Highlights of 2025

Intro

Written by: Gwen

Edited by: Kaylee

2025 was a year of books, music, video games, and television having the highest quality released to the public. From games that crashed websites due to their popularity, to movies that brought families and friends back to the theatres. Let’s take a look at what the pop culture of last year brought us together with. 

Literature of 2025

By: Arya Sladen-Suarez

Edited by: Kaylee Ecarma

We’ve had an extraordinary year in literature, uncountable stories blooming from all over the world. From books like “Sunrise on the Reaping” and “A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe”, let’s review some of the top eight books of 2025, kick-starting the new year with a dose of popular young adult literature.

Our first book to start with is “ The Corruption of Hollis Brown”, by K. Ankrum. This book was released around April of 2025, gaining popularity by its unique concept of a boy sharing his body with a ghost. The main premise of the book in summary is about a boy Hollis Brown, who struggles with the idea that once he leaves for college, he’ll be lonely. Little did he know, he would get more “company” then he thought when a restless ghost named Walt hitched a ride in our main character's body. This book all takes place in the setting of a small-town, with a creative prompt I’m sure you’ll want to read.

Second on our list is “Make Me a Monster”, by Kalynn Bayron. Released around September 2025, this book follows the idea of being a Frankenstein folklore retelling with a modern spin, following our character, Meka, and her job as a mortician's assistant.  The story bends as it seems as so that the dead don’t stay that way. The story takes an interesting twist when she finds romance with one of the undead. This book is definitely a must read for gothic fans. It is a story of a soft and supportive romance and with an unexpected stomach-twist of classic horror.

Thirdly, we have “Sisters in the Wind”, by Angelline Boulley. The idea of this book is about a girl named Lucy. When her father dies, she gets placed in foster care but escapes once she gets revealed information that puts her life in jeopardy. After a big explosion at her work, her guardians reveal that her mother was Ojibwe (being that of a Native American tribe) and that Lucy has other family members. It is a story of trust, betrayal, suspense, and survival.

Half way through the list, we have “Up in Smoke”, by Nick Brooks. The thesis of this book is about a teenager named Cooper who thought to look out as his friend looted a store while a riot occurred. Suddenly, they heard gun shots, and Cooper’s friend, Jason, is shown to be involved in a crime and things get quite complicated. Meanwhile, Cooper and Jason’s sister, Monique, work to find the killer before Jason gets convicted of being guilty. A thriller must-read with a tinge of romance and injustice.

Next up, “A Bird in the Air Means we can still Breathe” by Mahogany L. Brown takes place during the height of COVID-19 in New York City. The story itself is unique, given the way of its writing. It is an interwoven story of many teens’ stories and the lasting effect of this devastating time period. Every story is told with care and a waterfall of honesty from each teen, highlighting grief, loss, and shimmering hope amongst all this.

Sixth on the list, “I Am the Swarm” by Hayley Chewins. This book follows the protagonist, Nell,  and the premise of her family, where the women all receive a magical gift on their 15th birthday. Finally she gets to the big day. Her magical gift is revealed to be emotional manifests with insects. While her anger racks up a swarm of wasps, she gets torn between the conundrum of controlling and bottling up her emotions or letting the swarm of emotions go loose and wild. This book is a beautiful metaphor for letting powerful emotions run free.

Second to last, we have “Sunrise on the Reaping” by Suzanne Collins. This book follows Haymitch as a young boy as he becomes who we know from the first book as a tribute for the 50th Hunger Games and us readers find out how much of what they thought his games was just The Capitol’s propaganda. A mastermind’s work of subverted expectations, this book reveals many questions, canons, and theories. 

Last, but certainly not least, we have “Hazelthorn” by C.G. Drews. We follow Evander’s life, who has had many rules and expectations but no longer after his guardian’s death; His only glimpse of survival in his life is in a botanical horror hole of an estate he inherited from who may be the boy who once tried to kill him. Read this twisted, haunted, and mysteriously dark tale of self-discovery beyond rules. 

In conclusion, we’ve had many great books in 2025,  from romance to mystery, from horror to thriller. With these many great authors, we’re bound to have great literary 2026. 

