Brainstorm 348: Top 10s of 2025 Part 1

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