2025 Read Harder Challenge
This is my third year participating in reading challenges, and they’ve been a huge success for me in the past. I didn’t complete every prompt, but they helped me read a lot more backlist titles than I would have on my own. I’m committing to Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge again this year, and I’m really excited about the titles I’ve selected for some of these prompts.
So far, I’ve completed 17 out of 24 prompts.
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2025 Read Harder Challenge
1. A 2025 release by a BIPOC author.
Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon
Notes: A rivals-to-lovers romance about saving a Korean coffee shop in Seattle. This one is unusual in that it’s told entirely from his perspective. I enjoyed the banter and character development. Definitely a fun one.
Published January 7, 2025 | My Review
2. Reread a Childhood Favorite
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Notes: I read this for the first (and many subsequent times) in elementary school. The tension in this high seas adventure is phenomenal. Even though I was familiar with the story, I still got lost in it all over again.
Published October 27, 2015 (Orig. 1990) | My Review to Come
3. A Queer Mystery
5. A Book About Immigration or Refugees
6. A Standalone Fantasy Book
7. A Book About a Piece of Media You Love
Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins
Notes: I loved the portrayal of Haymitch in the Hunger Games movies (and his character in the books, too), so I knew I was going to read Sunrise on the Reaping this year. The book delivered all the things I needed it to, and it makes his character in the rest of the series make so much sense.
Published March 18, 2025 | My Review to Come
11. A Work of Weird Horror
13. A Book About Nature or the Environment
Riverkeeper: Protecting an American River (Books for a Better Earth) by Nancy Castaldo
Notes: I really enjoyed the other book by Castaldo that I’ve read, so when I saw this, I immediately wanted to read it. The text tells the story of cleaning up the Hudson River (and why it needed cleaning up in the first place) and connects readers to other river cleanup operations throughout the US.
Published April 22, 2025 | My Review
14. A Comic in Translation
Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu
What you need to know: An absolutely brilliant, entertaining collection of short biographies of women who changed the world in graphic novel format. I can’t stop recommending this.
Published March 6, 2018 | My Review to Come
15. A Banned Book
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Notes: I can’t believe it took me almost ten years to read this book. From start to finish, it took me less than 24 hours to read this one. I am not sure I put it down at all once I started reading. The story is completely engrossing. Definitely a book worth reading.
Published September 29, 2015 | My Review to Come
17. A Book About Little-Known History
Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler, Sonia Paoloni, and Thibault Balahy
Notes: An enthusiastic recounting of a Native American rock band and Native American civil rights movement in America. This is a perfect blend of music history and Indigenous history. Really nicely done.
Published October 28, 2020 | My Review to Come
19. A Queernorm Book
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
Notes: Wow. This one hit hard for me. The constant analyzing, doubting, hoping, circling that Frankie does as she tries to figure out how to make her relationship with Laura Dean work resonated. I’ve so been there. This was well done.
Published May 7, 2019 | My Review to Come
20. Read the First Book in a Completed YA Duology
21. Read About a Moral Panic
Nothing But the Truth by Avi
What you need to know: Take a big breath before going into this one. Though it was written more than 30 years ago, it’s impossible to read this and not feel the echoes of today’s fervor for nationalism. It’s not a super long read, but it’s razor-sharp.
Published January 1, 2010 (Orig. 1991) | My Review to Come
22. Read a Holiday Romance That Isn’t About Christmas
Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jairgirdar
Notes: I’ve read and loved solo projects by each of these authors, so I feel no surprise at how much I enjoyed this book. I loved the arc of the story and the way that community and art feature in the book.
Published June 4, 2024 | My Review to Come
24. Pick a 2015 Read Harder Challenge to Complete (Read a Short Story or Poetry Collection)
On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh
Notes: What a clever anthology. Each story is titled by the apartment number where the main character lives. All the stories take place in the same apartment building. I loved piecing together this neighborhood through the eyes of each narrator.
Published October 22, 2024 | My Review
2025 Read Harder Challenge Prompts
I’ve completed the prompts in bold.
- A 2025 release by a BIPOC author.
- A childhood favorite (reread).
- A queer mystery.
- A book about obsession.
- A book about immigration or refugees.
- A standalone fantasy book.
- A book about a piece of media you love (TV show, band, etc.).
- Literary fiction by a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled author.
- A book based solely on its setting.
- A romance book that doesn’t have an illustrated cover.
- A work of weird horror.
- A staff pick from an indie bookstore. (Preferably from your local store.)
- A nonfiction book about nature or the environment.
- A comic in translation.
- A banned book (and complete a task on Book Riot’s how to fight book bans guides.).
- A genre-blending book.
- A book about little-known history.
- A “cozy” book by a BIPOC author.
- A queernorm book.
- The first in a completed young adult or middle grade duology.
- Read a book about a moral panic.
- Read a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas.
- Read a wordless comic.
- Pick a 2015 Read Harder Challenge task to complete (Read a short story or poetry collection.).
