Welcome to the Top 10s of 2025!
In the top 10s I share my favorite reads of the year. The books may have been published in any year, I just read them for the first time since the last set of Top 10s in 2024. Some books could be put in multiple interest level groups or genres, I just picked the one I felt best fit. Click on the links to see my full summaries/reviews of each book including any content notes/trigger warnings.
Part 1 : Dec 5 – Nonfiction books, Contemporary & Historical Fiction books, and Leveled readers
Part 2: Dec 12– Artwork, Lower Grade Fiction, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Fiction Graphic Novels
Instead of doing a separate list for Christian nonfiction and fiction this year, I will just put an asterisk beside those books included in other lists. So * indicates a book that has strong Christian themes.
Also, instead of doing separate best Asian reads (by creators of Asian descent featuring characters of Asian descent) I’m putting a superscript A after such books, like this ᴬ.
Top 10 Adult Nonfiction Reads
Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible by J. Warner Wallace*
Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan*
Emmanuel: An Invitation to Prepare Him Room at Christmas and Always by Ruth Chou Simons*ᴬ
Part of My World: What I’ve Learned from The Little Mermaid about Love, Faith, and Finding My Voice by Jodi Benson with Carol Traver*
Cold Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels (updated & expended ed.) by J. Warner Wallace*
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot (Elisabeth Elliot: the authorized biography, #1) by Ellen Vaughn*
Hope in an Anxious World: 6 Truths for When Things Feel Overwhelming by Helen Thorne*
Sisters in Science: How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History by Olivia Campbell
Is God Real?: Exploring the Ultimate Question of Life by Lee Strobel*
Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia by Natasha Lance Rogoff
Top 10 Young Adult Nonfiction Reads
Catching Cryptids: The Scientific Search for Mysterious Creatures by Kim Long, ill. by Nicole Miles
The Race of the Century: the Battle to Break the Four-Minute Mile by Neal Bascomb
Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E.F. Barone
Peace Is a Chain Reaction: How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together by Tanya Lee Stone
Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet by Geo Rutherford
Letters for Exiles: Faithful Living in a Faithless World by Andy Lamberton*
Wrecked: A Deep Dive into the World's Most Famous Shipwrecks by Rebecca Siegel, ill. by Howard Gray
At Last She Stood: How Joey Guerrero Spied, Survived, and Fought for Freedom by Erin Entrada Kellyᴬ
The Monarch Effect: Surviving Poison, Predators, and People by Dana L. Church
Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes by Gail Jarrow
Top 10 Middle Grade Nonfiction Reads
(limited to 1 per series)
Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson, ill. by Brian Rea
What Do We Know about the Nazca Lines (What Do We Know About…?) by Ben Hubbard, ill. by Dede Putra
Growing Up under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution by Ying Chang Compestine, ill. by Xinmei Liuᴬ
Total Garbage: A Messy Dive into Trash, Waste, and Our World by Rebecca Donnelly, ill. by John Hendrix
A Meerkat Diary: My Journey into the Wild World of a Meerkat Mob by Suzi Eszterhas
Urban Coyotes (Scientists in the Field) by Mary Kay Carson, photos by Tom Uhlman
Who is Shohei Ohtani? (Who Is/Was…?) by James Buckley, Jr.
Where Is Tornado Alley? (Where Is…?) by Wes Locher
Weird But True! Star Wars by National Geographic Kids
A Day in the Life of the Desert: 6 Desert Habitats, 108 Species, and How to Save Them by Roxie Munro
Top 10 Lower Grade Nonfiction Reads
(limited to 1 per series)
What’s Inside a Flower?: And Other Questions About Science & Nature (What's Inside...?) by Rachel Ignotofski
Not Just the Driver! by Sara Holly Ackerman, ill. by Robert Neubecker
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic by Candace Fleming, ill. by Deena So’Oteh
When the Sky Glows by Nell Cross Beckerman, ill. David Litchfield
Rats to the Rescue: The Unlikely Heroes Making Cambodia Safe by Scott Riley and Sambat Meas, ill. by Huy Voun Leeᴬ
Leave It to Abigail!: The Revolutionary Life of Abigail Adams by Barb Rosenstock, ill. by Elizabeth Baddeley
Flamingos are Pretty Funky (A (Not So) Serious Guide) by Abi Cushman
Hello, I’m an Axolotl (Meet the Wild Things, #4) by Hayley Rocco, ill. by John Rocco
The Wolf Effect: a Wilderness Revival Story by Rosanne Parry, ill. by Jennifer Thermes
Puffin by Martin Jenkins, ill. by Jenni Desmond
Top 10 Nonfiction Graphic Novels/Comics/Manga Reads
(limited to 1 per series)
The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix*
The Hiding Place: a Graphic Novel by Corrie Ten Boom with Elizabeth Sherrill and John Sherrill, adapted by Mario DeMatteo, ill. by Ismael Castro*
Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back by Ruth Chanᴬ
Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice: a Thai Comic Cookbook by Christina De Witte and Mallika Kauppinenᴬ
Eric’s Great Race: The Inspiring True Story of Eric Liddell: Athlete, Missionary, Prisoner by Tim Challies, ill. by Paul Mignard*
Deep-Sea Creatures: Adapting to the Abyss (Science Comics) by Mike Lawrence
It’s about Time (Big Ideas That Changed the World, #6) by Don Brown
Ellis Island: Immigration and the American Dream (History Comics) by Falipe Galindo Feggo, ill. by Tait Howard
Insect Anatomy: The Curious World of Bees, Beetles, Butterflies, and Bugs (Anatomy) by Julia Rothman & Michael Hearst
Chickenpox by Remy Laiᴬ
Top 10 Leveled Readers Reads
(includes both fiction and nonfiction, includes graphic novels; limited to 1 per series)
I Want to Be a Scientist (My Community) by Laura Driscoll, ill. by Catalina Echeverri
Fox Plays Ball (Fox) by Corey R. Tabor
Help the Strong Cheetah (Inside Scouts, #3) by Mitali Banerjee Ruths, ill. by Francesca Mahaneyᴬ
Owl and Penguin Here and There (Owl and Penguin, #3) by Vikram Madan
Razzle Dazzle (Unicorn and Yeti, #9) by Heather Ayris Burnell, ill. by Hazel Quintanilla
Vacation (Bat, Cat, & Rat, #2) by Ame Dyckman, ill. by Mark Teague
Game on! (Kids around the World) by Maria Le, ill. by Clarice Elliott
I am a Leader! (Princess Truly, #9) by Kelly Greenawalt ; art by Amariah Rauscher
Teamwork Saves the Day (Spidey and His Amazing Friends, #3) by Steve Behling et al.
