Reading is a paradoxical act. We usually do it alone, but the words we read can profoundly connect us with other people. Books offer both a chance to escape from reality, and the tools required to understand the world as it is. Book lists are also contradictory in nature: your top ten list on a Monday will no doubt consist of different titles by Friday. Even as we present readers with 75 of the best books published in 2025, we are well aware that anyone viewing the list may feel we have left off their favorite book or author. So let us know – which books would you add to the best of 2025 list?
Hamilton Cain is a freelance critic.
Shoshana Flax, associate editor of The Horn Book, Inc., is a former bookseller and holds an MFA in writing for children from Simmons University.
Kitty Flynn is reviews editor for The Horn Book, Inc.
Elissa Gershowitz is editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc. She holds an MA from the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons College and a BA from Oberlin College.
Lauren LeBlanc is a Board Member of the National Book Critics Circle.
Kate Tuttle edits the Globe’s books section. You can reach her at kate.tuttle@globe.com.
Chris Vognar can be reached at chris.vognar@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram at @chrisvognar and on Bluesky at chrisvognar.bsky.social.