History PlayingWith / DeathByNewberyMedal

** The children's book ''AliceAndBob and Their Friends'' is mostly [[TastesLikeDiabetes overly sweet stories]] about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Alice and Bob and their friends]]. In the end, all of her friends go on a trip, a trip which Alice doesn't join because she can't afford it. [[KillEmAll The train they take crashes and nobody survives.]]

** The ''[[UpToEleven entire planet]]'' [[EarthShatteringKaboom blows up]] and Alice is the only survivor.

* '''Played For Horror''': ''Alice and Spot'' is a copycat of ''Literature/WeNeedToTalkAboutKevin''. Alice is a burgeoning sociopath and Spot was [[MoralityPet the only thing on the planet that kept her feeling something resembling humanity]]. And now Spot is dead. [[SanitySlippage This is not going to end well.]]

* '''Straight''': The children's book ''Alice and Spot'' is a cute book about a girl and her dog. In the last chapter, Spot [[SuddenDownerEnding suddenly and unexpectedly]] [[DiabolusExMachina falls off a cliff and dies]].

** [[{{VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption}} Spot is kidnapped by the FBI before the beginning of the book and is forced to kill his former dog friends he fought with in an illegal arena, or he won't get to see Alice ever again. He travels all over the country finding his old dog friends - that have become feral after being released from the arena - and when he's done, the FBI fulfills their promise and takes Spot home. But a bit later, they come to Alice's house and kill Spot. In the epilogue Alice kills the FBI agent that orchestrated the entire affair and walks away from the crime scene, as the book finishes.]]

* '''Invoked''': A JerkAss pushes Spot off the cliff, knowing that it'll kill him and make Alice sorrowful. It'll also [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident look like an accident]].

* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': The author wants to win a Newbery Medal (or a similar award) and knows that an [[TrueArtIsAngsty angsty]] work is more likely to win one.

** The death of a pet can be one of the most traumatizing things a kid endures and not all of them do -- they can get depressed, they can get scars, they can snap, even. If anything, writing Spot's death as some kind of grand milestone in Alice's life that provides her with a mystical epiphany just makes it look a lot more insensitive.

* '''Deconstructed''': InUniverse, people get tired of this kind of book, and mock the various attempts at it. At some point, people begin to view the medal on the cover as an InterfaceSpoiler, and repeatedly mock books like this.

* '''Reconstructed''': ''Alice and Spot'' is the story of Alice's interactions with Spot throughout his life, from the day the two met, to the trials they go through. The book ends with Spot dying of old age, while Alice, now a teenager, stays by his side to make his last day more comfortable. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments "Thank you for being with me all those years. I'll miss you."]]

* '''Reconstructed''': ''Alice and Spot'' is the story of Alice's interactions with Spot throughout his life, from the day the two met, to the trials they go through. The book ends with Spot dying of old age, while Alice, now a teenager, stays by his side to make his last day more comfortable. [[HeartwarmingMoments "Thank you for being with me all those years. I'll miss you."]]

** Or, as an {{In-Universe}} example, Bob mentions ''Alice and Spot'' and mentions it being sad, but it's uncertain whenever or not it's a children's book.

* '''Deconstructed''': {{In-Universe}}, people get tired of this kind of book, and mock the various attempts at it. At some point, people begin to view the medal on the cover as an InterfaceSpoiler, and repeatedly mock books like this.

** The children's book ''AliceAndBob and Their Friends'' is mostly [[TastesLikeDiabetes overly sweet stories]] about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Alice and Bob and their friends]]. In the end, all of her friends go on a trip, a trip which Alice doesn't join because she can't afford it. The train they take crashes and nobody survives.