Music in 2025

Written by Gwen Haverland

Edited by: Kaylee Ecarma

While 2025 was an eventful year in many areas of pop culture, such as video games, movies, literature, and more. One area it truly excelled was the music of this year. From pop artists making their comebacks, to indie rock bands gaining their fame, the year was filled with music that truly overthrew our expectations. To fully get a grasp on all the different albums released in 2025, here's a few albums to listen to and review.

The first album to review is “A Matter in Time” by Laufey, an album waited on by many of her fans as her third studio album of her career. The Icelandic jazz artist first stepped into the music industry with her debut studio album, “Everything I Know About Love”, in 2022, where she gained popularity through her songs “Falling Behind” and “Valentine”.  However, her fame skyrocketed in 2024 with the release of her second studio album, “Bewitched”, where her song “From the Start” went viral for its calming mix of bossa nova, jazz, and light elements of pop. Laufey’s newest album keeps the same whimsical jazz elements from her previous albums while blending in elements of alternative indie unlike her works before. The album started off strong, debuting at number 4 for the U.S. Billboard 200 and selling 99,000 copies and having 71,000 album sales as of September 4, 2025. “A Matter of Time” seamlessly brings together upbeat love songs, such as “Lover Girl”, ballads reflecting on one’s own insecurities, like “Snow White”, and suspenseful songs about the anger one experiences in relationships, with “Tough Luck.” Overall, I would give this album 9.2 out of 10, my personal favorite being the track “Tough Luck.” I give this rating due to its blend of beautiful lyrics with extensive meanings and genres of indie and jazz, but also since a few tracks did underperform for me compared to the rest, being slightly repetitive and boring. 

The next album I have chosen to review is Getting Killed by Geese, an album that skyrocketed the popularity of the indie rock band. The band was formed in 2016 by Cameron Winter, Max Bassin, Emily Greene, and Dominic DiGesu when the members were attending high school in Brooklyn, New York. The name of the band comes from a nickname of the guitarist, Emily Greene, as she is nicknamed “Goose.” The band released their first EP, which was simply labeled “EP,” when they were in high school, however, they released under no label, and it was only available online. This led to the EP falling under the radar, as well as the other album and EP they released soon after, two in 2018 and the other in 2019. Because of the lack of success and college acceptance letters leading them to different places, the band had originally planned to break up when they went to college. That is, until record labels started to pay attention to their self-released demos. This led to the band signing with Partisan Records, and releasing their second studio album,”Projector,” in 2021. After that, the band continued to stay together, releasing their third album in 2023. The band began to take off when frontman Cameron Winter released his debut solo album, “Heavy Metal”, in late 2024. This album was critically acclaimed by many, and led to people starting to notice the band. In June 2025, they announced the album that truly increased their popularity: “Getting Killed”. A total of three singles were released before the album, “Taxes,” “100 Horse,” and “Trinidad.” The album was officially released in September of 2025, and was critically acclaimed by many, even named by some as “Album of the Year.” The album combines loud tracks full of passion, like “Trinidad,” along with calmer songs such as “Cobra.” Overall, I would give this album a 9.5 out of 10, my personal favorite track being “Getting Killed.” I give this album this rating due to the passion and life it brings to the indie rock genre in a time of less and less mainstream bands of the genre. The only reason I don't give it a ten is due to a few tracks having parts that fell flat for me, not having the same vibrance compared to the others.

