Tear Jerker / The Baby-Sitters Club

• A lot of Abby's autobiography.
  • Abby's fourth main book in the series, Abby the Bad Sport, also has a lot of this. It shows how, even four years on, she still has not come to terms with her father's death (though she finally starts to near the end of the book).
• Pretty much the entirety of the mystery Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic. Mary Anne discovers letters and photos in her attic that reveal that she lived with her maternal grandparents for an extended period when she was a toddler, leading her to believe that her father didn't want her. In the end it's revealed that nothing could be farther from the truth; Richard was simply so overcome with grief after his wife Alma's death that he couldn't properly care for Mary Anne, and so he had to let her grandparents raise her until he got himself back together.
• Mimi, Claudia's adored grandmother and the one family member who really seems to understand her, has a stroke. She survives and initially appears to be making great strides in her recovery. But then her health begins to deteriorate and she continues to decline through several books, exhibiting symptoms of dementia among other things, until her death in Claudia and the Sad Goodbye.
  • While hospitalized during her downward spiral, Mimi unexpectedly calls Claudia one night. At the end of the conversation, Claudia cheerfully tells her grandmother (who's scheduled to return home the very next day) that she'll see her "tomorrow". But Mimi never comes home - she passes away that night (likely just hours after the phone call). In other words, Mimi clearly knew her time was up and was calling Claudia to say goodbye... and "her" Claudia was probably the last person she ever spoke to.
    • Bonus tearjerker points: Mimi's final words in the entire series? "Good-bye, my Claudia."
    • As another note, the family later finds Mimi's obituary written in her bedroom, and she's listed her death as the same year, proving that she knew she wasn't going to live much longer. She'd even marked several of her belongings with the initials of the person she wanted them to go to. Before her death, she had been slowly giving certain things away without explaining why as well as having marked other belongings.
• The death of Louie, Kristy's beloved collie, is particularly bad because he doesn't simply die of old age. He had to be put down. Readers went through several books seeing Louie as an energetic, happy, beloved family pet and see him slowly become weak and sick to the point where the Thomas-Brewers admitted that they basically had to put him to sleep, because they couldn't bear for Louie to be in such pain. There's tons of little moments throughout, too, like David Michael trying to keep a half-blind Louie from going down stairs and getting hit in the eye for his trouble, David Michael opting to sleep downstairs with Louie during his last night home, the funeral...
  • The funeral itself has Shannon Kilbourne crying, even though earlier in the book she'd mocked Louie for not being as clean and pretty as her dog Astrid or Amanda Delaney's cat Priscilla. She even tells Kristy how sorry she is and how she'd feel just as awful if something happened to Astrid.
  • While Kristy and her family are tearfully saying goodbye to Louie, Andrew (who's only four) cheerfully calls out "Bye, Louie!" Kristy wonders whether Andrew understands why they're saying goodbye.
• There is a scene in Baby-Sitters' Island Adventure where a clueless and insensitive reporter asks Dawn's mom, Sharon, how she feels about her two kids being stranded on an island, Sharon responds, "How do you think I feel?!?" Meanwhile, Mary Anne feels guilty about an argument she had with Dawn before the shipwreck.
• Speaking of Mary Anne, her mother died when she was so young that she has no memory of the woman at all. Over the years she's had to contend with several Mother's Day projects, her father's over-protectiveness, and her relationship with Logan, all without the guidance of a mother (at least until Sharon comes into the picture). She attempts to be a very good girl, she loses a (non-BSC) friend to a freak accident, she can be the butt of some jokes due to her meek nature, and her house burns down. She also loses Mimi, Claudia's grandmother, who functioned as something of a maternal figure for her during her childhood.
  • She even later finds out there was some contention between her father and maternal grandparents, which produced three more Woobies — the father who lost his young wife and is trying anything to avoid losing his daughter, the grandmother who fears losing her grandchild after the loss of her daughter and later her husband, and the grandfather who died without ever seeing his only grandchild again (he last saw Mary Anne when she was too young to remember him).
  • Not to mention that she starts going to therapy in later books and it's strongly implied that she has anxiety.
