You might not like “Where the Red Fern Grows” then
My daughter read that as an assignment in school. In fact I thought a lot of the books she was given in school were very morbid. But we always discussed them at length. I’m pretty sure you are right and that was one of the many that turned me off.
My kid really hates to read, she never reads for pleasure. It’s a shame, she takes after her father. But she was always excellent at literary analysis, I was very impressed with some papers she wrote.
I love to read, but I never get much about the ‘theme’ or foreshadowing or anything like that.