The last album I have chosen to review is "Mayhem" by Lady Gaga, the pop star’s return to music after a 5 year hiatus. Lady Gaga, real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, began her career in stardom performing at club venues in tributes to variety shows of the 1970’s, mixing the two elements of burlesque and rock shows, even performing at Lollapalooza in 2007. Her iconic stage name, Lady Gaga, was coined in 2006 due to a misspelling of her name at the time, Radio Ga Ga, taking inspiration from the 1984 song by Queen. As she started to gain more recognition in the music world, she began to incorporate more pop elements into her music, originally leaning towards more electronic dance music (EDM), taking inspiration from Queen and David Bowie. In late 2007, she signed with L.A. record label Cherrytree Records, and began recording her debut album, “The Fame,” which was released in 2008. The album reached number on charts across Europe, and reached the top 5 in Australia and the United States. The album also won two Grammys, and was toured in 2009 on “The Fame Ball Tour.” While on this tour, Lady Gaga began writing songs for her next album, “The Fame Monster.” This album, while originally planned as a deluxe for “The Fame,” evolved into its own standalone album. The album earned three Grammys, and its lead single “Bad Romance” earned Lady Gaga the most watched YouTube video in April of 2010. In the next three years, she would release three albums, “Born This Way,” “Artpop,” and “Cheek to Cheek.” With “Cheek to Cheek,” she collaborated with icon Tony Bennett to create a distinct new jazz-inspired album after a medial response to her previous album “Artpop.” Through these years and the few after it, she focused more on expanding her other talents, such as acting and media relations. However, she re-entered the music scene in 2020 with the release of her sixth studio album, “Chromatica,” to good reviews from critics and multiple highs on charts across the U.S. and U.K., and a Grammy for her song “Rain on Me,” a collaboration with other well-known pop artist, Ariana Grande. After releasing “Chromatica,” she took another break from music to star in a few shows and movies, while also still writing and performing music in the meantime. In 2024, she dueted with pop artist Bruno Mars to release their single, “Die with a Smile,” which soared to the top of charts all over the world, remaining at the top of the Billboard Global Top 200 for 18 weeks and won the two another Grammy for “Best Pop Duo/Group,” making Lady Gaga the first artist to win three times in the category. In 2025, she released the album I’m reviewing today, Mayhem. The album combines the electric dance pop elements she’s known for, while also adding new elements  of synth-pop to her album, combining rhythmic dance songs like “Abracadabra,” catchy dreamy songs such as “LoveDrug,” and vocal powerhouses of a song that is “Disease.” In total, I would give this album an 8.4 out of 10, my personal favorite being  as it was incredibly fun to listen to, but the lyrics were limited and repetitive, often having only 1-2 lines for the chorus. 

The albums of this year truly excelled at the diverse, amazing form of art that is music. I personally look forward to seeing what 2026 has to offer in terms of song, and how it will compare to 2025’s lineup of records.

Games of 2025

Written by: Yuri Vasquez

Edited by: Kairi Tang

From long awaited sequels to anniversaries of popular franchises to even the Nintendo Switch 2 releasing, 2025 was a golden year for video games. Indie games have gained even more popularity to the point where a game can single-handedly crash every single video game market such as Steam, PlayStation, and Nintendo. 

The long awaited Switch 2 was released to the public on June 5th last year. This made it so that the controllers are magnetic, a bigger screen, have more fans, and more memory. Along with this, some Switch 2 exclusive games were released in the same month like Mario Kart World and the highly praised Donkey Kong Bananza. Mario Kart World is the first of its franchise to change the formula of only tracks to having both tracks. This game has an open-world map as well as new mechanics such as tricks, new items, and removing/adding characters. This game got a reasonable score of 8/10 on IGN with critics and players disliking the absurd price of $80 to play and the focus of an open world map rather than what the original games were known for: actual tracks. The other major game that was released on the debut of the Switch 2 was Donkey Kong Bananza. Critics and gamers alike praise the game for its being a great 3D platform game with even greater visuals than before. It gives the players freedom to play however you want such as finishing puzzles, building the terrain, defeating bosses, and so much more. However, a major flaw players point out is the puzzles are too easy since you can just use the game’s mechanic of building terrain to cheat the puzzles. A more minor flaw players have is with the exception of the final boss fight, the other bosses are just too easy to finish. Even with its somewhat minor flaws, the game is well enjoyed by a majority of its players.

