For me, a perfect rating means a book did something special. It challenged me, moved me, or kept me up way too late because I had to know what happened next. 

In this article are five books that did that in different ways. 

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I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

This book was intense. It’s challenging, dark, emotional, mysterious, sad, tense, and fast-paced. Everything I want in a book that really sticks with you.

I felt conflicted at first about how much goes unknown throughout the book. Part of me wants to know everything about the timeline and world of the book, but another part of me is pleased to have to fill in the gaps myself.

I was surprised after I read it to learn this book was from 1995. I was too young for it at the time, but would’ve loved to have read it in high school a few years later. It reads like The Handmaids Tale in that it could be from nearly any time, which is frustrating and thought-provoking all at once.

It’s been months since I’ve read this, but I still regularly recommend it. Dare I say that the plot haunts me, even!

If you want a book that doesn’t hold back and creates this unsettling, moving experience, this is it.

Click here to buy it on bookshop.org.

The Fourth Turning Is Here by Neil Howe

I needed to slow down for this one, and I’m glad I did. This book is challenging, informative, inspiring, reflective, and definitely slow-paced. But it rewards you if you stick with it.

Howe looks at historical patterns and cycles, helping you understand how history repeats itself and what that might mean for us now. It’s the kind of book that makes you think long after you’ve finished reading. If you’re willing to sit with complex ideas and take your time, this book will give you a completely new way of looking at history and the future.

I gifted this book to a friend who is transitioning to a career as a social studies teacher after years in military leadership. It captures something about how I wish we taught and learned history – with a conceptual lens that does not discard chronology, but also doesn’t see dates and times as the whole story. 

I am not exaggerating when I say I think about this book every single day since I read it.

Click here to buy it on bookshop.org.

Trust by Hernan Diaz

I won this book in a White Elephant at work and was SO happy to get it! I’ve never read anything like it and now that I’m reading my way through the New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, I was delighted to see it listed at number 50.

I saved Trust for a trip to New York just after finishing brushing up on HBO’s The Gilded Age. So engrossing was it that I bypassed the touristy view of the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty to read instead!

Trust is dark, informative, mysterious, and medium-paced. It’s a mix of plot and character-driven storytelling, which kept me engaged the whole time. The characters are notably unreliable, complicated and interesting in their own way, and Diaz makes their flaws a main focus of the story without spelling them out for you directly.

What really got me was how the book plays with truth and perspective. You think you know what’s happening, and then everything shifts. It’s mysterious without being frustrating, and the character development is just as strong as the plot, reminding us that “truth” is relative and trust is always a bit of a gamble.

Click here to buy it on bookshop.org.

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This one hit me hard in the best way. It’s challenging, emotional, hopeful, informative, inspiring, reflective, and fast-paced. Coates manages to tackle really difficult subjects while still leaving you with hope.

I appreciated how the book made me think deeply about important issues without feeling heavy-handed. It’s fast-paced enough that you stay engaged, but reflective enough that you need to pause and really absorb what he’s saying. The chapter on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict completely shifted my thinking on the entire conflict for very different reasons than you might expect. 

Coates speaks like a poet, yet somehow also manages to communicate plainly. If that’s not art, I don’t know what is. I’d read anything of his without hesitation and regularly gift his books to others, including this one.

Click here to buy it on bookshop.org.

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz

The meta narrative in this book was so compelling! There’s literally a book within the book that parallels the main story, and watching those layers unfold was fascinating.

This one is mysterious and medium-paced, which lets the tension build naturally. It’s plot-driven, but the characters are complex enough to want to stick with them. I listened to this one and felt annoyed by the first person narration eventually, in a way that showed just how frustrating the characters can be! 

Korelitz does such a good job of making you question everything while keeping you completely hooked. If you love a good mystery with characters who feel real and a structure that surprises you, you’ll love this. The Sequel (which is, of course, the sequel) is also compelling, but I recommend you, like I, wait a little before diving in so it does not feel redundant, even though you might be tempted to find out what happens next!

Click here to buy it on bookshop.org.

Conclusion

Looking back at these five books, I see some patterns. They all have complicated characters who feel real. They all made me feel something deep. And they all challenged me to think differently, whether about history, truth, identity, or human nature.

Two of these—The Fourth Turning and The Plot—are also on my list of all-time favorites. Read more about the books that have shaped me in My Favorite Books.

Some of these books are dark, some are hopeful. Some moved fast, others asked me to slow down. But all of them gave me something I couldn’t forget and felt completely 2025 in the best possible way (in a year with relatively few “bests”!)

What are you looking for in your next read? A challenge? An escape? Something that will stay with you? Pick the one that calls to you and dive in.

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