The Books I Couldn't Put Down this Year: Midyear Roundup

Some books I've loved in the first half of 2025

My daughter living the good life in Santa Fe: music, pretzels, and a new book (parents of tweens, Heidi Heckelbeck has grown up and is now in Middle School if your older kiddo is looking for a new series!)

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed writing this post last winter— but I guess I shouldn’t be, since I love to read and love to talk about books. StoryGraph tells me that I’ve read 27 books so far this year, and June felt like a good time to share some favorites. I’m sharing the books in the order that I read them, with the same disclaimer I shared in December: I’m linking to Bookshop, which is partly aspirational… I’ve mostly broken up with Amazon, but still buy the occasional Kindle book from them…

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

I put this on my list of debut novels to read this year, and it was my first book of 2025. My writing teacher recommended it last fall. We did a close read of the opening paragraph, which begins “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. 1977, May 3, six thirty in the morning, no one knows anything but this innocuous fact: Lydia is late for breakfast. As always, next to her cereal bowl, her mother has placed a sharpened pencil and Lydia’s physics homework, six problems flagged with small ticks.” This is the stuff of writing dreams, and the whole novel is written this beautifully.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

This was another one that I read at the recommendation of my Intro to Novel Writing teacher, who suggested that we read the early works of writers we admire. The Bean Trees is structured more simply than Demon Copperhead, but Kingsolver’s expertise at creating dynamic characters and her expertly rendered settings were just as poignant in this novel.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

File under: I don’t know how I’d never read this book, but I did so when I had the flu in February (side note: I did, in fact, have the flu last month. I managed to get both Flu A and Flu B this year, and yes, I had a flu shot. Sigh). This book had a fever-like quality to it, making it a fitting read during illness. I’m now kind of impressed that I read it with the flu; I’ve been sick a fair bit this year, and during subsequent illnesses, keep forgetting that I actually love to read while wasting time on my phone. I would recommend this to anyone who loves novels set at schools, which I always do.

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

This book was less emotionally fraught than many of Moyes’s books (I’m looking at you, Me Before You and The Giver of Stars). I love her sadder novels, but this one had her trademark great characters while also being very funny. It was a good palate cleanser after The Secret History.

Penitence by Kristin Koval

I read and loved this in March, and last weekend, I had the opportunity to hear the author speak about it. I attended Lit Fest at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and heard her speak about her debut novel at a live taping of Colorado Matters (I think the episode airs June 18). I was thinking, as I listened to her, that while the novel has some very heavy themes, what had stuck with me about it since I read it several months ago was the way she creates settings that function as characters. The small (fictional) ski town of Lodgepole, CO; her rendering of 9/11 New York City are so perfectly rendered, as well as her investigations of redemption and forgiveness.

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

This book was like a time capsule, and one that I’d recommend to other elder millennials; the characters in this book were almost exactly my age, and I related so much to the specific details. It also made me think about the music that defined my college years and early twenties. I appreciated the opinionated and sometimes off-putting protagonist in this novel, too.

The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan

Rarely have I read a book that captures the depth of adolescent friendship the way this one does. I listened to this, and it was fantastic on audio- different narrators, similar vibe to Daisy Jones and the Six as an audiobook. I love books that focus on friendship, and was rooting so hard for these characters.

Go as a River by Shelley Read

Another emotional book set in Colorado, this historical fiction novel drew me in immediately. It reminded me a bit of Where the Crawdads Sing, with a strong protagonist who has to figure out a lot on her own. The writing was beautiful and the settings were perfectly rendered.

The Five Wounds by Kristin Valdez Quade

In preparation for our trip to Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago, I googled “novels that take place in New Mexico,” and this one came up. The cast of multigenerational characters in a small town had their fair share of trauma, and at the same time, the book was infused with a tenacity that I just adored.

Heartwood by Amity Gage

Twenty-one years ago, my stepdad and I hiked the Hundred Mile Wilderness in Maine— the northern terminus of the Appalachian trail. When I saw that this novel was set on the trail, just south of where we were, I couldn’t wait to read it. I love novels with multiple protagonists, and appreciated that one of the characters was an elderly woman in an assisted living community. It made me think a bit of Remarkably Bright Creatures in that respect. It’s sort of a mystery, but not scary, which I also appreciate.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I read everything Taylor Jenkins Reid writes. Despite having a Kindle full of Libby downloads, I bought and read this one when we were in Santa Fe. I cried a ton and was fully immersed in the world Reid created. A couple of years ago, my husband and I listened to The Right Stuff, and that was a good backdrop to this story of being a female astronaut in the 1980s.

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Right now, I’m reading Jane and Dan at the End of the World and rereading Poser, Claire Dederer’s memoir, after taking a fantastic weekend workshop with her. I have Long Bright River and The Many Lives of Mama Love on my Kindle to read next— let me know what I should add to my list! Happy summer reading!