HOLIDAY HOURS: All WPL locations will have holiday hours between Dec 24 – Jan 1. To see the full list of holiday hours, click here.

Top Reads of 2025

Dec 22, 2025 - Waterloo Public Library
Read / Watch List

As the year winds down, we’re turning the page on 2025 by highlighting the books our community loved most. You borrowed widely and enthusiastically across formats, and some titles truly stood out. Browse the lists below to discover the most popular adult and children’s fiction and non-fiction of the year.

Adult Fiction

One Golden Summer
Carley Fortune
The Impossible Fortune
Richard Osman
Broken Country: A Novel
Clare Leslie Hall
The Tenant
Freida McFadden
My Friends: A Novel
Fredrik Backman; translated by Neil Smith
Best Kept Secret
Jeffrey Archer
The Widow
John Grisham
Great Big Beautiful Life
Emily Henry
The Secret of Secrets: A Novel
Dan Brown
The Woman in Suite 11
Ruth Ware
The Proving Ground
Michael Connelly
Strangers in Time
David Baldacci
Onyx Storm
Rebecca Yarros
Nightshade: A Novel
Michael Connelly
She Didn't See It Coming
Shari Lapena
The Virgin Suicides
Jeffrey Eugenides
Atmosphere: A Love Story
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Say You'll Remember Me
Abby Jimenez
Moment of Truth
Lisa Scottoline
The Paris Express: A Novel
Emma Donoghue

Adult Non-Fiction

Every Salad Ever: From Grains to Greens and Pasta to Beans Plus Every Salad in Betweens
Greta Podleski
107 Days
Kamala Harris
Vanished Beyond the Map: The Mystery of Lost Explorer Hubert Darrell
Adam Shoalts
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism: A Memoir
Sarah Wynn-Williams
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Omar El Akkad
The Let Them Theory: A Life-changing Tool That Millions of People can't Stop Talking About
Mel Robbins
Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice
Virginia Roberts Giuffre
A Truce That is Not Peace
Miriam Toews
All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation
Elizabeth Gilbert
Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love
Samin Nosrat; photographs by Aya Brackett
The Blue Zones Kitchen One Pot Meals: 100 Recipes to Live to 100
Dan Buettner; photographs by Oliver Barth
Anna Cooks: 125+ Delicious & Achievable Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Anna Olson
Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of our Deadliest Infection
John Green
Letter from Japan
Marie Kondo with Marie Iida
The Book of Sheen: A Memoir
Charlie Sheen
Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy
Mary Roach
Skinnytaste High Protein: 100 Healthy, Simple Recipes to Fuel Your Day
Gina Homolka with Heather K. Jones, R.D.
Against the Grain: Defiant Giants Who Changed the World
Terry O'Reilly

Teen

The Rose Field
Philip Pullman
Sisters in the Wind
Angeline Boulley
This Place Kills Me
Mariko Tamaki & Nicole Goux
Hazelthorn
CG Drews
Coldwire
Chloe Gong
Sunrise on the Reaping
Suzanne Collins
The Same Backward as Forward
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Fearless
Lauren Roberts
We Fell Apart
E. Lockhart
Rebel Witch
Kristen Ciccarelli
Fake Skating
Lynn Painter
Heavenly Tyrant
Xiran Jay Zhao
The House Saphir
Marissa Meyer
Grumpy Darling
Alexandra Moody
Justice League Unlimited: Into the Inferno
Mark Waid
Best of All Worlds
Kenneth Oppel
Watch Me
Tahereh Mafi
My Return to the Walter Boys
Ali Novak
Most Valuable Player
A. M. Woody
Absolute Wonder Woman (Volume 1): The Last Amazon
Kelly Thompson

Picturebooks

I'm Very Busy: A (Nearly Forgotten) Birthday Book
Oliver Jeffers
Gozzle
Julia Donaldson & Sara Ogilvie
The Day the Crayons Made Friends
Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers
Billie Jean Peet, Athlete
Andrea Beaty; illustrated by David Roberts
Everything's Wrong! : A Bear, a Hare, and Trouble Everywhere
Jory John; pictures by Erin Kraan
Sammy Feels Shy
Tom Percival
Axolotl and Axolittle
Jess Hitchman; illustrated by Sarah Rebar
Archibald and the Furry Dinosaurs
Suzanne Lang & Max Lang
This Book is Dangerous!
Ben Clanton
Bored Panda
Mike Bender ; illustrated by Chuck Dillon
Peppa Pig and the Wedding Day
Candlewick Entertainment
A Dance with Santa Claus
Sandra Boynton
Flat Cat: The Class Pet
Tara Lazar; illustrated by Pete Oswald
Bluey's Night Before Christmas
Lauren Holowaty; illustrated by Kiara Hankinson, Jemma Bayley & Costa Kassab
Peppa Pig: Our New Baby Sister
Cala Spinner
5-Minute Pixar Stories: 12 Friendship Stories!
Disney
Little Blue Truck and Racer Red
Alice Schertle; illustrated in the style of Jill McElmurry by John Joseph
Princesses Love School
Bri Marie McNish; illustrated by Studio Iboix
Paw Patrol: Graduation Day in Adventure Bay
Matt Huntley; illustrated by Nate Lovett
Bluey: Fairytale
Joe Brumm

