Our staff share the books that made them cry this year.

I read the illustrated edition of Charlotte’s Web to my six-year-old daughter this year. Even though I’d read it before and I knew exactly what was going to happen, I still felt very emotional as we neared the end and shed a few tears when Charlotte died. My daughter was far more stoic. She comforted me with a cuddle and then reminded me that Charlotte would live on through her babies. Bless! – Angela Crocombe, children’s specialist at Carlton

Crime books are often sad, of course – you’ll be more likely to read a book about a murder than one on tax evasion, obviously – but they don’t usually make me cry. However, Tony Cavanaugh’s Kingdom of the Strong did make me cry this year. I cried for the woman who was killed decades earlier, and for her father who has to keep fighting for the truth of what happens: he turns up on the steps of a police station every year on the date she died. Ex-cop Darian Richards is looking into the case on behalf of the outgoing police commissioner – making sure the woman’s death isn’t connected to the incoming commissioner. This is such strong writing with a devastating heart. – Fiona Hardy, bookseller at Carlton

I rarely cry at books (the last time was in 2009) but was genuinely moved to tears – of nostalgia, not sadness – over Life Moves Pretty Fast by Hadley Freeman. In each chapter of this guide a favourite 80s American movie is revisited. The author not only reminds us what is so brilliant about each movie, but absolutely nails the underlying messages and themes, many of which had passed me by. This was such a refreshing look at a personally familiar subject. – Jan Lockwood, human resources manager

A Little Life gave me a crying headache. In fact, by the end, I had to read it with a box of tissues by my side, because I cried so often in this novel, and I’m talking about tears-pouring-down-my cheeks kind of crying. A Little Life is 700+ pages of self-harm, abuse, grief and heartache. It’s also an amazing novel. You don’t have to take my word for it – it’s on our list of top 10 fiction of the year, as well as being shortlisted for the Booker Prize, chosen as a New York Times notable book of the year, selected as a Guardian best book of the year, and more. A Little Life left me feeling emotionally wrung out – but I’m very glad I read it. – Nina Kenwood, marketing manager

The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett. I’m not very good at goodbyes at the best of time. Final goodbyes even harder. From an outside logical point of view what happened in that book made complete sense. That didn’t stop me from going through a box of tissues though. – Dani Solomon, children’s specialist at Carlton

In This Changes Everything, Naomi Klein ultimately concludes with a message of hope and direction in how we might collectively tackle the looming ecological crisis of climate change. However, the political stalling and complete lack of decisive action since the 1980s is enough to bring a tear to anyone’s eye. – Michael Skinner, bookseller at St Kilda

In A God in Ruins, Kate Atkinson writes about loss with such breathtaking accuracy – the hope and disappointment that come hand in hand – that I shed a few tears. – Chris Gordon, event manager

To say that Timothy Conigrave’s memoir Holding the Man made me cry is a bit of an understatement. The love story of Timothy and John’s relationship is so beautifully told, and the heartbreaking, unfair death of John (and so many young men of that era) after contracting AIDS, is utterly tragic. The tragedy seems to hit you suddenly at seemingly benign narrative moments, much like grief does in real life. I wept and wept all throughout the final third of this book. It’s a truly touching and important Australian classic. – Amy Vuleta, shop manager at St Kilda