Mabye a Fox by: Kathi Appelt and Allison Mcghee

If you could ask the author/illustrator of this book one question, what would it be?

What inspired you to write this book?

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

If you could rewrite one part of the story, what would you change?


Bridge to Terabithia was an awesome, moving book about two kids (Jess and Leslie) living in earlier times. This book will leave you in tears at the end. If I could rewrite one part of the story, it would be that Leslie dies.


-Julia, 6th Grade, Cambridge Friends School

Island of the Blue Dolphins

The Island of the Blue Dolphins is about a girl and her tribe who live on an island. One summer the Aleuts arrive at their island to hunt otter. After getting into a fight with the Aleuts, Karana, the girl, and her tribe have it hard. There is not as much food, and they have lost their leader. So they decide to leave the island. But a girl is left behind. Karana. This book is so sad, reading about Karana struggle for survival.


-Isabella, 8th Grade, Cambridge Street Upper School

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

If someone liked this book, what other books should they read?


Oh my gosh, this book was so sad! I cried at least once every chapter.
If you like sad, depressing books, then I recommend my summer reading book: Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin. It is a book about a girl who has died, and her life in the afterlife. Instead of her life going forward (aging), she begins to age BACKWARD. Now, this may be nice if she was, like, 90, but she's only 16! She want's to live her life fully, and get back to her family. It's a sad book about how she watches her family move on from her death, and she has to learn to move on as well, and accept that she is dead.
Both books will leave you crying! (and both have a great deal of loss. you've been warned!)


- Lucy, 7th grade, Vassal Lane

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

If someone liked this book, what other books should they read?


This book was hilarious! It has plenty of humor to go along with the more serious aspects of life. This book was a lot like Looking For Alaska.


-7th grade

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

This book is really amazing. It's also super sad though. The main character and narrator is really cynical which kinda helps you relate to him because he isn't one of those fictional people who's lives run smoothly.


Shira, 8th grade, Vassal Lane Upper School

13 Reasons Why By Jay Asher

Would you recommend this book? If so, who would you recommend it to, and why? If not, why not?


I really wouldn't recommend this book,I thought it was going to be really good but I was kind of disappointed.It was relatively dull and made the main characters death into a dramatic and mysterious event or even a kind of gross game for everybody who survived her.I know that I'm one of the few people who doesn't like this book but I wouldn't recommend it.


--Ava, 8th grade, Rindge Ave Upper School

The Series of Unfortunate Events The Bad Beginning,by:Lemony Snicket

This book is unfortunately the saddest I've ever read. It's about three kids whose parents have past away in a terrible fire that destroyed not only the children's heart ,but also their mansion. The children are now orphans,and their gardien is Count Olaf. As much as they hate their lives they also miss their parents. --Sabria, 6th grade, International School of Boston

Elsewhere, by: Gabrielle Zevin

Which minor character in this book would you like to know more about? If there were a whole book about them, what would it be called?
I'd want to know more about Zooey (Liz's best friend) and how she coped with Liz's death. I wonder how she felt, having been semi-responsible for Liz's death, having wanted her to meet her and the mall, where Liz was then hit by a car while on her bike.


What else is new?
Next up, I'll be reading Wishing Day, by: Lauren Myracle


--Lucy, 7th grade, Vassal Lane

The Distance to home by Jenn Bishop

Would you recommend this book? If so, who would you recommend it to, and why? If not, why not?
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes books that are slightly sad but have happy endings. Yes, I know it sounds cheesy-but its not. This could happen to anyone. In the book the main character-a girl named Quinnen loses her older sister in a car crash. Quinnen was in a argument with her older sister a few days before she died. Quinnens sister (Haley) had began to forgive Quinnen before she went into the car. This book is about Quinnens growth throughout the summer and how she began to forgive people she blamed before.
--Nora, 6th grade, Cambridge Street

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Would you recommend this book? If so, who would you recommend it to, and why? If not, why not?


The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is a great book to sit down and have some laughs some cry's and some confusion. I would recommend this book to some more mature readers. Probably from ages 12 and up, seeing as some of this book contains mature content that may not seem appropriate to some readers. Other than that this book has an extraordinary way of sharing real life topics in a funny or serious way. Great book!


