Emma’s Year in Books

What did you read this year?

Go to previous year

2025

Year in Books

43,764

pages read

144

books read

Emma

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

752

pages

Average book length in 2025

303

pages

Most Shelved

2,822,311

people also shelved

Least Shelved

people also shelved

Emma’s average rating for 2025

4.1

Lord of Blade and Bone by Erica Ivy Rodgers

Highest Rated on Goodreads

liked it

3.00 average

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . . A Love Story by Jason Reynolds

Emma’s first review of the year

really liked it

Twenty-four seconds from now Neon and Aria are going to have sex for the first time. It's been a long road to get to this point but they've talked about it, they've planned, and they're both ready.

Except Neon is having a hard time getting over his nerves and back to Aria where she's waiting for him in her bedroom.

Staring at himself in the mirror, Neon thinks about how crazy it is that they got here at all when

twenty-four months ago Neon was getti Twenty-four seconds from now Neon and Aria are going to have sex for the first time. It's been a long road to get to this point but they've talked about it, they've planned, and they're both ready.

Except Neon is having a hard time getting over his nerves and back to Aria where she's waiting for him in her bedroom.

Staring at himself in the mirror, Neon thinks about how crazy it is that they got here at all when

twenty-four months ago Neon was getting chased by Aria's dog before unwittingly getting stuck adopting said dog

and twenty-four weeks ago Neon's dad is being totally cringe wanting to talk about intimacy which is way harder than talking about it with Aria.

Then twenty-four days ago Neon's mom wants to have her own talk with him. After finding her bra is Neon's room. But hey, a guy's got to practice somewhere, right?

Twenty-four minutes ago Neon left work and made sure to get chicken tenders--Aria's favorite--and he felt ready.

But now, right now, locked in the bathroom he isn't quite as sure in Twenty-Four Seconds From Now (2024) by Jason Reynolds.

Twenty-Four Seconds From Now is a story told in reverse looking backward from the moment Neon and Aria, both Black teens, are about to consummate their relationship for the first time all the way back to the beginning. Narrated by Neon as he tries to get his head on straight before the big moment, readers are dropped into the story without much grounding as Neon starts to explain everything that led to this point.

Reynold's usual snappy prose works well here giving voice to Neon's stream-of-consciouness narration as he recounts all of the ups and downs (mostly ups) of his relationship with Aria. Neon's family is close-knit and refreshingly open about discussing safe sex, birth control, and relationships with Neon. They are, in fact, too open in Neon's opinion as he tries to navigate their unsolicited advice with his own interior life leading up to the big day. Aria, by contrast, lacks the same support and closeness in her family--something that pains Neon and also serves to underscore the beauty of his own family dynamics.

With constant pressures on teens, this novel is a much-needed antidote to toxic masculinity. It also explores the stress and anxiety around sex from the male perspective--something that still isn't seen as often in media when it comes to heterosexual relationships.

Possible Pairings: Forever by Judy Blume, The Night is Ours by Ronni Davis, Promposal by RaeChell Garrett, Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles, Not Here to Stay Friends by Kaitlyn Hill, Unnecessary Drama by Nina Kenwood, I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang, The Best Laid Plans by Cameron Lund, Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado, Breathless by Jennifer Niven, Cupcake by Cookie O'Gorman, The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos, A First Time For Everything by KL Walther, Last Chance Dance by Lakita Wilson ...more

EMMA’S 2025 BOOKS