Tearjerker Books for March: 2026 Hoopla Reading Challenge

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami 

Two bullied Japanese middle schoolers—a boy mocked for his lazy eye and a targeted girl—form a secret friendship to survive torment. The novel explores violence, resilience, and suffering, questioning goodness and survival when the strong prey on the weak, and what friendship means when forged in fear. 

Finding Chika by Mitch Albom 

Born just before Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, Chika Jeune grows up in poverty and enters Mitch Albom’s orphanage after her mother dies. Brave and joyful, she is later diagnosed with a rare illness, leading Albom and his wife on a global journey that redefines family, love, and loss. 

Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B. Celeste 

After losing her twin to an autoimmune disease and being abandoned by her father, Emery Matterson is diagnosed with the same illness. Forced to live with her estranged father, she meets Kaiden Monroe, a troubled athlete whose presence offers connection, comfort, and fragile love—knowing nothing good lasts forever. 

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover and read by Deacon Lee and Grace Grant 

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, sparks fly without romance. Drawn together by pure attraction, they strike a simple deal: no love, no commitment, just sex. Tate must follow two rules—never question his past and never hope for a future, with carefully guarded emotions. 

Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross and read by Emma Galvin 

When Hazel Blum’s father lands a tenure-track job, her family moves from Brooklyn to a quiet Maine college town. Hazel adjusts over summer, along with her parents and younger brother. That’s until a shocking incident on her first day of senior year shatters Riverburg’s fragile calm and changes their lives.

The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah and read by Polly Stone 

France, 1939. As war erupts, Vianne Mauriac must shelter a German officer in her home, making impossible choices to protect her daughter. Her sister Isabelle, fiery and idealistic, joins the Resistance after heartbreak, risking everything. Love, courage, and survival define who they become during Nazi occupation. 

The Last Lonely Saturday by Jordan Crane 

Largely wordless and subtly illustrated, The Last Lonely Saturday follows an elderly widower alone in his kitchen, surrounded by small signs of grief. On the day he plans to visit his wife’s grave, an unexpected turn transforms quiet despair into connection, making it his final lonely Saturday.

The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui 

This illustrated, deeply moving memoir traces Bui’s family fleeing postwar Vietnam and rebuilding their lives, revealing immigration’s lasting effects on identity and belonging. As a new mother, Bui reflects on sacrifice, love, and generational bonds, exploring family resilience, displacement, and the meaning of home through lyrical prose and art.

Royal City Vol. 1: Next of Kin by Jeff Lemire 

Patrick Pike, a declining literary figure, returns to his struggling hometown and is pulled back into his fractured family. Haunted by the drowning of his brother Tommy decades earlier, each relative carries private guilt and secrets. As buried truths surface, the family must confront grief—or be consumed by it.