If you are ready for some good books that will bring tears to your eyes and make you bring out the old hanky, check out one of these "tear jerkers" selected by Carol Mathews, Reader Advisor.
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert Waller.
Robert Kincaid, a photographer for National Geographic, arrives in Madison County, Iowa, on August 16, 1965, to photograph covered bridges. He stops at the home of Francesca Johnson to ask directions, but stays for four wonderful days--days that awaken within them a deep and abiding love, which creates another being called "us." But she is married, and they must let go of one another. Some descriptions of sex. RC 35861, BR 9823.
The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans.
Thirteen-year-old Grace Maclean loses her leg when she and her horse, Pilgrim, are struck by a truck. Pilgrim is also injured-- mentally and physically. Grace’s mother, magazine editor Annie Graves, learns of a horse whisperer--Tom Booker--who might be able to restore Pilgrim. In hopes that he will also help Grace, Annie takes both of them to his ranch in Montana. Strong language, violence, and some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 41402, BR 11816.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.
An elderly man reads from a notebook to his wife, who has Alzheimer's disease. Gradually he unfolds the story of a couple who fell in love the summer after high school and were reunited by a fluke fourteen years later. But will his wife recognize her own story? Calhoun-Lewis series, book 1. Some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 43180, BR 15245.
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson.
1860s Texas. Fourteen-year-old Travis at first resents the big, yellow stray dog that hangs around his home, but he comes to love and depend on him. With his father away on a cattle drive, Travis is the man of the house and looks to Old Yeller for help and protection.RC 47404, BR 11976. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 76.
One True Thing by Anna Quindlen.
Ellen's father demands her return from a fledgling journalism career to care for her terminally ill mother. Her two brothers are in college, and no one else will do. During the months that follow, Ellen turns into nurse and housekeeper, recognizes her mother as the "one true thing," and slowly becomes aware of her father's shortcomings. When the end comes, Ellen is accused of mercy killing and fights the charge. Strong language. RC 40750.
A Patch of Blue by Elizabeth Kata.
A blind girl who knows only darkness and loneliness falls in love with a young man she meets in the park. No stranger to anguish himself, he introduces the sensitive girl to a new world of freedom and hope. RC 16529.
Pay It Forward by Catherine Hyde.
Twelve-year-old Trevor tackles his new teacher's extra credit assignment to improve the world. He performs three large favors, and instead of paying him back, each recipient agrees to pay favors forward to three more people, and so on. Initially a disaster, his project soon snowballs into a great success. Some strong language. RC 50012.
Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally.
In 1939, Oskar Schindler, a young, wealthy, enterprising German interested in drinking and women, is a less-than-exemplary Catholic. In this "nonfiction novel," Keneally tells the story of his transformation into a man who, at great personal risk, saves hundreds of Jews from death during World War II. Some strong language. Violence. RC 20835, BR 9689. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 91.
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron.
Stingo moves into a cheap Brooklyn rooming house where he meets unstable Nathan and his gorgeous lover Sophie, a Polish Catholic who somehow survived the Holocaust. Stingo, who feels unrequited love for Sophie, becomes her confidant as she faces the horrors of her past, especially the years she worked for the Commandant of Auschwitz. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. RC 13812, BR 4142. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 202.
Terms of Endearment by Larry MacMurtry.
Humorous novel set in Texas. Aurora Greenway, a captivating and demanding widow of forty-nine, nags her married daughter but devotes most of her time to her married suitors--a stuffy retired general, a gallant yachtsman, and an affable redneck millionaire. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. RC 9839. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 117.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Scout Finch is an outspoken and literate six-year-old tomboy when she begins her tale of growing up in a small Alabama town with her brother Jem and her attorney father Atticus. The children's intense curiosity about a reclusive neighbor is eclipsed by Atticus's attempt to defend a black man against charges of raping a white woman. Pulitzer Prize winner. RC 36414, BR 12850. Also available as a descriptive video, DV 148.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
A novel about an Irish-American girl’s childhood and youth, her struggles with poverty, and her work to get an education. The setting is Brooklyn’s tenement life of the early 1900s. RC 44769, BR 1620.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Marjorie Rawlings.
Ten-year-old Billy, a country boy in the Ozarks, wants a pair of coonhounds so badly that he works hard for two years to pay for them.RC 32449, BR 11548.