Books of the year: There’s beauty and there are beasts in real world and fiction

Chloe Barrett selects her books of the year, from a tender, beautiful story about beating the odds to one that exposes what really goes on behind the scenes of the global tech elite

Taylor Jenkins Reid explored the barriers faced by women in the space programme during the eighties in ‘Atmosphere’. Picture: Emma McIntyre/Getty

Looking  back on every book I have read this year and choosing my favourites always feels like a daunting task. 

I imagine it must be similar to choosing a favourite child, except, thankfully, books can’t complain about their ranking.

Still, 2025 has been a fantastic year full of emotional, charming, and intense reads across nearly every genre.

I’m honoured to share my top five, and I am confident that at least one of them will pique your interest.

Starting off strong is a novel that has rarely left my mind since its summer release: Atmosphere, the newest work of literary fiction from the fabulous Taylor Jenkins Reid.

  Atmosphere is a tender, beautiful story about beating the odds and following your heart, no matter the consequences.

Set in the 1980s, the novel follows Joan Goodwin, an astrophysics professor who has always dreamed of travelling to the stars. 

When she’s offered the chance to train with Nasa — and possibly venture into the cosmos — she quickly packs her bags and heads to the Houston Space Center, joining a cohort of new recruits.

But Joan’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes with a cost. It puts a strain on her relationship with her sister, Barbara, a carefree single mother who regularly relies on Joan to help care for her young daughter, Frances. 

As Joan throws herself into training, she finds herself pulled in multiple directions and forced to make difficult choices, especially when it comes to her complicated feelings for fellow recruit Vanessa Ford.

Atmosphere explores the barriers faced by women in the space programme during the eighties, and it doesn’t shy away from highlighting the discrimination and secrecy forced upon queer people of the era. 

Have a tissue on hand while reading, and step into the marvelous world Taylor Jenkins Reid creates so effortlessly.

Next up is another emotional heavyweight, but this time from the remarkable Ocean Vuong. 

His newest release, The Emperor of Gladness, is set in the fictional post-industrial town of East Gladness, located in the very real state of Connecticut.

The novel opens with high tension as the protagonist, 19-year-old Hai, prepares to jump off a bridge. 

Through a wall of heavy rain, he hears a voice calling to him from across the river. 

Curiosity pulls him back from the edge and toward Grazina, an elderly Lithuanian refugee living alone after the death of her husband. 

Hai soon realises she is suffering from dementia, and he chooses to move in with her, becoming her caretaker.

Their unlikely bond forms a tender and empathetic relationship that forces Hai to look inward at his own trauma and the choices that led him to that bridge.

Vuong’s poetic prose is present on every page of this dense, heartfelt novel, and the book feels especially relevant in today’s climate of harsh judgment and constant scrutiny. 

It’s not a light read, but it is an extraordinary one.

Perhaps my most anticipated release of the year, and definitely not one for the faint of heart, is Empire of the Dawn. 

Released last month, it is the final instalment in Jay Kristoff’s gritty, blood-soaked vampire trilogy, a series filled with honour, sacrifice, and endless night.

Kristoff sets the story in Elidaen, where almost 30 years have passed since the last sunrise. 

For decades, vampires have waged war on what remains of humanity, and even the Silver Order couldn’t stop their brutality. 

Gabriel de León, the last remaining silversaint — a half-vampire sworn to protect humankind — harbours a deep hatred for the creatures who destroyed the world he knew. 

When he encounters Dior Lachance, the final living descendant of the Redeemer, whose blood alone can heal, he begins to believe in something dangerously fragile: hope.

The novel is told by Gabriel as he languishes in a prison cell, captured by his dreaded enemies and forced to recount his entire life story as he awaits execution.

Empire of the Dawn is a long-awaited, hard-hitting conclusion that delivers everything fans of the series could want. 

If you are as invested in this brutal, brilliant world, as I am, you won’t want to miss its final chapter.

To keep things varied, I am including a non-fiction standout as well. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism is a riveting memoir that feels perfectly timed. 

Written by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook employee, the book spills the company’s dirtiest secrets and exposes what really goes on behind the scenes of the global tech elite.

Wynn-Williams details how Mark Zuckerberg runs the company and the controversial decisions he repeatedly makes.

She also shares a heartbreaking account of the obstacles she faced as a new mother navigating the relentless pressures of big tech.

Before joining Facebook, she worked as a diplomat in her native New Zealand. 

She left that role when she was offered a position at the then fast-growing social media giant, believing wholeheartedly that Facebook could be used for good after witnessing its role in helping people connect in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake.

She eventually rose to become the global public policy director, devoting six years of her life to the company. 

However, in this scorching exposé, she finally tells her truth about the platform and the extreme behaviours of some of the people within it.

And finally, I would be betraying my teenage self if I didn’t include one of the most anticipated books of the entire year. 

Suzanne Collins has returned with yet another bang, this time with a long-awaited and immensely satisfying release.

For years, fans of The Hunger Games have been eager for a book from the perspective of Haymitch Abernathy. 

Portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the films, the misunderstood, traumatised, alcohol-dependent mentor has always been shrouded in mystery. 

All we really knew was that 16-year-old Haymitch won the Second Quarter Quell against all odds, outlasting 47 other tributes.

Now, at long last, Collins gives us the full story in Sunrise on the Reaping, a prequel that proves she still possesses the talent and precision needed to carry such a legendary series. 

The novel never once feels like a cash grab or an unnecessary addition; instead, it justifies its existence on every page.

It is heartbreaking, horrifying, and somehow exhilarating. It also captures the atmosphere of the original trilogy in the best way, and even though readers know how Haymitch’s games end, it does not lessen the tension or emotional investment, not when the characters are so brilliantly written.

The series is experiencing a true renaissance, and I, for one, am thrilled. I will see you at the cinema next November for the film adaptation, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

So there we have it, my top five novels of 2025. It was incredibly difficult to single out these picks from the more than 100 books I read this year, and I wanted to highlight a diverse range of genres.

Still, I’m happy with my choices. Here’s to 2026 and to many more amazing novels in both of our futures.

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