The Books Everyone is Talking About This Season
Welcome to The Best of Book Riot, our daily round-up of what’s on offer across our site, newsletters, podcasts, and social channels. Not everything is for everyone, but there is something for everyone.
The Books Everyone Will Be Talking About in Spring 2025
It’s March, which means no matter what the Groundhog said, we’re finally at the edge of winter. We’re just days away from the official start of spring (it’s March 20, just FYI, in case you want to start a countdown). And what better way to celebrate the season than picking up some new spring releases? Here are three of the most buzzy upcoming novels that you’ll want to snatch up this spring.
Bookish Goods with a Social Justice Flair
I want cute, meaningful, and eye-catching things with a good message. If a sticker says something, I want it to say something about me. As we’re early in 2025, I feel a consistent need to point out how I feel about book bannings, anti-immigrant policies, transgender rights, reproductive health care, and fascist leaders. Owning items with a social justice theme feels good; I find myself wanting to signal that I’m not okay with the current state of affairs.
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The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists
Last week, Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros and The Crash by Freida McFadden were at the top of the fiction bestseller lists. They were also the #1 and #2 most-read books on Goodreads that week. This time around, though, they’ve already slipped down the lists, which is a surprise. The reigning authors of the bestseller lists may not be keeping their thrones for long.
The Complicated World of YA Books for Younger Teens
A perennial complaint in the YA world is that there are not YA books published for younger teen readers. In some ways, this is true. There is a dearth of books featuring and appealing to readers who are just outside of that middle grade demographic and looking for YA books with characters who are 13, 14, or 15. For reference, among the classics of YA, Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower is 15; Melinda in Speak is 14; and Steve in Monster, 16. A lot of the books that get buzz and attention online today—and in the last half decade or more—are those with protagonists who are older, sometimes even older than 18.
Board Books You Can Read on Repeat Without Losing Your Mind
I have a new-ish baby at home and, as anyone with a teeny tiny human likely knows, repetition is super good for them. Hearing the same thing frequently allows babies’ brains to make stronger connections that support them in learning. That ultimately means that my partner and I have been reading the same 20 or so board books for the last nine months.
