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Help Us Choose the Saddest Book of All Time
This year, leave March Madness behind and vote in March Sadness instead
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Forget March Madness—this year, we’ve decided to try something new: March Sadness. That’s right, folks: this literary bracket is full of the most devastating novels we could think of, all with the goal of choosing the saddest of the sad. These are the books that have broken our hearts in the best and worst ways, the ones that will compel any reader to go on a long, long walk while playing the same depressing songs on loop and contemplating the tragedy of life.
You, dear reader, are going to help us decide which of these books has single-handedly accounted for thousands of dollars in revenue for the Kleenex brand (we assume) thanks to readers blotting their eyes and blowing their noses. Voting starts Monday, March 25 on our Instagram and Twitter (sorry, did we say Twitter? We meant “X”).
Fill out a bracket to predict the winner, then head to our social media channels to vote in the polls. And stay tuned to find out whether your top devastating read takes the win!
Update: We have a winner! It was a tough competition, but there was one book that cleared every round with ease, swept the competition, and rose to the top. (Drumroll please!)
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As a recap, here’s how the bracket played out:
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Round 1
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A Little Life vs. Shuggie Bain
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Anna Karenina vs. Madame Bovary
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We the Animals vs. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
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The Bluest Eye vs. The House of Mirth
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Earthlings vs. Beautyland
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Revolutionary Road vs. Giovanni’s Room
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The Bell Jar vs. Normal People
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The Nickel Boys vs. Edinburgh
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Bridge to Terabithia vs. Where the Red Fern Grows
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The Book Thief vs. The Notebook
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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close vs. Flowers for Algernon
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The Fault in Our Stars vs. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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The Kite Runner vs. The Road
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All the Light We Cannot See vs. The Song of Achilles
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Atonement vs. Never Let Me Go
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Little Women vs. Of Mice and Men
Round 2
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A Little Life vs. Anna Karenina
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The Bluest Eye vs. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
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Earthlings vs. Giovanni’s Room
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The Bell Jar vs. The Nickel Boys
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Bridge to Terabithia vs. The Book Thief
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The Fault In Our Stars vs. Flowers for Algernon
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The Kite Runner vs. The Song of Achilles
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Of Mice and Men vs. Never Let Me Go
Round 3
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The Bluest Eye vs. Anna Karenina
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The Bell Jar vs. Giovanni’s Room
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Bridge to Terabithia vs. Flowers for Algernon
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The Kite Runner vs. Never Let Me Go
Semi-Finals
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The Bluest Eye vs. The Bell Jar
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Bridge to Terabithia vs. Never Let Me Go
FINALS
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