2025 Read Harder Challenge

2025 Read Harder Challenge

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

Bingsu for Two by Sujin Witherspoon

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Pride or Die by CL Montblanc

Pride or Die by CL Montblanc

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

Notes: School pride, a mascot not to be taken lightly, and a GSA club framed for murder collide in this wildly fun murder mystery with a dash of romance.

Published April 15, 2025 | My Review


5. A Book About Immigration or Refugees

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

Notes: A heartbreaking memoir of brothers living in a refugee camp and dreaming of going home to Sudan. Truly a must-read.

Published April 14, 2020 | My Review to Come


6. A Standalone Fantasy Book

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

Notes: I was unprepared for the ways in which this book parallels some things from real life. What I love is how hopeful, whimsical, and ultimately encouraging this story is.

Published March 8, 2022 | My Review to Come


7. A Book About a Piece of Media You Love

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - a Hunger Games novel

Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

Notes: This book is so hard to put down. It’s eerie and strange. I love the themes about nature and family. I missed Tran’s debut, but I absolutely will read it.

Published March 4, 2025 | My Review


13. A Book About Nature or the Environment

Riverkeeper: Protecting an American River (Books for a Better Earth) by Nancy Castaldo

Riverkeeper: Protecting an American River (Books for a Better Earth) by Nancy Castaldo

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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 Paolini, and Thibault Balahy

Redbone: The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Christian Staebler, Sonia Paoloni, and Thibault Balahy

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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 Mariki Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

Notes: A wild ride from start to finish, packed with Black Boy Magic. I listened to the audiobook version and highly recommend it.

Published May 7, 2024 | My Review to Come


21. Read About a Moral Panic

Nothing But the Truth by Avi

Nothing But the Truth by Avi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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 Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jairgirdar

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jairgirdar

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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

On the Block: Stories of Home edited by Ellen Oh

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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.

  1. A 2025 release by a BIPOC author.
  2. A childhood favorite (reread).
  3. A queer mystery.
  4. A book about obsession.
  5. A book about immigration or refugees.
  6. A standalone fantasy book.
  7. A book about a piece of media you love (TV show, band, etc.).
  8. Literary fiction by a BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and/or disabled author.
  9. A book based solely on its setting.
  10. A romance book that doesn’t have an illustrated cover.
  11. A work of weird horror.
  12. A staff pick from an indie bookstore. (Preferably from your local store.)
  13. A nonfiction book about nature or the environment.
  14. A comic in translation.
  15. A banned book (and complete a task on Book Riot’s how to fight book bans guides.).
  16. A genre-blending book.
  17. A book about little-known history.
  18. A “cozy” book by a BIPOC author.
  19. A queernorm book.
  20. The first in a completed young adult or middle grade duology.
  21. Read a book about a moral panic.
  22. Read a holiday romance that isn’t Christmas.
  23. Read a wordless comic.
  24. Pick a 2015 Read Harder Challenge task to complete (Read a short story or poetry collection.).

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