Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! It’s Thursday and that means it’s time for a tag post. I did this one back in 2023 and decided to do it again. Each question is about the first book you read this year of a certain category.

This tag was created by girlxoxo. 

First Book Read in 2025

The first book I read this year was the Luis Ortega Survival Club. This book follows a group of high schoolers who are all victims of a boy named Luis Ortega in different ways.

They form this club to sort of cope and support one another, but also to seek revenge on Luis.

I loved all the characters in this book and the romance subplot along with the autism representation. I ended up giving it 4 stars because I didn’t like how the mom uses the main character as a therapist and she is just allowed to get away with being a terrible person. Her behavior is excused when she hurts the MC and the MC’s dad. I just didn’t the mom’s character at all.

First Book Reviewed in 2025

I don’t typically write reviews on Goodreads anymore and I don’t post dedicated review posts on here. I just don’t feel as though they do well and I don’t really enjoy writing those types of posts either.

However, I had an ARC of this one that I didn’t get to and once I finally read it, I gave it a review on Goodreads.

It’s the last book in a middle grade series that centers games and libraries. I love that so much inspiration is taken from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but Mr. Lemoncello is a board game maker.

They are super fun books and I love solving the riddles as the book goes with the characters.

First Book by a Debut Author

I haven’t read a book by an author that debuted in 2025, but this was the first book I read that was a debut when it was published.

Nevermoor is a middle grade fantasy book following Morrigan Crow. She is destined to die on her 11th birthday until she meets a man named Jupiter North, who is determined to save her from her fate.

I don’t typically read fantasy book by middle grade authors and this one showed me that I should. I really loved it and I loved book two even more.

First Book by a New-to-Me Author

Nevermoor was the third book I read in 2025, so Jessica Townsend was the first NTM author in 2025.

If you love middle grade books, I would highly recommend this one. I’m planning in the next year or so to try a lot more fantasy books in this age range because it was so good.

First Book That Slayed Me in 2025

I was really surprised how emotional I was when reading this book. It was the best one in the series in a while.

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is the 10th book in the Wayward Children series, and as far as we know, the last one.

It was the backstory of a character mentioned in one of the early books and I really enjoyed it. I almost wish we would’ve seen a bit of what happened in the future.

First Book of 2025 I Wish I Could Get Back Time Spent Reading

I didn’t read any books that I necessarily really hated, but I would say the one I disliked the most was Love, Redesigned. I feel like it just wasn’t nearly as good as her Dreamland Billionares series.

I think it sort of tainted my overall love for the other series because this one is connected to it. I was so excited to dive back into this author and was left with such an unorganized mess of a romance. I kind of want to push myself to read book two to see if it was just a fluke.

That wraps up my First Book Tag for 2025! I love reflecting on my year of reading so far. Have you done this tag yet? I know I did it a little early in the year, but I’d still love to see your thoughts in the comments!

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Happy blogging and bookish adventures! 📚🦒✨

This post was created by Allison Wolfe for www.allithebookgiraffe.com and is not permitted to be posted anywhere else.

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