In this well documented, well written work of nonfiction, Haley Cohen Gilliland recounts the history of The Abuelas of Argentina along with the history of their country from 1952 to 2023. Argentina was ruled by many dictators during those years, and during those years horrific things happened to thousands of individuals who tried to stop them. One of the many despicable acts was to kidnap pregnant women, torture them and after these women gave birth and their newborns were secretly given to families that supported the regime, they were murdered. The Abuelas, a group of grandmothers whose children were kidnapped and disappeared, was formed to try to find their grandchildren.

Although A Flower Traveled in My Blood is a difficult read because of the subject matter, it is an important read. Among other things, it illustrates how a group with seemingly no power can make a difference through hard work, determination and passion.

Winner of this year’s National Book Award, The True Story of Raja the Gullible is the story of Raja, a gay man living for the most part in Beirut and teaching philosophy at a private, exclusive coed school. When Raja’s mother moves in with him, she causes havoc to his once peaceful and quiet life. Raja’s rendering of his life from 1960-2023 reflects the history of Beirut at that time as well. Blending tragedy and comedy, Alameddine subtly tells a tale of a man, his city and his country.

Rabib Alameddine’s semi autobiographical work is enjoyable, informative, and well-written. It is funny, sad and frightening. But is The True Story of Raja the Gullible the best book of the year? I don’t think so.

The Elements is divided into four sections: water, earth, fire and air. Each section has a main character who is affected by one of these elements. All four characters have been traumatized in one way or another. The four individuals appear tangentially in the three segments where he or she is not the main character.

Although I have enjoyed most of John Boyne’s novels, I cannot recommend The Elements. I felt removed from the characters and their experiences, and perhaps that is why I had a hard time trying to summarize Boyne’s book. Also, I thought the style and the plot of The Elements was slow moving and contrived.

David Szalay’s Booker Prize novel is a depiction of an Hungarian immigrant named Istvan. His journey takes him from a lonely childhood in Hungary to London where he first gets a job as a bouncer at a strip joint, and eventually he marries a wealthy English widow. Istvan is an enigmatic character who floats through life letting others, for the most part, make choices for him. Flesh describes much of what he is doing and saying, but little of what he is thinking.

While I found Flesh interesting, I did not feel it was the best book of the year. Flesh is full of dialogue but lacks much description. For example, I have no idea what any of the characters, including Istvan, looked like.

Maggie O’Farrell’s novel has four major characters. Lily rents a room from Marcus and becomes his lover. She quickly becomes obsessed with his previous lover, Sinead. Marcus has another roommate, Aiden, who purposely distances himself from Lily. He is happy to be moving out soon. Told in alternating viewpoints and perceptions, these four characters depict what might have occurred and what really happened.

It’s difficult to summarize My Lover’s Lover without giving away the unfolding plot, but the more I read, the more I became involved with all four characters. My Lover’s Lover is a terrific read that focuses on love, reality, truth, perceptions and jumping to conclusions.

Maurice and Maralyn Bailey are not your average English couple. They didn’t want children or a placid life. In 1972 they sold their home and bought a boat. Their plan was to sail to New Zealand and start a new life there. Nine months at sea and their boat was hit by a whale and destroyed. They then spent four months on a rubber raft attached to a dinghy. A Marriage at Sea recounts Maurice and Maralyn’s lives before, during and after the disaster.

A Marriage at Sea has made many top 10 lists of 2025 and rightly so. It is a work of nonfiction that is well-written and easy to read. It is a tale of survival, partnership and lasting love.

Valerie Gillis was hiking the Appalachian Trail when suddenly she disappeared somewhere in a dense forest in Maine. Beverly Miller is the park warden in charge of finding her. Told in alternating narratives of Beverly, Valerie and Lena, an elderly woman who takes an interest in Valerie’s disappearance, Heartwood is a mystery, a survival story and a depiction of three very different women who come to terms with their lives.

I really enjoyed Heartwood. I liked the three main characters, their distinct voices, and I appreciated what is involved in trying to find someone in the woods of Maine and what it takes to stay alive in the wilderness.

Fiction

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Dream State by Eric Puchner

Flashlight by Susan Choi

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

Heart the Lover by Lily King

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sonny by Kiran Desai

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan

Nonfiction

Mark Twain by Ron Chernow

Murder in the Dollhouse by Rich Cohen

There Is No Place for Us by Brian Goldstone

Vanishing Treasures by Katherine Rundell

Children’s Picture Books

If I Built A Town by Chris Van Dusen

Oh Dear, Look What I Got by Michael Rosen

A Snowy Day for Amos McGee by Philip and Erin Stead

The Humpty Dumpty Club is a group of older women who are members of Cavalry Church in Pittsburgh. Their mission is to help other church members in need. When the self-appointed leader of the group falls down a flight of stairs and will be hospitalized for weeks, four other members step in to do her tasks. Emily, Arlene, Kitzi and Sue’s lives as they try to help others and come to terms with their own lives is basically the plot of Evensong.

This is the fourth book in Stewart O’Nan’s Maxwell family saga. It is not necessary to read the books in order, but I would not read Evensong first. While the whole series are enjoyable and at times heart-warming, my favorite was Henry, Himself.

The narrator, Beth Johnson, tells her story mostly in two segments-1968 and before, and the setting is for the most part in Dorset, England. Beth is living a peaceful life with her farmer husband, Frank, in 1968 until her old lover, Gabriel, and his son, Leo, return to Dorset. When Beth and Gabriel get together again, events occur that no one could have possibly imagined.

Clare Leslie Hall’s first novel to be published in The United States is a good, easy read. Part mystery, part love story, part family saga, Broken Country has interesting, yet imperfect characters and a well paced plot.