Books that punch life and happiness in the gut, and make the reader want to go to the nearest bridge over water and jump (but they don't, because that would be horrible)

1.
Forbidden
Forbidden 3.96 avg rating — 75,397 ratings
2.
We Were Liars
We Were Liars 3.65 avg rating — 1,304,375 ratings
3.
The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones 3.86 avg rating — 2,439,513 ratings
4.
The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar 4.05 avg rating — 1,153,806 ratings
5.
Thirteen Reasons Why
Thirteen Reasons Why
by: Jay Asher
3.84 avg rating — 1,013,879 ratings
6.
A Little Life
A Little Life 4.29 avg rating — 858,956 ratings
7.
1984
1984 4.20 avg rating — 5,226,279 ratings
8.
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet 3.74 avg rating — 2,767,680 ratings
9.
Animal Farm
Animal Farm 4.01 avg rating — 4,356,353 ratings
10.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas 4.16 avg rating — 933,616 ratings
11.
The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl 4.20 avg rating — 4,073,127 ratings
12.
Before I Fall
Before I Fall 3.88 avg rating — 344,271 ratings
13.
Speak
Speak 4.05 avg rating — 622,689 ratings
13.
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men 3.89 avg rating — 2,751,930 ratings
15.
The Book Thief
The Book Thief 4.39 avg rating — 2,802,185 ratings
16.
Bridge to Terabithia
Bridge to Terabithia 4.06 avg rating — 579,978 ratings
17.
In The Name Of Blasphemy
In The Name Of Blasphemy 4.21 avg rating — 47 ratings
18.
All the Bright Places
All the Bright Places 4.11 avg rating — 615,466 ratings
19.
The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles 4.31 avg rating — 1,861,621 ratings
20.
A Child Called "It" (Dave Pelzer, #1)
A Child Called "It" (Dave Pelzer, #1) 4.14 avg rating — 455,048 ratings
21.
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies 3.70 avg rating — 3,117,460 ratings
22.
Jerkbait
Jerkbait 3.55 avg rating — 1,407 ratings
23.
The Giver (The Giver, #1)
The Giver (The Giver, #1) 4.12 avg rating — 2,733,129 ratings
24.
Night
Night 4.38 avg rating — 1,334,210 ratings
25.
The Virgin Suicides
The Virgin Suicides 3.78 avg rating — 395,328 ratings
26.
Nineteen Minutes
Nineteen Minutes 4.17 avg rating — 409,088 ratings
27.
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1) 4.15 avg rating — 2,323,143 ratings
28.
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson 4.20 avg rating — 1,154,057 ratings
29.
The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars 4.12 avg rating — 5,580,676 ratings
30.
My Sister’s Keeper
My Sister’s Keeper 4.11 avg rating — 1,263,831 ratings
30.
If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)
If I Stay (If I Stay, #1) 3.91 avg rating — 955,701 ratings
32.
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights 3.90 avg rating — 1,959,186 ratings
33.
Macbeth
Macbeth 3.89 avg rating — 992,090 ratings
34.
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon 4.23 avg rating — 763,599 ratings
35.
The Storyteller
The Storyteller 4.02 avg rating — 9,518 ratings
36.
Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)
Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) 4.26 avg rating — 1,762,245 ratings
37.
Tampa
Tampa 3.33 avg rating — 54,240 ratings
38.
Give a Boy a Gun
Give a Boy a Gun 3.79 avg rating — 8,400 ratings
38.
The Sorrows of Young Werther
The Sorrows of Young Werther 3.69 avg rating — 148,955 ratings
38.
On the Beach
On the Beach 3.98 avg rating — 48,159 ratings
41.
Hamlet
Hamlet 4.03 avg rating — 1,020,146 ratings
42.
The Book of You
The Book of You 3.58 avg rating — 13,956 ratings
43.
A Monster Calls
A Monster Calls 4.35 avg rating — 283,991 ratings
44.
Go Ask Alice
Go Ask Alice 3.74 avg rating — 288,663 ratings
45.
Living Dead Girl
Living Dead Girl 3.78 avg rating — 33,767 ratings
46.
Identical
Identical 4.29 avg rating — 66,318 ratings
47.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? 3.86 avg rating — 11,220 ratings
47.
Miss Lonelyhearts
Miss Lonelyhearts 3.57 avg rating — 6,855 ratings
49.
Live Through This
Live Through This 3.65 avg rating — 1,752 ratings
49.
Candide
Candide
by: Voltaire
3.76 avg rating — 294,525 ratings
51.
Lucky
Lucky 3.77 avg rating — 101,359 ratings
52.
Captive in the Dark (The Dark Duet, #1)
Captive in the Dark (The Dark Duet, #1) 3.93 avg rating — 74,673 ratings
52.
