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SPU | Culture

Favorite Books of 2025

Kendall Rossi Student Contributor, Seattle Pacific University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SPU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

With the new year comes some reflection on the past. In 2025, I read almost 50 books and found that about ⅕ of my reading left me with some new winners. In no particular order, here are my favorite books of 2025: 

  1. I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang
  • This is a young adult speculative fiction book about Jenna Chen, who wishes to become her amazingly talented cousin Jessica Chen… and she does 
  • This book is all about loving yourself as a young woman and discovering who you are – I loved it!! 
  • Ann Liang’s writing is truly spectacular and really shone in this novel 
  • The side characters (Jessica and Aaron) were great additions in my opinion – Jessica was a character that took the whole book for me to like, but ended up seeing and feeling for her
  1. Beartown trilogy by Frederik Backman
  • This trilogy was my first introduction to Frederik Backman, and he quickly became a top favorite author for me 
  • The premise of this series sounds so boring, but if you love books that do not necessarily have an extensive plot but a large cast of characters, I think you would enjoy this 
  • These books made me FEEL so many emotions, and I love when a story can bring me into its world
  • I recommend looking up trigger warnings before reading Beartown because there is an extremely traumatic experience that is an ongoing theme throughout the three books 
  1. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
  •  Historical fiction is a genre that I just started reading and loving over the past two years
  • This one is about France’s occupation by Germany during World War II and follows a set of sisters’ lives as they live and fight through it (in different ways) 
  • The book is extremely depressing, but it is an interesting story that gripped me from beginning to end 
  • I loved that the story followed two women because readers got to see how each one dealt with the occupation – absolutely gut-wrenching, raw, frightening, yet so important 
  1. Releasing 10 by Chloe Walsh
  • The sixth book in the Boys of Tommen series, Releasing 10, follows the fourth couple in the series 
  • Whenever I think of this book, I feel distraught 
  • If you are planning on reading this series:
    • 1) It has an amazing found family – one of my favorite tropes in books, and
    • 2) PLEASE LOOK UP TRIGGER WARNINGS – extremely devastating and demoralizing occurrences happen in all six books, so please do research before stepping into these stories 
  • I never paid a lot of attention to these two characters in the other books (especially Hughie), but I am glad the author wrote a book about their story (I knew there was a lot of history between those two)
  • There definitely needs to be another book for them because their story did not have a satisfying ending! 
  1. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins 
  • In my opinion, this was the saddest story in The Hunger Games series
  • Haymitch’s story is always one that fascinated me, but I almost didn’t want it because I knew that it would tear me to shreds
  • I really hope that the movie does the book justice because this story needs to be told to near perfection 
  1. The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig 
  • I went into this book completely blind, and I am so glad I did (even though I was confused for the first 50-70 pages) 
  • Characters going on quests is always an interesting plot to me 
  • The cast of characters are unique but tie together so well and elevated my reading experience by a mile 
  • The romance was fabulous in my opinion (not as much slow-burn as I like, but I think good for a duology) 
  1. My Friends by Frederik Backman 
  • Another Frederik Backman masterpiece!!
  • This book has a dual-timeline that follows four teenagers who change the life of a young woman years later 
  • I also went into this book blind, and again, it was the right decision 
  • As you can probably tell, I love character-driven stories, and this one felt so real and brought out many emotions from me 
  • All of these characters need a big hug and a happy, peaceful life 
  1. Immortal Consequences by I.V Marie
  • I saw someone write that this book is Harry Potter x K-pop Demon Hunters, and somehow it is so accurate
  • The story follows multiple young adult points of view as they try to survive trials at their boarding school in the afterlife
  • This book was fun while keeping me on my toes and invested in the plotline
  • I also liked how different each of the characters is and their respective romances 
  1. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Another historical fiction novel!! This time about a woman who becomes an astronaut in the 80s 
  • This book was so much more than a story about an astronaut; it’s a story with love, family, friendship, finding yourself, and more 
  • Joan’s relationships and interactions with others – her fellow astronauts, lover, niece, and family – were my favorite part of the story because they were dynamic and felt so real 
  • The ending of this book definitely had me crying . . . space freaks me out SO MUCH I could never be an astronaut 
  1. Happiness Falls by 
  • This book is from the point of view of a daughter whose dad goes missing, and the only person who knows what happened is her younger brother, who has Angelman’s autism, so he cannot speak 
  • The story was extremely interesting to me, with themes that touch on autism, race, being overlooked, family, and much more 
  • The sister narrating the story was interesting because she is flawed and human, so it made for an unsettling storyline 
  1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
  • Yet another historical fiction!!
  • This one is about a family during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression in Texas who move their entire lives to the West Coast 
  • Another horrifying book that made me want to hold onto my family and thank them for everything 
  • The ending made me SOB – do not recommend reading when you are homesick 
  1. And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Frederik Backman
  • Another book by Frederik Backman (do you believe me now that he’s a new favorite author?)
  • This novella is only about 100 pages, yet I cried THE ENTIRE TIME 
  • The book is through the view of an older gentleman who is losing his memories, and his family’s thoughts, feelings, and actions during their last times together 
  • The fact that the author could deliver a message in such a short period of time is astounding to me and shows how talented he is 

If there is one thing to know about my reading taste, it’s that I love character-driven stories, development, and found family. As I get older, my reading preferences shift and change. In 2025, I dabbled more into fiction novels (that had little to no romance subplot), and further dove into the historical fiction genre. If I hadn’t read outside of my comfort zone, I would not have found most of my favorite books of last year. With that, I am going to (hopefully!) challenge myself with my reading again in 2026 and maybe find some new favorites along the way. Happy reading! 

Kendall Rossi

SPU '28

Kendall is a sophomore at Seattle Pacific University, majoring in Communications with a double minor in Christian Discipleship and Film Studies. She is from the central coast of California and loves reading, yoga, food, travel, hanging out with friends, and watching movies! This is her first year as a member of Her Campus (woohoo!) and appreciates an outlet where she can express her likes and interests with others.