  • The events of Logan Likes Mary Anne! imply that Mary Anne, with her worries that everyone is laughing at her and disliking her for running out of her surprise birthday party out of nerves, may have anxiety issues. The original book had her apologize to Stacey for not being outgoing (while Stacey said she will be more patient in the future), while the graphic novel changes it so that Stacey apologizes for putting her in that situation (knowing how Mary Anne is) and consoles her, telling her "you do know that even if you don't do it right, we still like you".
• Jessi's baby brother, Squirt, getting hurt in a car wreck in Happy Holidays, Jessi. Becca blames herself for making a scene about Squirt's discomfort with his seatbelt, Jessi blames herself because she was the one who actually unbuckled it, and the normally stern Aunt Cecelia insists she should be in the hospital right now since she was the one who told Jessi to unbuckle Squirt; meanwhile, Mr. Ramsey feels that the whole thing was HIS fault - if he hadn't yelled at Cecelia about being more lenient with the kids, she never would have allowed Squirt to be unbuckled.
• Stacey having to choose between living with her mother or father. She knows one of them will be hurt either way. Things get even MORE heart-wrenching when she ultimately chooses her mom and has to break the news to her dad. Father and daughter wind up crying in each other's arms.
  • There's a strong Parents as People moment in Stacey's Emergency when her parents, who are in the midst of their very acrimonious divorce, bicker in her hospital room over whose fault it really is that she's taken such a turn for the worse. She yells at them to stop it, and instead of this causing them to realize that they're both to blame, they instead turn on her. Anyone who has ever been ill, especially chronically ill, and had their situation made worse by unrelated circumstances will immediately sympathize with Stacey... especially as there's no apology from Mom or Dad (at least not then - eventually, Stacey confronts her mother toward the end of the book, and she does apologize for putting her daughter in the middle so much).
  • Stacey's under so much pressure (from her parents' impending divorce, from school, from her friends fighting with one another) all throughout Stacey's Emergency that she can no longer resist the overwhelming temptation to indulge in comfort food like anyone in such a situation would want to do—except she has type 1 diabetes, which means that if she doesn't bolus for those treats (as it's implied that she didn't), they could kill her. And stress can make blood sugar more difficult to control as it is. She knew eating that brownie (one brownie) was dangerous, but she just wanted to feel better for a moment. And it put her in the hospital.
• Claudia: despite being artistic, having a creative take on her clothing, reading Nancy Drew novels, being a good caregiver, displaying good sleuthing in the Mystery books, and keeping her head together in very dire situations, she thinks less of her intelligence since she isn't as studious as her older sister. The fact that her parents, well-meaning as they may be, chide her for not being more like Janine and don't approve of her interests doesn't help matters.
  • Claudia and Janine's mother Rioko and Aunt Peaches have this as well. In the series, both of them have seen their mother suffer a stroke and survive it, only to see her die. Peaches has to deal with a miscarriage several books after her mother's death. At one point, Rioko confesses to Claudia that she dreamed of being a writer, but concluded she wasn't talented enough, so she stuck to reading books that more or less reflected her views.
• Mallory being harassed at school after a spazzy incident, to the point where she transfers to a boarding school — by choice — much to the chagrin of her siblings and best friend (they get better quickly).
• Kristy's breakdown after it's revealed in The Truth About Stacey that the Babysitters Agency deliberately sabotaged the BSC by sending two lackeys to skip out on sitting jobs, which made the BSC look bad. Kristy's in tears, sobbing about how she's always tried to just do the best job she can and she's heartbroken that someone would be that malicious for no real reason. The hardest part is that she's absolutely right; there is no real reason for the rival club to sabotage them, and they're simply trying to ruin the Club's lives because they can.
• Some of the BSC's charges have a Tear Jerker Back Story or current situation. Among them:
  • Nate and Joey from Claudia and the Terrible Truth, who are undergoing their dad's abuse when Claudia starts sitting for them. Claudia observes evidence of both verbal and physical abuse, but fortunately is able to get the boys help through her mom; Nate and Joey's mom then leaves with her kids.
  • Victoria from Mary Anne and the Little Princess. She comes off as snobby, but is really lonely because her parents are never around due to their jobs at the U.N. and royal status. Mary Anne helps Victoria confront this and she gets better.
