Happy 2025! Here’s to another great year of reading. Here are some of the books releasing this week.
Books for Kids
Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card and Helped Change History – The story of Congressman John Lewis in his quest for racial equality, starting with access to the library.
Books for Older Kids/ Teens/Young Adults
Mack Moon and the P.E.T.S. (Graphic Novel) – Mack discovers his pets are from space and here on Earth to stop a ferret named Barbara from trying to take over the world.
The Princess Swap: Cinderella and the Beast – Ella and Belle find themselves in each other’s stories!
Stories of the Spirit of Justice – By Jamar Tisby. Short biographies of Civil Rights leaders.
Where Is Tornado Alley?
After Life – Seven years after her death, Amber appears to her family, alive once again but unchanged from the day she died. Now her family and friends have to figure out what her return means for each of them.
The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting (LGBTQ+) – An orphan raised to be an assassin, Tru has hidden her abilities and her training from everyone. But on what is supposed to be a normal babysitting gig she finds herself hunted and on the run – with her one-year-old charge in tow. I cannot WAIT to read this!!
Bemused – From author Farrah Rochon. The Muses from the Disney movie about Hercules get to tell their own story. This sounds fun!
A Language of Dragons – Alternate history where a girl puts the tenuous peace between humans and dragons at risk.
The Last Bookstore on Earth (LGBTQ+) – Two girls taking shelter in a bookstore after an apocalyptic Storm start to fall for one another – and then they find out another Storm is on the way.
Mystery Royale – Mullory takes a chance at a game of Mystery Royale for an inheritance despite her mother’s last words warning her away from “the strange.”
Royal Heirs Academy – Four teens compete for the chance to inherit a kingdom.
Books for Adults
Beg, Borrow, or Steal (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the When in Rome series. Two feuding colleagues – and side-hustling writers – have to team up when Emily accidentally sends her latest manuscript to their principal and she needs help getting it back.
Four Ruined Realms (Hardcover) – The sequel to Five Broken Blades.
Holmes Is Missing (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Homes, Margaret & Poe series. by James Patterson. The PIs are working on a series of child abductions, but Holmes goes missing.
Into the Woods (Trade Paperback) – Two camp counselors consider taking a chance on love.
The Lodge (Trade Paperback) – A writer gets the chance to work on a story about the band True North and their mysterious break up while enjoying time at a resort.
The Starlight Heir (Trade Paperback) – A bladesmith with magic finds herself on the run with a prince when rebels attack the palace.
Temple of Swoon (Trade Paperback) – An archaeologist trying to prove herself and a journalist trying to keep her from her goal find themselves in a spot of trouble when they realize they aren’t the only people trying to find the lost city.
10. The Frindle Files – This sequel to the beloved Frindle, and the last book written by the author, was everything I hoped it would be. You can read my full review 
9. The Imposter – We lived this story of having a second beloved critter in case of an unfixable loss, so I hoped this would be cute and capture that experience from when my son was small. And this exceeded my expectations. This is the only picture book to make the list this year. You can read my full review 
8. Big Witch Energy – I have thoroughly enjoyed both of the books so far in the 
7. No One Leaves the Castle – I have loved Christopher Healy’s middle grade novels since I first read The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. You will be able to read my full review of this delight later this month.
6. Wisdom for Faithful Reading – 2024 was a great nonfiction year for me. I still read them SOOOOO slowly, but the quality has been top notch. And this book really kicked off a year of memorable study and learning. You can read my full review 
5, The Rom-Commers – Another Katherine Center book makes my Year in Review list – 
4. The Corpse in the Closet – The 
3. Apprentice to the Villain – Book 1 in this delightful series, 
2. Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books – This was the surprise of my reading year in 2024. I saw this in the bookstore and found the premise intriguing, but not enough to pay full price for a hardcover book. So I picked this up from the library – and was stunned by how fantastic this was. I immediately shelled out the money for my own copy because I will definitely read this one again. There are several content warnings on this one, so check out my full review 