Junior Fiction

Echo
Pam Muñoz Ryan
Impossible Creatures: The Poisoned King
Katherine Rundell
Scarlet Morning
ND Stevenson
Heartwood Hotel: Family Forever
Kallie George; illustrated by Stephanie Graegin
Touching Grass
Kristy Jackson; art by Rhael McGregor
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper
Jeff Kinney
Witchlings: Scepter of Memories
Claribel A. Ortega
Spy School: Blackout
Stuart Gibbs
Minecraft: Eyes of the Endermen!
Caleb Zane Huett; illustrated by Alan Batson & Chris Hill
Whatever After: Mirror Mirror
Sarah Mlynowski
Old School
Gordon Korman
Chef's Secret
Kelly Yang
Bad Kitty: Party Animal
Nick Bruel
Warriors: StormClan's Folly
Erin Hunter
The Last Kids on Earth and the Destructor's Lair
Max Brallier & Douglas Holgate
All Ears
Stuart Gibbs
Roswell Johnson Saves the Galaxy!
Chris Colfer; illustrations by Godwin Akpan
The Forgotten Five: Masters of Disguise
Lisa McMann
Middle School: Too Uncool for School
James Patterson & Martin Chatterton; illustrated by Jomike Tejido
Dragonborn
Struan Murray

Junior Graphic Novels

Sonic the Hedgehog: On the Go (Volume 1)
Ian Flynn
Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House (#8): Midnight on the Moon
Adapted by Jenny Laird
The Last Comics on Earth (#3): A Song of Swords and Stuffies
Max Brallier & Joshua Pruett; illustrations by Jay Cooper & Douglas Holgate
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics: The Graphic Novel
Chris Grabenstein; illustrated by Douglas Holgatem
Plants vs. Zombies: The Big Spitball
Paul Tobin ; art by Luisa Russo
Big Nate: Attack of the Cheez Funk Breath!
Lincoln Peirce
Big Nate: No Harm Done!
Lincoln Peirce
Baby-Sitters Little Sister (#11): Karen's Ghost
DK Yingst
Baby-Sitters Little Sister: (#10): Karen's Prize
Shauna J. Grant
The Baby-Sitters Club (#18): Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter
Ellen T. Crenshaw
The Baby-Sitters Club (#17): Mallory and the Trouble with Twins
Arley Nopra
Agents of S.U.I.T.: Wild Ghost Chase
John Patrick Green & Christopher Hastings; illustrated by Pat Lewis
Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin (Volume 2)
Erin Hunter; adapted & illustrated by Natalie Riess & Sara Goetter
Sweet Valley Twins (Volume 5): Sneaking Out
Francine Pascal; adaptation by Nicole Andelfinger; illustrated by Claudia Aguirre
Sweet Valley Twins (Volume 6): The New Girl
Francine Pascal; adaptation by Nicole Andelfinger; illustrated by Knack Whittle
Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin (Volume 3)
Erin Hunter; adapted & illustrated by Natalie Riess & Sara Goetter
Geronimo Stilton Reporter (#19): Cheese Connection
Geronimo Stilton

Junior Non-Fiction

Underwater Battles
Jerry Pallotta; illustrated by Rob Bolster
LEGO How to Build Everything
Hannah Dolan; models designed and created by Jessica Farrell & Nate Dias
Money for Curious Kids: An Illustrated Introduction to Spending and Saving, Finance, Economics -- and More!
Claudia Martin; illustrator, Nik Neves
Be More Stitch: Be More Positive, Happy, and Confident Every Day
Laura Gilbert & Ellen Philpott
Craft with Cardboard: A Kid's Guide to Constructing a Miniature City
Tiffanie Pichon; translated by Grace McQuillan
Guinness World Records 2026
Guinness World Records
Minecraft Survival Challenges: The Adventure Edition
Tom Stone
Minecraft Atlas of the World: Create the Real World in Minecraft
Craig Jelley
Who Would Win?: The Ultimate Rumble Collection
Jerry Pallotta; illustrated by Rob Bolster
Minecraft Magical Bite-size Builds: With Over 20 Marvelous Mini Projects
Random House Worlds
Hello, I'm Anxiety
DK Publishing
Weird but True! Space: 300 Out-of-this-world Facts
National Geographic Kids
T is for Terry: An ABC of Courage
Denise Dias; illustrated by Noémie Gionet Landry
Hansel and Gretel
Stephen King; pictures by Maurice Sendak
I Spy A to Z: A Book of Picture Riddles
Photographs by Walter Wick; riddles by Jean Marzollo
Hello, I'm Embarrassment
DK Publishing
Weird but True!: Weather & Natural Disasters
Michael Burgan; illustrated by Mike Laughead
Halloween
Nancy Dickmann; illustrated by Laura Borio
Oddball Animals: 2,501 Fantastic Facts About the Weirdest, Wackiest, and Wildest Creatures on Earth
Joanne Mattern
Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition
Guinness World Records
Waterloo Public Library

WPL’s Check It Out blog is your go-to destination for all things literary, curated with care by your trusted library staff. With insightful book reviews, reading suggestions, helpful resources and more, we’re here to inspire and guide you on your journey through all that the library has to offer.