  • Jenny Prezzioso is a Bratty Half-Pint extraordinaire, but you have to feel sorry for her in the later books, considering all the attention her parents lavish on Jenny's baby sister Andrea. In Mary Anne and Miss Priss, this is carried to the point that Mrs. P was ignoring Jenny in favor of baby Andrea's modeling career, and Jenny felt the only way to get attention was to try modeling, too. Double Tear Jerker because the gambit didn't work.
  • Danielle, the little girl with cancer in Jessi's Wish. The fact that the book ends with her going back into the hospital doesn't help. On a happier note, however, she does come back in a later book and is much healthier.
  • In Dawn and Whitney, Friends Forever, readers meet Whitney, a twelve-year-old girl with Down Syndrome. She and Dawn become friends, but Whitney breaks down in angry tears when she realizes that her parents hired, and pay, Dawn to babysit her.
  • Kristy and the Secret of Susan gave us Susan Felder, a musically gifted girl with autism. Throughout the book, both Susan and other kids with disabilities are made fun of routinely; probably more of an angry-maker than a Tear Jerker, especially when you consider how clueless the adults in these kids' lives, especially Susan's parents, are about what the kids need and are trying to communicate. And then there’s the heavy implication that Susan will become The Unfavorite in her family if her unborn sister turns out to be neurotypical.
  • In Kristy and the Worst Kid Ever, the Papadakises take in Lou, an extremely angry and rebellious foster child. It's revealed over the course of the book that she's devastated at losing her birth family (her mother abandoned her when she was a toddler, her father died a few years later, and Lou was subsequently separated from her beloved brother, who has also been taken into foster care) and is constantly tense and unsettled because she's been sent from one foster home to another. Overlaps with Fridge Horror, considering some of the terrible realities which can be faced by kids in the real world foster system.
    • Lou pops up again in Abby and the Best Kid Ever. As the title indicates, this time she is well-behaved, to the point that it seems overdone and forced. Abby eventually finds out that Lou is terrified that her aunt and uncle (with whom she now lives because they adopted her and her brother Jay) will send her away if she makes any mistakes. The scene where they assure her they won't, that adoption is forever, is also a Tear Jerker of a different sort.
• In Claudia and the Genius of Elm Street, Claudia meets Rosie Wilder, a young girl with an incredibly high IQ. Because she's so smart, her parents force her into all kinds of extracurricular activities, including things that she's good at, but doesn't enjoy anymore because she's being forced to do them. She doesn't have any friends at school because everyone is jealous of her, and it doesn't help that she's a bit of an Insufferable Genius. At one point during a drive with her parents, Rosie asks if they can go for ice cream and her mother says they don't have time. Rosie is upset because she just wants to do something like a normal kid, and her mother just tells her to behave herself and not scream because her vocal cords need to stay in shape.
• During Aloha, Baby-Sitters, Claudia's entire arc is a Tear Jerker. During a trip to Pearl Harbor, Claudia struggles with her identity as a Japanese-American, and the fact that the Japanese were America's enemies in World War II. She even assumes a veteran she meets will hate her. He doesn't; as a matter of fact, he's the one who makes her feel better about being Japanese.
• A subplot taking place over several books involves Claudia's aunt Peaches trying for a baby. After several failed attempts, she finally gets pregnant — only to lose the much longed-for baby. This is eventually happily resolved with Peaches having a healthy baby.
  • As if the miscarriage wasn't bad enough, Claudia's reaction is absolutely heartbreaking. Because she and Peaches had a major argument just days earlier, she is convinced that she caused the miscarriage by stressing her aunt out. She gets better once Peaches reassures her that NOBODY caused it (or could have prevented it).
• The whole of Mary Anne and the Memory Garden, in which Mary Anne's friend from school is killed by a drunk driver. Mary Anne is overcome with grief, and even Kristy has a Heroic BSoD for a little while.
• The Little Sister series has its share of these moments:
  • The death of Karen's step-granddad (Seth's father) in book #70. He'd had a heart attack 5 books previously, but even though he recovered he wasn't quite the same physically. He suffers another heart attack while living with Karen's little-house family, but this time he doesn't make it. The crowner, though, may be when Granny goes back to her farm in Nebraska all alone.
