The best books of 2025

This list is part of the best books of 2025.

Join 1,277 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2025

Book cover of Firekeeper's Daughter

❤️ loved this book because...

It’s rare to find a thriller that balances high-octane stakes with such a profound, soul-searching exploration of Ojibwe identity. Angeline Boulley managed to make ethnobotany and traditional teachings feel as vital and gripping as the undercover investigation itself. As a reader, it "dug into my gut" with its raw honesty about grief and the impossible weight of community secrets. It’s a crime novel with a conscience and a powerful heart.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Outlook
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Angeline Boulley ,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked Firekeeper's Daughter as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER!
A MORRIS AWARD WINNER!
AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK!

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.

“One of this year's most buzzed about young adult novels.” ―Good Morning America

A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time Selection
Amazon's Best YA Book of 2021 So Far (June 2021)
A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List Selection
An Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2025

Book cover of The Handmaid's Tale

❤️ loved this book because...

It is a profound and unsettling dive into societal decay that feels terrifyingly prescient. Atwood’s brilliance lies in the details—how she exposes the weaponization of language and the stripping of individual identity until even a birth name becomes a forbidden memory. Offred’s internal act of storytelling is a breathtaking form of rebellion; it’s a reminder that even when we are silenced, our internal narratives and small acts of defiance are what keep us human. It isn’t a "feel-good" read, but it is an essential one.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Thoughts 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐕 Good, steady pace

By Margaret Atwood ,

Why should I read it?

47 authors picked The Handmaid's Tale as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

** THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER **
**A BBC BETWEEN COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ**

Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.

'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' Guardian

I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford -…


My 3rd favorite read in 2025

Book cover of Divine Rivals

❤️ loved this book because...

It feels like a classic in the making. The way Rebecca Ross weaves a high-stakes war of gods with the intimate, quiet magic of a secret correspondence is masterful. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Iris and Roman is a slow, delectable burn that pays off beautifully, reminding us that love and hope can "grow something living in a season of death." It left me absolutely reeling and desperate for the sequel.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Rebecca Ross ,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Divine Rivals as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish―into the hands of Roman…


Book cover of Firekeeper's Daughter
Book cover of The Handmaid's Tale
Book cover of Divine Rivals

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