Jason Cavallaro's Best of 2025

It's that time again.

The thing I dread. The thing I'm excited for.

In the next few minutes will try to condense all of the books I read this year into a top 10.

A few stats first, because I like numbers:

-158 books read

-$1,107 spent on books (this number, I do not care for)

-Average book rating on a 5-point system = 3.2 (hater territory)

-only 10% of books read received a 5-star rating 

Let's begin.

Disclaimer: Most of these books were not published in 2025. But who cares. I don't know why people care about publication dates so much, but anyway...


JASON'S TOP TEN

10.  The Wicked Unseen by Gigi Griffis.  A young adult satanic panic story. This is not the only YA book to make the list...

9:  Straydog by Kathe Koja. Unpopular opinion: I've read all of Koja's classics, and I think this is better than all of them.

8. Lizard Wine by Elizabeth Engstrom. Another lesser-known title from a giant in the field. I love When Darkness Loves Us too, but do NOT sleep on this one. Super suspenseful thriller.

7. Animal Pound by Tom King and Peter Gross (graphic novel). I read 35 graphic novels this year and this was my favorite (close second to Snyder/Jock's Book of Evil) This one is a modern day re-telling of Orwell's Animal Farm. It hits very close to home, with its themes of herd mentality and political upheaving.

6. Empty Mile by Matthew Stokoe. Yes, the author of the infamous Cows. Stokoe switched gears and wrote this rural family drama, loaded with suspense and emotional weight.

5. Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix. Yet another great one from Hendrix. He hasn't written a bad one yet, and I bet he never does.

4. Lucas by Kevin Brooks. This was the best YA book I read this year (24 read). If you YA people are out there not reading Kevin Brooks, you're making a huge mistake. I have 5-starred every single book I've read from him. This does not happen! Start with The Bunker Diary, then read this one.

3. What About the Bodies by Ken Jaworowski. I didn't believe he could write a book better than Small Town Sins, but here we are. Ken is the most exciting new voice in crime fiction if you ask me.

2. The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin. Fast-paced crime drama, with a protagonist that you can easily get behind.

Drumroll please....

1. Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican. This may be my favorite high school-themed novel. It's funny, heartbreaking, and complex, with well-rounded characters. Can't ask for more.


Bonus list!

Top ten horror films watched in 2025.

I only watched 40 movies this year, so this list isn't as bottlenecked as the book list.

10. Warfare, dir by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland. Yes, this is horror. Slice-of-life as a soldier. Ultra realistic and based on a real event.

9. 28 Years Later, dir by Danny Boyle. The best of the trilogy, in my opinion.

8. Good Boy, dir by Ben Leonberg. Go for the cute dog, stay for the horror.

7. Presence, dir by Steven Soderbergh. Not everyone liked this one, but I sure did. 

6. The Coffee Table, dir by Caye Casas. I'm late to the party on this ultra-dark comedy(?)/anxiety fest from 2022. Couldn't get it out of my head for a few days.

5. Predator: Badlands, dir by Dan Trachtenberg. The so-called "predator whisperer" strikes again with the best Predator film since Arnold's.

4. Dangerous Animals, dir by Sean Byrne. Another one that I seemed to like more than everyone else. Cape Fear with sharks!

3. The Long Walk, dir by Francis Lawrence. Joins a shortlist of Stephen King adaptations that I feel actually surpass the source material.

2. Weapons, dir by Zach Cregger. It would belong on this list just from one particular scene, but the rest of the film confirms its inclusion here. Scary and original.

1. Bring Her Back, dir by Danny and Michael Phillippou. Surely their second film can't be better than Talk to Me, right?  Well...yes. Bring Her Back is a grief horror masterpiece.


That's it!  Bring on 2026!

Jason Cavallaro
Jcavallaro42@gmail.com
Twitter: @pinheadspawn
Instagram: @jcavallaro42
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