  • Two books later, Midgie the dog runs away and goes missing for weeks. She comes home at the end, but while she's missing, Karen notes that it hasn't been that long since Granddad died and Seth is still stinging from the loss.
  • The death of Boo-Boo in book #103. The previous book had addressed his aging and the family getting a new kitten, but his health declines and he loses weight until one day he takes a nap in the linen closet and dies peacefully in his sleep. Even though he's old, it's still a big loss for the family since he'd been around for a long time. Watson had had him since he was a tiny kitten (and of course it was he who discovered Boo-Boo's lifeless body).
  • Books #95 and #96 have Karen deciding whether or not to join the little-house family in Chicago for six months, and Andrew begging her to come with him and to promise they won't be separated. Karen initially keeps her promise, but gets homesick after being in Chicago for less than a week. It's painful for both her and Andrew when she tells him she wants to go home; Andrew cries, and Karen feels bad for breaking her promise.
  • Super Special #1 starts out as a happy Christmas story until Nannie breaks her hip. Karen is devastated and worried, even remembering what happened to Mimi when SHE went into the hospital some time ago, and when she writes her letter to Santa her only request is for Nannie to get better and come home in time for Christmas (which she does).
• The California Diaries spin-off series has a TON of these, perhaps the most notable being Sunny's mother's cancer battle and eventual death, in which both Sunny and the readers are treated to every painful moment of her ordeal.
  • Sunny goes through the emotional wringer in this series. She turns to alcohol and drugs and has a bad relationship with her father, to the point where she spends most of the time at Dawn’s, until she screws everything up and leaves, and she and Dawn briefly stop being friends. Then she sees her mom suffer from - and ultimately die in - excruciating pain.
  • Ducky witnesses his friend Alex trying to commit suicide TWICE. The second time, he almost dies and Ducky has to call the police. Alex then goes to Chicago. Plus, Ducky’s parents are away most of the time traveling, and he misses them when they are gone but when they are home Ducky wishes they were gone. And he is bullied by his friend Ted and the other guys. At the end of the series, it is heavily implied that Ducky is also gay.
  • Maggie suffers from perfectionism and has an alcoholic mother and a father who ignores her. She eventually goes through a downward spiral and quits her job, becomes depressed, and hates her body and starts to starve herself. This leads her crush to fall out of love with her. On top of that, her mom later becomes violent and goes to rehab. Gradually, Maggie does get better.
  • Amalia gets into an abusive relationship with a guy named James, who insults her and almost hits her, and then starts making threats towards her for MONTHS. Then, when she’s finally happy, she gets beaten and spit on by a bunch of racists just for being Latina.
  • Sunny's mom has a tear jerking backstory too. She was estranged from her parents and fell out with them because she became more progressive and not Republican. Her parents don’t even come to her wedding, then die in a car crash. Then she herself gets cancer and dies.
• In Keep Out, Claudia!, Claudia can't understand why the mother of her charges, Mrs. Lowell, is so rude to her and asks that she not return, despite getting along with the kids. Readers promptly figure it out when Jessi shows up next and is turned away—the woman's a racist (and implied to be a Neo-Nazi, based on her asking for a blonde-haired, blue-eyed sitter and taking her kids away from a BSC activity when she finds out they're performing songs from Fiddler on the Roof, a musical about Russian Jews).
  • Jessi's reaction is especially hard. She had spent a lot of time preparing for the job and revamping her Kid Kit especially for this family, only to have the door literally slammed in her face for being black.
    • The worst part is the description of how Jessi's feeling—"A familiar thought nagged at her, but wouldn't make itself known." At only 11/12 years old, she's already experienced enough racism to know exactly why the woman reacted to her the way she did.
  • Near the end of the book, the sitters have a conversation about the Lowell children, after seeing them watch the performance forlornly but not join in. The sitters decide that they're not really bad children, just unlucky enough to have been born into a racist family. All they can do is hope that when the Lowells go to school with kids of other races, they'll learn to let go of their prejudices. (That is, of course, assuming their mother doesn't decide to homeschool them, as many extremist parents of all stripes do in real life to prevent their children from learning anything but their preferred beliefs.) It's a Hard Truth Aesop — sometimes you can't fix everything even if you really want to, especially when you're a kid yourself.