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy 4.02 avg rating — 3,157 ratings
54.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
The Five People You Meet in Heaven 4.01 avg rating — 781,614 ratings
55.
Comfort Food
Comfort Food 3.69 avg rating — 18,584 ratings
56.
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 753,915 ratings
57.
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby 3.93 avg rating — 5,731,398 ratings
58.
The Devil All the Time
The Devil All the Time 4.14 avg rating — 39,419 ratings
58.
Separate Things: A Memoir
Separate Things: A Memoir 4.16 avg rating — 86 ratings
60.
The Cat
The Cat 3.73 avg rating — 305 ratings
60.
It Can Happen Here
It Can Happen Here it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
62.
Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, #2)
Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, #2) 4.40 avg rating — 156,334 ratings
63.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly 3.96 avg rating — 12,704 ratings
64.
Lazarus
Lazarus 4.03 avg rating — 653 ratings
65.
The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle, #2)
The Tombs of Atuan (Earthsea Cycle, #2) 4.13 avg rating — 130,564 ratings
66.
Love Letters to the Dead
Love Letters to the Dead 3.79 avg rating — 91,443 ratings
67.
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness 3.43 avg rating — 545,742 ratings
68.
Gone (Gone, #1)
Gone (Gone, #1) 3.87 avg rating — 208,392 ratings
68.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
by: Lisa See
4.09 avg rating — 382,948 ratings
70.
Reason to Breathe (Breathing, #1)
Reason to Breathe (Breathing, #1) 4.21 avg rating — 94,879 ratings
70.
American Psycho
American Psycho 3.80 avg rating — 349,179 ratings
72.
The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge
The Final Leap: Suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge 3.78 avg rating — 345 ratings
73.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #1-3)
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, #1-3) 3.81 avg rating — 15,465 ratings
74.
She’s Come Undone
She’s Come Undone 3.91 avg rating — 357,245 ratings
74.
Going Under
Going Under
by: S. Walden
4.02 avg rating — 13,348 ratings
76.
Veronika Decides to Die
Veronika Decides to Die 3.73 avg rating — 237,035 ratings
76.
Knockemstiff
Knockemstiff 3.98 avg rating — 10,946 ratings
78.
Little Bee
Little Bee 3.72 avg rating — 247,077 ratings
79.
Black Beauty
Black Beauty really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 293,945 ratings
80.
The Piano Teacher
The Piano Teacher 3.60 avg rating — 15,369 ratings
80.
Legend (Legend, #1)
Legend (Legend, #1)
by: Marie Lu
4.15 avg rating — 556,127 ratings
82.
Medea
Medea
by: Seneca
4.04 avg rating — 4,202 ratings
83.
Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays, #1)
Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays, #1)
by: Sophocles
3.72 avg rating — 232,009 ratings
84.
Never Let Me Go
Never Let Me Go 3.85 avg rating — 813,224 ratings
85.
Frankenstein
Frankenstein 3.89 avg rating — 1,772,215 ratings
86.
Loath Letters
Loath Letters 3.83 avg rating — 124 ratings
86.
Like a Shag on a Rock
Like a Shag on a Rock 3.85 avg rating — 20 ratings
86.
Nobody Special: The Death of Johnny Salinger
Nobody Special: The Death of Johnny Salinger 3.84 avg rating — 25 ratings
86.
The Soft Ground
The Soft Ground 3.07 avg rating — 14 ratings
86.
Requiem for a Dream
Requiem for a Dream 4.11 avg rating — 63,285 ratings
86.
We Press Ourselves Plainly
We Press Ourselves Plainly it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 9 ratings
86.
The Oaken Throne (The Deptford Histories, #2)
The Oaken Throne (The Deptford Histories, #2) 4.21 avg rating — 603 ratings
86.
Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down
Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down 3.06 avg rating — 756 ratings
86.
Before You Break
Before You Break 4.02 avg rating — 235 ratings
86.
S. N. U. F. F.
S. N. U. F. F. 3.96 avg rating — 3,620 ratings
86.
Hush
Hush 4.48 avg rating — 124 ratings
86.
Give Up the Dead (Jay Porter, #3)
Give Up the Dead (Jay Porter, #3) 3.93 avg rating — 255 ratings
86.
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Swastikas, Nazis, Pledge of Allegiance Lies Exposed by Rex Curry and Francis & Edward Bellamy
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Swastikas, Nazis, Pledge of Allegiance Lies Exposed by Rex Curry and Francis & Edward Bellamy 2.90 avg rating — 20 ratings
86.
TW: Flatline
TW: Flatline 4.15 avg rating — 27 ratings
86.
Birds of Passage
Birds of Passage 4.38 avg rating — 8 ratings
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