We Are Up a Tree! (The Dog and Pony Show) by Jeff Mack
Top 10 Contemporary & Historical & Realistic Animal Fiction Picture Book Reads
I’m Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff, ill. by Julie Kwon
Home in a Lunchbox by Cherry Moᴬ
The Last Slice: a Three Kings Day Treat by Melissa Seron Richardson, ill. by Monica Arnaldo*
Perfect by Waka T. Brown, ill. by Yuko Jonesᴬ
The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals by Deborah Underwood, ill. by LeUyen Pham
The House Before Falling into the Sea by Ann Suk Wang, ill. by Hanna Chaᴬ
A Pinecone! by Helen Yoonᴬ
Noodles on a Bicycle by Kyo Maclear, ill. by Gracey Zhangᴬ
The Incredible Hotel (The Incredible Hotel, #1) by Katie Davies, ill. by Isabelle Follath
Goodbye Friend! Hello Friend! by Cori Doerrfeld
Top 10 Middle Grade Contemporary Fiction Reads
(limited to 1 per series)
The Mystery of Radcliffe Riddle by Taryn Souders
London Calling (City Spies, #6) by James Ponti
A Copycat Conundrum (The Misfits, #2) by Lisa Yee, ill. by Dan Santatᴬ
The Sherlock Society (The Sherlock Society, #1) by James Ponti
Out of My Dreams (Out of My Mind, #3) by Sharon M. Draper
Spy School Blackout (Spy School, #13 by Stuart Gibbs
Mr. Lemoncello’s Fantabulous Finale (Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, #6) by Chris Grabenstein
Stranded by Nikki Shannon Smith
Murder in Midwinter by Fleur Hitchkock
Duck, Duck, Peach (The Great Peach Experiment, #4) by Erin Soderberg Downing
Top 10 Middle Grade Historical Fiction Reads
Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler
The Tontine Caper by Dianne K. Salerni, ill. by Matt Schu
Lifeboat 5 (SS City of Benares, #2) by Susan Hood
The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson*
Min and the Protests: a Tiananmen Square Survival Story (Girls Survive) by Ailynn Collins, ill. by Soia Di Chiara Manettiᴬ
Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves by L.M. Elliott
Cora and the Terrible Twister: a Tri-State Tornado Survival Story (Girls Survive) by Julie Gilbert, ill. by Francesca Ficorilli
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
Anya Flees the Fallout: a Chernobyl Survival Story (Girls Survive) by Erin Falligant, ill. by Soia Di Chiara Manetti
One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Top 10 Young Adult Contemporary & Historical Fiction Reads
Trajectory by Cambria Gordon
Stateless by Elizabeth Wein
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys & Steve Sheinkin
The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Naturals (The Naturals, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Nightshade Revenge (Alex Rider, #13) by Anthony Horowitz
Code Talker: a Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac
Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party by Ying Chang Compestineᴬ
Kill Her Twice by Stacey Leeᴬ
Secret Soldiers by Keely Hutton
Top 10 Adult Contemporary & Historical Fiction Reads
Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda Dykes*
The Hudson Collection (On Central Park, #2) by Jocelyn Green*
Cold Vengeance (Ryland & St. Clair, #3) by Nancy Mehl*
Meeting Her Match (The Matchmakers, #3) by Jen Turano*
The Chow Maniac (Noodle Shop Mystery, #11) by Vivien Chienᴬ
Waiting for Christmas (All My Secrets, #1.5) by Lynn Austin*
The Crime Brûlée Bake Off (Claire Walker, #1) by Rebecca Connolly
Buried in a Bog (County Cork Mystery, #1) by Sheila Connolly
Hot Pot Murder (L.A. Night Market, #2) by Jennifer J. Chowᴬ
The Kamogawa Food Detectives (Kamogawa Food Detectives, #1) by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse KirkwoodA
