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This is the time of year where we look back at the last twelve months and look forward to the next twelve, and obviously our minds turn to books. Ingram Librarians read a lot of great titles this year and our TBR is chock full of exciting new titles from 2025, and I’m here to share them with you.
This past year was full of highs and lows and not a few surprises. Mozart dropped a new single and Michael Crichton released a new novel; Pesto and Moo Deng took the world by adorable storm while Flamingos got Funky; the Pentagon and Seth Dickenson said “hey look, aliens!”; and we were all very demure, very mindful, and very Loud. I can’t venture to guess what 2025 will bring us, but I do know it will include a great collection of new books.
The two biggest books of the year were also staff favorites: Kristin Hannah’s The Women and Emily Henry’s Funny Story, two authors who never fail to bring in the readers. Newcomer Kaliane Bradley brought in the readers too, with her debut novel about a time travel ministry in The Ministry of Time. Another favorite was The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, a deliciously cozy Japanese series starter that solves food mysteries instead of murders.
There are so many great books coming in the new year, but some that we’re particularly excited about include a cozy mystery featuring the Golden Girls in Murder By Cheesecake (I 100% believe that Dorothy Zbornak could solve a murder mystery), a big new fantasy by V. E. Schwab, and a new sci-fi dystopian novel, We Lived on the Horizon, by Erika Swyler, the author of The Book of Speculation.
Also notable for 2025, we have a new Rebecca Yarros, Grady Hendrix, Nnedi Okorafor, Stephen Graham Jones, and Ali Hazelwood.
From picture books to chapter books, 2024 brought great reads in the youth category. Sid Sharp’s elementary aged graphic novel, Bog Myrtle, was an absolute delight that charmed my goblin-core heart. Bang: The Wild Wonders of Earth’s Phenomena was a stunningly illustrated juvenile nonfiction book by Jennifer N. R. Smith that teaches readers about the “phenomena of the natural world,” and I’m also super excited about her 2025 follow up: Life: The Wild Wonders of Biodiversity. Our department had the opportunity to speak with the authors of middle grade novel, The Bletchley Riddle, by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. We loved the WWII code-breaking book and loved getting the chance to speak with rock star authors!
Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden by Christy Mandin was a 2024 favorite picture book and the sequel, Millie Fleur Saves the Night, is on our 2025 list (spoiler alert, I read a galley and it’s as charming as the first and this time we learn the joys and wonders of the dark). Presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman has a new title coming out in January, Girls on the Rise, uplifting young girls (target age 4-8) in this diverse picture book. For older kids, Cornelia Funke has a new book coming out in March! In The Green Kingdom, she steps away from fantasy for this plant-based adventure. And finally, a real-life 14 year old neighbor to the Borden’s inspired Jeramey Kraatz’s graphic novel series starter, I Witnessed: The Lizzie Borden Story.
Be sure to keep an eye out for new books by favorite authors Mo Willems, Gordon Korman, Erin Hunter, and Laurie Halse Anderson.
Young Adult wasn’t much of a category when I was a teenager, but I’ve loved reading teen fiction as a non-young adult, and I’m not alone in our department. Sabaa Tahir’s latest, Heir, was one of our favorites and obviously a big favorite of everyone else, considering it was a Good Morning America book club pick! We loved two poetry books, How the Boogeyman Became a Poet by Tony Keith Jr. and Poemhood: Our Black Revival: History, Folklore & the Black Experience: A Young Adult Poetry Anthology featuring a collection from 35 poets. An island mansion, rumored treasure, a curse, and unexplained deaths? You seriously can’t get much better than Maureen Johnson’s new standalone mystery: Death at Morning House!
We’re super excited that 2025 is bringing us a new standalone title from Libba Bray! Under the Same Stars features a mystery across three timelines, beginning in WWII Germany. True Crime goes YA in the historical nonfiction title: Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming. And March brings us the creepiest cover of the list with Trang Thanh Tran’s horror novel The Bloom at Night. Keep this one on hand for your Halloween displays!
The new year will also bring us books by Gayle Forman, Neal Shusterman, Nic Stone, plus a nonfiction creative writing book by Marissa Meyer and a new Hunger Games prequel by Suzanne Collins.
For a full list of our favorite 2024 titles and upcoming 2025 titles, click on the links below:
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Collection Development Librarian