On September 4th, 2025, the very highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong was released. Silksong, like the intro described, was able to crash every single video game market (most notably the Nintendo eShop and Steam). This shutdown lasted for around three hours on Steam and is rare because the last time a video game crashed the stores was in early 2023. Team Cherry, the creators of Hollow Knight, created another masterpiece even though they had only three developers. Instead of making the game expensive, the price of Silksong is only a mere $20: a very low price in a world where many games cost over $70. In Silksong, you play as Hornet, who is the protector of Hallownest, get captured, and are now forced on a journey through wastelands which lead to Pharloom. Pharloom is a kingdom that has a citadel and is the home of Grandmother Silk, the main antagonist. Grandmother Silk uses her silk to transform the citizens into puppets as Pharloom descends into turmoil. As the player, your goal is to defeat the bosses, regain your powers, and help those who haven’t been turned into puppets. Game stores and rating sites have given this game a 9/10 as the lowest score. Silksong was crowned 2025’s game of the year on Steam Awards, won Best Action/Adventure Game for Game Awards, and nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Independent Game, Player’s Voice, and Game of the Year on the Game Awards. Team Cherry even announced a DLC named Sea of Sorrow on December 15, 2025, and is going to be released in 2026. 

The franchise Undertale celebrates its 10 year anniversary in 2025. This 2015 game made by Toby Fox changed indie games forever by making the world interested in this style of game. Undertale follows a child who falls into the Underground, a place where monsters live after a war between them and humans. As you play the game, you can choose either to fight monsters in order to gain LOVE and EXP or you can spare the monsters. The game’s bosses are fun and challenging, each major boss having a really unique mechanic such as having your soul projecting "friendliness pellets” or having a shield to deflect arrows. This game, even though it is 2D and is pixel art, is amazing and Undertale still remains to be an incredible world. This game has a 10/10 on steam with many players rating it 8/10 to 10/10. The other game Toby Fox made in 2018, Deltarune, had Chapters three and four released on June 5th, 2025 which is the same as the Switch 2 release. These new additions doubled the amount of content within the game. It expands the world a lot with an amazing story and great fights. 

Film in 2025

By: Oliver Handoko

Edited by : Kairi Tang

The year 2025 was a great year for the film industry. We got iconic movies such as “A Minecraft Movie,” “Jurassic Park Rebirth,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” and more.

The “How to Train Your Dragon” live-action movie is very similar to the original animated version, taking place in the small town of Berk. Berk is hounded by dragons, so the tribe prioritises strength, courage, and a tendency for battle. The main character, Hiccup (Mason Thames), is the son of the village chief but also cowardly and weak. However, he is very intelligent and creative. He wishes to prove himself to the village by slaying a dragon and attempts to do this by creating a dragon trap. Unfortunately when he sees the dragon he captured, he begins to feel empathy for it and cannot bring himself to kill it. As a result, he begins to train the dragon, whom he names Toothless. At the same time, Hiccup is expected to undergo a coming-of-age ritual that involves publicly killing a dragon. The movie was widely accepted, scoring a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A on Cinemascore. Almost all reviews are positive, and many praise the adaptation’s faithfulness to the original.

Our next movie is “Jurassic World: Rebirth.” This movie takes place five years after the events of “Jurassic World: Dominion.” It follows Zora Bennett (Scarlett Johansson) and her team of covert operatives on the island of Ile Saint-Hubert. She is on a mission to collect DNA samples from three different dinosaurs, which will be used for heart treatment. However, while traveling to the island, they find a family on a sailing boat in peril. They save the family, but lose a member of the team in the process. They now have to survive on the island and keep the family alive as well. On top of that, they have mutant dinosaurs chasing them. This movie was not received well, receiving a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.9 on IMDb. Most reviews say that the movie felt unoriginal and the script was unsatisfying. Some reviews also say the CGI was worse than the previous movies, with very few practical effects for the dinosaurs.

