From the Jacket

A young woman must shake off a family curse and the widely held belief that she is the reincarnation of her dead cousin in this wickedly funny, brilliantly perceptive novel about love, female rivalry, and superstition from the author of the smash hit My Sister, the Serial Killer ("A bombshell of a book... Sharp, explosive, hilarious" —New York Times)

From the Discussion

“This was one of my best reads of the year…I felt like I was growing along with the characters. I loved how the book was about learning about individuality and loving oneself.” —Shabella_G

Clare Leslie Hall's novel Broken Country is a complex drama that explores themes of love and loss, betrayal and forgiveness. The year is 1968, and our narrator, Beth Johnson, is happily married to Frank, a sheep farmer in North Dorset. We learn early on that the couple had a nine-year-old son who died two years prior, and although they're still grieving, they have a strong marriage built on mutual love and respect. Their relationship is rocked, however, when wealthy author Gabriel Wolfe and his young son Leo return to their estate next door after living in America for the past decade. Beth's tale then rewinds to 1955, where she narrates meeting eighteen-year-old Gabriel when she was seventeen. … continued

Review by Kim Kovacs

One idea that stuck with me from John Green's book Everything Is Tuberculosis was how TB became racialized. And a brief look at history shows the same pattern occurring not just with tuberculosis but with nearly every major outbreak. From the plague and typhus to HIV and COVID-19, illnesses have repeatedly exposed and amplified a host of social faults. … continued

Article by Sofia Chatzistefanou

Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green, featured above, is just one of nearly 200 recommended books in our Science, Health, and the Environment nonfiction category.

Explore these titles for enlightening reading about language, technology, outer space, the climate crisis, relationships between animals, plants, and humans from ancient times to the present day, and much more.

This is one of 100+ themed categories available to BookBrowse members. Non-members can view a limited version of our category lists.

Looking forward to another great year of reading in 2026, or want to catch up on all the great titles of 2025? Then you’ll love The BookBrowse Literary Almanac 2025-2026. Inside, you'll find everything BookBrowse discovered in 2025: the 20 best books that rose above the noise, our editors' personal favorites, the author interviews that revealed the most, the book club discussions that went deepest, and the "beyond the book" articles that added the richest context and were the most thought-provoking.

But this isn't just retrospective. The Almanac also looks ahead to 2026 with our most anticipated titles, the best upcoming books for club discussions, and the trends we're watching in publishing and reading culture.

Did you read any books considered classics in 2025? 

Join us to discuss your own reading and see others’ answers to this question in the BookBrowse community forum, our lively space for bookish conversation.