Browns Best New Books of 2025

2025 has been a big year with some attention- grabbing headlines. From conflicts across the globe to political rhetoric to natural disasters, at times it has felt as if we have been watching current affairs with a sense of trepidation. 2025 has also seen a papal conclave, the return to earth of stranded astronauts, the Lionesses winning the Euros and Luke Littler becoming the youngest ever winner of the World Darts championship. 2025 had us all glued to Celebrity Traitors and enjoying some great films and TV that are adaptations of some of our favourite books. The movies Wicked Forever (based on the brilliant book Wicked which had a prequel, Elphie, released this year) and The Thursday Murder Club (an all-star adaptation of the first book in Richard Osman’s fantastic series) and TV series Miss Austen (perfect for the 250 year anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth) and We Were Liars (one of our favourite YA reads) were highlights for us. Of course, there were lots of great new books published in 2025 so whatever you are looking for – books to inspire and entertain the youngest children, a great and interesting read for a primary-age child, thrilling reads for the terrific teens in your life, a fabulous piece of fiction to lose yourself in or some fascinating non-fiction then do check out our picks of the best books 2025 had to offer.  

Adult Non-Fiction

With a number of extreme weather events across the globe this year, our thoughts have often been drawn to the natural world and our relationship to it. Chloe Dalton’s story of her relationship with a wild animal, Raising Hare, has been a huge favourite of readers this year and won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing, whilst Robert Macfarlane’s Is A River Alive? is a fascinating look at rivers across the world and how they are being threatened. Advances in technology, and AI in particular, were a theme throughout 2025 and how we adapt to our rapidly changing world has been a focus for many; The Anxious Generation has captivated and enlightened readers on how these seismic changes are affecting children. In a year when it has often felt as if we are witnessing history, how we look at the past has been examined by authors with several books published that have challenged the ways in which historical events are viewed and taught. Sathnam Sanghera’s brilliantly researched and nuanced look at the global effects of the British Empire Empireworld made us reconsider some of the narratives we were taught at school whilst Story of a Murder is a great look at true crime and how one of the most notorious murders of the twentieth century was handled by both the police and press. Finally, at a time when certain personalities seem to have dominated the news headlines some inspiring and illuminating memoirs like Finding My Way and Mother Mary Comes To Me have moved and enthralled us.

Adult Fiction

Whatever you enjoy about fiction, 2025 has had a book to provide entertainment, escapism or thought-provoking  narratives. TikTok continues to be an unstoppable force in introducing readers to new genres and titles and those on the app were eagerly awaiting R.F. Kuang’s Katabasis which did not disappoint. Fiction from Korea and Japan has been hugely popular in 2025 with books like Strange Pictures, an innovative and clever Japanese mystery, captivating readers. Elif Shafak’s There Are Rivers In The Sky has been a huge favourite with many this year and the winner of the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction, The Safekeep has us eagerly awaiting the next book from the talented Yael Van der Wouden. Crime and thriller readers have been treated to a new book from Dan Brown as well as the adult debut from one of our favourite YA authors, Holly Jackson. Readers who have waited six years to find out the conclusion to Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy have been devouring The Rose Field and in November David Szalay won The Booker Prize for his compelling book Flesh. 

Books For Teens & Young Adults

Books written for Teen and YA readers are some of those we get most excited by and 2025 had plenty to thrill us! The fifth book set in the world of The Hunger Games, Sunrise on the Reaping, has been a huge success with readers revisiting the original books and new fans falling under their spell. The brilliant debut from S.F. Williamson, A Language of Dragons, is a fantastical, dark academia novel that has us gripped and eagerly awaiting the sequel in January 2026. We were thrilled when one of our favourite new authors, Nathanael Lessore won the Shadower’s Choice Award at the Carnegie Medal in the summer (the Writing Medal went to the brilliant Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald) and loved his new book What Happens Online. Romantasy has again been a huge theme this year and with lots of new books in this genre including Fearless, the conclusion to Lauren Roberts’ Powerless trilogy and The House Saphir (a reworking of the Bluebeard story), readers have been spoilt. Teen thrillers continue to be immensely popular and books like Mondays Are Murder and Bury Your Friends had readers turning the pages. With such a great variety of books and representation in Teen and YA, 2025 has been a great year and we are looking forward to what 2026 will bring.

Books For Older Children

2025 has been a really great year for books for older children with new books from some of our favourite authors delighting us including Hiba Noor Khan (The Line They Drew Through Us), Phil Earle (The Dawn of Adonis) and Hannah Gold (The Lone Husky). We also had additions to some of our favourite series with a new Impossible Creatures book (The Poisoned King) from Katherine Rundell and a hilarious addition to the brilliant Lottie Brooks series (Lottie Brooks Vs The Ultra Mean Girls). Graphic Novels are only getting more and more popular with readers in this age group and 2025 saw some fantastic publishing with stellar series Bunny Vs Monkey and Dog Man adding new books (and a hit movie for Dog Man) and some great new additions including the hilarious Donut Squad and a powerful and moving graphic novel of the brilliant When The Sky Falls. Verse novels are a huge favourite at Browns and this year has seen some wonderful new books published including Matt Goodfellow’s The First Year (the follow up to the wildly popular The Final Year) and the brilliant debut from Eilish Fisher Fia and the Last Snow Deer. With some super non-fiction for this age as well, including a new book from the brilliant Big Manny and some great additions to the wonderful Little People, Big Dreams series, 2025 has been a really fabulous year.

 

Books For Younger Children

When it comes to new books for the youngest children, 2025 has really spoilt us. From Paper Chase, a lovely new title from children’s books royalty Julia Donaldson to a hugely welcome return to the wonderful neurodiverse heroine Gina Kaminski in Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant. We’ve loved the brilliant Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob and laughed ourselves silly at Don’t Trust Fish! Books for this age group can often have important messages and we loved the lessons about sharing in Bear and the newest addition to Rachel Bright’s Dinofeelings – The Hideysaurus. Inspiring younger children to interact with and care for the natural world continues to be a popular theme and the wonderful Clever Crow, which introduces young readers to these remarkable and surprising birds was a deserving winner of the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Illustration. Books that celebrate a diverse range of cultures and experiences have also been a feature this year, the latest book from Ibtihaj Muhammad The Boldest White is a celebration of bravery, identity and family that will inspire everyone who reads it. With fantastic new authors and illustrators and books from evergreen favourites 2025 has been a bumper year!