end, it was definitely unexpected, but it all fit so perfectly together that I couldn’t help but laugh in surprise, scaring my family, and then keep on reading. (No spoilers for you, though!)

Gosh, I love this book. Get it here.

#5 See You At Harry’s, by Jo Knowles

It was sweet.

I remember reading this book and feeling like this was what I’d been waiting for all along. This was a treasure. I remember highlighting pratically every part of it because of the depth and emotions I felt at every single page.

The characters were wow. The setting—an ice-cream parlour named, of course, Harry’s—was a really great place, owned by the narrator’s family.

Fern, the narrator, was a great character, sweet, kind, and so awesome.

This book made me laugh and cry along the way, because there were some great parts when I felt so blessed for having found this book. But there were also some parts when I was genuinely upset for Fern and her family and was just counting on them to save themselves from the sorrow and start to heal.

Even though it pointed out some mature topics like bullying, and more, as you’ll see, I’d still safely count it among the middle grade books list. If I had to summarize in one sentence, I would say that it was one roller-coaster ride, surely.

And Jo Knowles delivered a punch with all her diverse characters and a dozen different storylines working all at once, and working perfectly. If you’re looking for some of the best middle grade books, then it’s a must, you know, for everyone.

Get it on Amazon.

#6 Speechless, by Adam P. Schmitt

This book made me feel…speechless…hah, yeah.

It really surprised me in terms of how meaningful and heartfelt and crazily depthful it was. So amazing.

Jimmy’s cousin Patrick has died and Jimmy is required to give a eulogy in front of all those people on his funeral. Just a nice few words about his cousin.

The thing is…Jimmy doesn’t know what to say.

Well, to begin with, even the mere thought of speaking in front of all those people makes him anxious. And on top of it, he has to say nice things about Patrick? Emphasis on nice.

He hated Patrick.

Patrick always ruined everything, hurt everyone, was impulsive, and rude. What is Jimmy even supposed to say in the funeral?

The book switches between alternative timelines from when Patrick was alive and now when he’s not, as Jimmy recounts memories he had with Patrick.

And okay, I realise that Patrick was a kind of impulsive kid, you know, but seeing him so quiet and still, dead there, obviously, made me tear up a bit.

There was just something about this book.

Beautiful. Add it to your cart!

#7 Goodbye Days, by Jeff Zentner

Contrary to the other middle grade books for which I cry usually at the end, this book had me already crying after the first few chapters. It was just so heart-wrenching.

The main characters’ three best friends are dead, which is a tragedy in itself and on top of it, he is also being blamed for their death in a way. The three were in a car, driving and Carver texted them. In order to see to his text and reply, the person who was driving the car crashed and…you know what happened.

Now Carver’s struggling with guilt, if only he hadn’t texted him at that moment, if only he had waited, if only…If I could, I’d give this book a million star review. When I read it, I felt like I had come across my favorite author and my favorite book here.

This book was so perfect. True masterpiece.

In the beginning, it was sad, and I read with the heavy heart. It made me choke up many times. As it progressed, it just turned into that small form of agony or bitterness, but the sadness was still there. It was laid out so perfectly.

He loved his friends, and it was amazing. So truly amazing especially because you see so few books with character dynamics that are focused on friendship primarily. Like, no romantic partners needed. Platonic relationships all the way.

Just so you know, this book isn’t middle grade and is more on the YA spectrum. Read accordingly, not suitable for younger audience.

Buy it here.

#8 They Both Die At the End, by Adam Silvera

This is also not one of the middle grade books at all, but it’s still added to this list because dang, good job.

So true to the point, making you fall in love with life, fall in love with the little time that you’ve got left without having to worry about things that don’t matter enough.

This book was so sad. For all ages, doesn’t matter. It’s such a unique concept, knowing when you’re going to die, knowing that you’re going to die within the next twenty-four hours just to you know, you can at last own your life up and forget about everything for once and just…try to have as much fun as you can, and even find true love, as you see in here.

This is such a beautiful, heartbreaking, bittersweet book. They both really die at the end. What a parallel created!

And Adam Silvera connected all the characters together so beautifully! It’s so amazing! And so sad because the two main characters who get their “death news” on the same day, somehow cross paths and want to know each other more but…can’t. At least not so well.

And yeah, you sold me on fate too.

Uhhhh, too sweet. Find this book here.

#9 Denis Ever After, by Tony Abbott

I read this when I was so young, and this book traumatized me. Now I don’t like crying but I would cry for this book because the relationships that twins have are already as sacred as can be and yet somehow Tony Abott made it more saddening. (Look at the passage frm previous post)

This book is truly a masterpiece, in my eyes, mostly for portraying the deep, heartfelt relation between two twin brothers, one of whom is dead.

Matt is alive and twelve now. I’m one of those, but not both.

The book mainly revolves around the mystery that blankets the death of Matt’s twin brother. I was guessing all along. I remember writing this review of the book on the app I was reading it on. (Thought I’d share it with you!):

“It’s so beautiful! So, so beautiful. The way the mystery untangles is mind-blowing, and I loooooved the relation between the brothers. How can Tony Abbott always write the books I want to read? It’s really beautiful. It’s really awesome. It’s pretty. It’s sad. It’s happy. It’s perfect.“

So, you can pretty much see what I was feeling at that moment.

Get here!

These were the 9 best middle grade, sad books that will make you cry, really, especially if you’re a fan already of realistic fiction. Do you have a name that should be added to this book? Hit me up in the comment section!

Happy reading!

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