My top 10 books of 2025, at last! I’ve been dreading writing these reviews, so I decided to try out a less formal, more personal review style. Let me know which style you prefer!

Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery

This is the second book in the Emily of New Moon series. All three books were excellent, but the schoolgirl days of Emily Climbs really appealed to me. Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books, so recently I’ve been trying some of the author’s less famous books. Though this series can never replace Anne in my heart due to the latter’s nostalgic quality (I listened to the audiobook maybe a dozen times as a kid), I highly recommend them for any Anne reader who loves an ambitious protagonist and beautiful descriptions of Prince Edward Island.

Super Mutant Magic Academy by Jillian Tamaki

This compilation of Tamaki’s webcomic, which follows various supernatural students at their magic academy, is both weirder and more normal than you might expect. While most of the students’ problems are relatable to teens without superpowers, the dark humor and existentialism in this book set it apart from anything I’ve ever read. It’s funny, it’s smart, it’s unsettling, and it’s everything I love about Jillian Tamaki’s work.

Emma by Jane Austen

My mom strong-armed me into loving Austen films from a young age, but this year I finally got around to reading some of the novels (besides Pride and Prejudice, which I read years ago and love). Emma was my favorite this year! While a lot of Austen novels center a protagonist who seems smarter and more mature than the foolish characters around her, Emma, in my opinion, subverts that trope by making many of Emma’s friends and family more sympathetic and rational than her. Is Emma a good person? No, but she and Knightley are my favorite Austen romance since Darcy and Elizabeth.

(Also this cover was embroidered by Jillian Tamaki, who did a whole set of classic covers! So of course I had to include it right after Super Mutant Magic Academy.)

The Deep Dark by Lee Knox Ostertag

Mags is a butch lesbian with a dark secret. Nessa is her childhood best friend, returned to their tiny hometown near Joshua Tree newly transitioned and awakening a spark in Mags that she’d forgotten existed. Was it any surprise that I loved this? Lee Knox Ostertag’s graphic novels are always 10/10 for me, and his venture into new adult has everything I love about his style–unique and dynamic art, nuanced queer representation, low magic supernatural elements, and well-rounded character relationships–while adding darker elements and more artistic experimentalism (this novel is black and white except for colored flashbacks and ghostly pinhole photos).

Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s feminist short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” inspired Ursu’s newest middle grade fantasy novel about chronic illness. This book is spooky and unsettling while also being gentle and treating kids and their feelings and relationships with so much respect. Anne Ursu remains a favorite! (Also you should check out my interview with her from 2022!)

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

I loved Fawcett’s magical Anne of Green Gables adaptation, The Grace of Wild Things, so I was super excited to check out her adult fantasy series! And I loved it SO much. Professor Emily Wilde is a grumpy, unsociable protagonist, and while I often get irritated with characters who are too cynical, Emily’s character is balanced out with her passion and respect for her field (that is, the study of faeries). Dare I say neurodivergent-coded? The setting, a remote Scandinavian mountainside riddled with mysterious fae, is breathtaking. And the romance with Emily’s fellow professor, charming but particular Wendell Bambleby, is a delicious slow-burn without overtaking the plot. I also loved the sequel, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, and can’t wait to read the third installment!

The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

This is one of the best queer contemporary YA I’ve ever read. Yami is an incredibly likeable protagonist. Though she deals with more expectations and stress than any teenager should be expected to carry, she’s still able to be funny, lovesick, and charismatic. Above all, this book treats the ups and downs of a queer, Latinx teen experience with such love and care. Reyes does an incredible job balancing family drama with school life, making Yami’s life feel full and lived-in. I can’t wait to read the sequel, The Golden Boy’s Guide to Bipolar, about Yami’s younger brother!

Queer Ducks by Eliot Schrefer

I rarely read nonfiction, but when I do, of course it’s about gay ducks (and many other animals). This book explores queerness in the animal kingdom and kind of changed the way I think about queerness overall. Animals are gay. We’re all gay. I don’t know how to write nonfiction reviews.

Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson

Like his husband Lee Knox Ostertag (my favorite power couple), ND Stevenson never disappoints! The creator of She-Ra‘s first prose novel (heavily illustrated, though in a very different style than that you may recognize from Nimona) has pirates, resourceful and independent young protagonists, a deep and dark lore (see what I did there), mystery, heartbreak, and lots of salt. Literally. You will be unable to put this down, and luckily it’s only the first book in the series! I may claw my eyes out waiting for book two.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

This was my year of cozy fantasy romance! The found family in this tender novel about an emotionally vulnerable witch is unique, charming, and diverse. Like Emily Wilde, the romance in this novel is rewarding but not overwhelming. The stakes in this book are low but feel world-shattering because of how much we grow to love these characters. I wish I could spend a year or two in the welcoming hallways of Nowhere House.

That’s a wrap on 2025! I joined Storygraph and Pagebound this year to keep track of my 2026 reads (as if I weren’t already writing them down in two separate book journals). You can find me @wildflowerreads on Pagebound and @wildflower_reads on Storygraph!