My favorite books of 2025

We Could Be Rats and Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin: I continue to be an Emily Austin fan, and I’m glad I got to read her January release early (review coming to Patreon at some point soon!). These books are quite different, but satisfying nonetheless.

Woodworking by Emily St. James: What a great book! An unlikely friendship between a trans woman and the only other trans girl she knows, her student! Set in 2016! Plot twists!

Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory: I didn’t read a whole lot of romance this year, and this was the standout. I didn’t think I would be into the concept but I was!

Some Strange Music Draws Me In by Griffin Hansbury: This was so good at evoking the specific 1980s Massachusetts town and its characters! I also really appreciated seeing the main character, a trans man, look back on himself as a child with all that is complicated about that.

A Sharp Endless Need by Marisa (Mac) Crane: Yearning! Another queer coming-of-age novel for the adult market, like I would agree Some Strange Music Draws Me In is. Breathtaking.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton: I finally had to read this to teach and you know what? It still slaps.

The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes: As someone who also has bipolar disorder and is also bisexual, this book meant a lot to me. It’s a tough read at times.

Don’t Let It Break Your Heart by Maggie Horne: I didn’t think I would like this book at first, but it turns out the lack of connection to the secondary characters was the point. This is a romance, sure, but it’s also primarily a coming-of-age novel as the main character handles her newly out lesbian status with her old popular friends who do not treat her as they should.

Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow: Another romance that’s really a coming-of-age (or coming-of-gender!) journey. Loved the complexity in this one, as well as the setting on a long distance train.

It’s All or Nothing, Vale by Andrea Beatriz Arango: What does it mean to be an athlete with a new disability? What about having a crush on your rival? I love Andrea’s books.

Pasta Girls by Taylor Tracy: This is a cheat because this book is dedicated to me for ~reasons~, so of course it was magical and special.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick: Okay, I was wrong about this one. I couldn’t remember much about when we read it back in second grade (look, my gifted and talented elementary upbringing was weird), but when it came time to read this with my sixth graders and see how into the book they were? Awesome. The ending also isn’t as problematic as I thought.

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix: I got to buddy read this with a student, which was so fun. We both really liked it! I don’t know why I never read this series as a kid.

The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.: A Biography: This is the audiobook that took up most of my year, and it was worth it! Obviously, if you’re not an R.E.M. fan, you probably won’t get the same enjoyment out of it.

The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman by Niko Stratis: Stratis is one of my favorite essayists and this is such a gem of a collection. Plus, it includes a chapter on R.E.M. and another on Julien Baker. This rocks (pun intended).

Dumbing of Age volumes 1-6 by David Willis: Shout out to the Eruditorum discord for informing me there is a long-running comic set at my alma mater, Indiana University, with lots of queer characters! I couldn’t stop reading this over the summer online, and stopped somewhere in volume 7.

Spent by Alison Bechdel: So much fun! I admit I wasn’t familiar with her long-running comics some of the characters come from, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Especially the self-referential parts. Community matters.

Lanternfly August by Robin Gow: Wow. The things Robin can do with language! (Discolsure: Robin is a friend.)

Fat Ham by Jame Ijames: Hilarious gay Black Hamlet retelling. I’m particularly fond of the ending. Wish I had gotten a chance to see this.

Just One Wave by Travis Jonker: Hilarious.

Don’t Trust Fish! by Neil Sharpson: I’m obsessed with this. It’s a perfect addition to my favorite picture book genre, “most categories are a social construct” (see also: There’s No Such Thing as Vegetables by Kyle Lukoff).

Get back into audiobooks again!

Continue reading more ARCs I have, especially the queer adult books.

Read more backlist books.

Read what I already own (I say, after having spent money on new books today, but it was to support a local indie!)…Honestly, there is not too much I’m looking for in 2026 in terms of releases that I haven’t already preordered, so I’m looking to scale back on the new-to-me and new books, aside from the ARCs. We’ll see how that goes.