--Tristan, 7th grade, Vassal Lane

Shadow by Michael Morpurgo

What would you want to see happen to the characters after this book (or the last of the series) ends?
After the book ended it didn't tell me about what happened when Max and his grandfather found Aman. I had so many questions about what could of happened to them and if Aman got to stay I America. So I would have to sayI would like to see Aman and Max together again and let Dog and Shadow hang out together. I would always like if Aman whent on a quest to find his father to see if he was alive or not. I hope that Aman finds the red toy train and is able to keep it. Shadow is a very good book with mix feelings all around. I think this book shows that fighting for someone's rights a long way.
- Sakina, Grade 6

Can't You Hear Me Talking to you by Caroline Mirthes and the school children of PS. 15

Can’t you hear me talking to you? is a moving, shocking, and frankly depressing book written by lots of different people, most of them kids! In the late 1960s, Caroline Mirthes, a school teacher in New York City, asked middle schoolers from the inner city to write essays, stories, and poems about their lives. Though it is a very good book, particularly for older kids, it has some mentions of sex, drugs, violence, etc. Check if it’s OK with your parents before reading it.
Mirthes prompted the children’s essays with questions like “Who Am I?” or “How long do your dreams last?” The essays contain frequently misspelled words, bad grammar, and dark subjects. The children complain about drug addicts, burglaries into their homes, and sub-standard living conditions. However, they also talk about how they believe that they can eventually change their life. “I’m a child that hopes for love and happiness in the future or someday.” writes one.
The children are definitely trying to tell the public about their hardships. Back in 1971, the public rarely heard anything about their neighborhood except in newspaper articles about crime committed there. As one kid writes “Please look into life deeply and let the world think a little more about us please.” I’m not sure why this remark made me frustrated, but it did. We’re supposed to be the “most advanced country” in the world and we let this happen in our biggest city? I thought. And nothing is done about it? Fortunately, since the 1990s such neighborhoods have improved, even if they’re still not perfect. Mirthes is definitely trying to convey that her method of unconventional, progressive teaching teaches people who were dubbed “unteachable” by conventional educators.
I thought Can’t You Hear Me Talking to you was amazing. It was very moving and I must confess that I cried a little bit during some of the parts. I recommend it for 8th graders and 7th graders. The children are surprisingly good writers and are very good at pouring their ideas out onto the paper. I recommend that everybody read it at some point in their lives.

- Christopher, Grade 7, CSCL

The One And Only Ivan By K.A. Applegate

This book is awesome. You should really read this book
- Tenzin, Grade 6, Vassal Lane

The thing about jellyfish, By: Ali Benjamin

This book reminded me of when I lost a valuable friendship in an unchangeable way (Not a death). It brought me back to that time, it made me very sad but I absolutely loved the book! Suzy (The main character) thought in a similar way as me, I could completely understand things she thought and others didn't. If you like emotional, deep, sad books you should definately read this one!
- Kira, Grade 7, Vassal Lane

Wonder By R.J. Palacio

People who have not read Wonder I have a..... SPOILER ALERT main character(Auggie) dog dies.
- Tenzin, Grade 6

Wonder by R.J Palacio

If you could rewrite one part of the story, what would you change?
SPOILER ALERT! If I could rewrite one part of the story I would rewrite the part when Auggie's dog Daisy died so she would not have died because I love dogs and it makes me sad when dogs die.

- Gabrielle, Grade 6, Vassal Lane

Paper towns by John Green

If someone liked this book, what other books should they read?
If you liked this book, enjoyed, reread it, understood it, then you should totally read The Fault In Our Stars. It's a book that's also by John Green, of the sad and happy life of a girl named Hazel Grace.
Read that book. It's good.

- Analia, Grade 6, Vassal Lane

honest truth by Dan Gemeinhart

Would you recommend this book? If so, who would you recommend it to, and why? If not, why not?
Yes I would recommend this book. I recommend this book to a 5th grader because this book has really good action that the character is doing and is sad. This book is not to hard.
- Grade 7

I Crawl Through It By A.S. King

If this book were a food/color/song/smell, what would it be and why?
If this book was a color it would be a whimsical, pastel, blue. I selected this color because it is a visual reflection of my book. Deep, thoughtful, but nonchalant and airy at the same time.
- Chloe, Grade 6, Vassal Lane