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2025 in Review

 I set out this year with the goal to read 15 books. I ended with 19, which was exciting. This year, I read: 

  • Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Chodenko ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The House of My Mother by Shari Franke ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Midnight Library by Matt Haig ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Doomsday Mother by John Glatt ⭐⭐⭐
  • Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton ⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Golden Orchard by Flora Ahn ⭐⭐⭐
  • Ready Player One by Ernest Cline ⭐⭐⭐
  • Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm so excited that I read so many books that I absolutely loved this year - 13 five star reads! Here are my top 5 reads of 2025!

Before I give my ranked list, I do want to put in some honorable mentions. It was so hard to narrow down my favorites for the year!
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - a true classic, and it was so well written. Andy Serkis performed it beautifully. These stories are part of my personality and childhood. I grew up with them, and they'll always hold a special place for me.
  • The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - these books are so fun. I haven't encountered a single one of Barnes' books that I haven't loved. She's so good at storytelling, and I love the twists throughout each book.
  • The House of My Mother by Shari Franke - the pure courage it took to write this story is astounding. Franke grew up not far from me, and I watched the story of her siblings in the news, breaking in real time. It was horrific to watch it all unfold. Franke told her story openly, honestly, and at times with desperation. She did a great job of narrating it as well, and I loved listening to it.

Number 5: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien



Really, this book probably deserves to be much higher on my favorites list, and make no mistake, I LOVE these stories and this book. This final book is so good, so well-written, and exciting. I loved Andy Serkis as the narrator, and he made the audiobooks phenomenal.

Coming in at number 4: A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell


This book was just incredible. It was so well written, engaging, and I found the content fascinating, personally. I've been so excited to see some of my students pick this book up as well.

Number 3: Mistborn: Secret History by Brandon Sanderson


It wouldn't be me if I didn't have at least one Sanderson on this list. Mistborn is one of my absolute favorite series of all time. I loved learning about Kelsier and what eventually happens to him after being killed by the Lord Ruler. This book is so gut-wrenching and made me cry all over again, but I absolutely loved it.

Number 2: Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green


I loved the way John Green wrote this book. He made me care about a disease that I knew next to nothing about. This book was so well-written. It's short, but packs a punch. I highly recommend this book.

And number 1, my favorite book of 2025: PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir



This book was so exciting, and seriously so fun to read. I was on the edge of my seat the entire book. I couldn't wait to listen to this one (the narration for the audiobook is AMAZING). The story is great, the characters are excellent. I loved the non-linear storytelling. Just... chef's kiss on this book!

I'm looking forward to 2026 and what I'm able to finish next year! Happy new year!




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