Next, we have “Anaconda.” “Anaconda” is a meta-reboot of the 1997 movie and follows the story of four childhood friends going through a midlife crisis. Doug (Jack Black) is a wedding photographer who wants to really direct, Griff (Paul Rudd) is an aspiring actor restricted to background roles, Kenny (Steve Zahn), Doug and Griff’s friend, has limited self-control, and Claire (Thandiwe Newton) is struggling to get back on her feet after her recent divorce. Meeting in a diner soon after celebrating Doug’s birthday, Griff reveals he has acquired the rights to their favorite childhood movie, “Anaconda.” He plans to reboot the movie with Doug, Kenny and Claire. Kenny and Claire decide to join but Doug declines, wanting to stay with his wife and son. However, his family tells him to create the movie, saying he should have the chance to chase his dreams. Doug eventually signs on as the film’s director, putting Kenny in charge of camera work and Griff and Claire actors. The movie (the actual film, not the one they make) has mixed reviews, with a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.1 on IMDb. Reviews say the film’s strength isn’t in its plot, but in the sheer idiotic humor it provides. After seeing the movie myself, I can agree. It’s not the type of movie you go to for a compelling story, or even for any story at all. It’s the type of movie you go to to stop thinking for a while and just enjoy the crude humor. I would refer to it as something akin to “Spaceballs,” but with a Hollywood budget.

We continue with “A Minecraft Movie.” The film follows Steve (Jack Black), a doorknob salesman who quit his job to complete an old dream, Garrett “The Garbage Man”, and Natalie (Emma Myers), Henry’s protective older sister as well as legal guardian. Dawn (Danielle Brooks) is a real estate agent who has a mobile petting zoo as a side hustle, Henry (Sebastian Eugene Hansen) who is an ingenious and inventive teen, and Garrison (Jason Momoa) who is a former arcade game tournament champion who now runs a struggling game store. The story opens with Steve quitting his job and breaking into an old mine, where he finds the Orb of Dominance and Earth Crystal. When he fits them together, they open a gateway to the Overworld, a world entirely made up of cubes. He finds he can manipulate these cubes easily and creates a paradise. He also befriends a dog, whom he promptly names Dennis. (Dennis is the best character in the movie, and this is an indisputable fact). Dennis and Steve, while exploring the world, soon happen to stumble upon a mysterious portal. When activated, this portal leads the pair to the Nether which is a hellscape ruled by Malgosha, a piglin that craves gold and despises creativity. Malgosha captures Steve and tries to retrieve the Orb from him, as it would enable her to rule over the Overworld. Upon hearing this, Steve sends Dennis with the Orb and Crystal back to the Overworld and into the real world. Dennis hides the Orb and Crystal under Steve’s bed, then flees to the outskirts of town. The story continues with Garrett at a storage auction, trying to find anything he can sell for a profit, most notably an Atari Cosmos. However, he finds nothing but the Orb and Crystal. We next see Natalie and Henry moving to the town of Chuglass. There, they meet Dawn, who introduces herself as their real estate agent. Henry attends his first day at the new school and is inspired to create a jetpack, while Natalie tries to get a job at the local potato chip factory. However, Henry’s jetpack is sabotaged and he crashes into the factory, damaging the mascot. To avoid expulsion, Henry pays Garrett to act as his uncle, who takes him to the video game store afterwards. There, Henry discovers the Orb and Crystal and fits them together. They lead him to the mine where Steve went missing, where they meet up with Natalie and Dawn. They discover the portal to the Overworld and are sucked in. There, they meet Steve, who has been released by Malgosha to retrieve the Orb and Crystal in exchange for Dennis, who she claims is being held hostage. The five must defeat Malgosha to save the Overworld. Despite low ratings (a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.6 on IMDb), fans love the movie. Like Anaconda, it’s not meant for you to enjoy the plot, but to enjoy the jokes, memes and songs. It’s clearly cemented itself as one of the great movies this year, and it’s easy to see why. It rose to the title of 2nd-highest-grossing video game movie, under “The Super Mario Bro’s movie.” Coincidentally, Jack Black also acted in that movie as the voice of Bowser.

Now, let us move on to television. A few TV series got new updates or seasons, such as “Phineas and Ferb.” “Phineas and Ferb” was revived this year with a fifth season and a sixth to come. The series is named after the titular characters Phineas and Ferb, two brothers who spend every day of their summer break designing and building improbable inventions, much to the chagrin of their sister, Candace. With every invention the duo creates, Candace’s motivation to report them to their mother only strengthens. However, just before she can show their mother, the daily dangerous design always disappears thanks to the dastardly, devious devices of a certain Dr. Doofenschmirtz. Doofenschmirtz’s plans revolve around either assuming control of the tri-state area or accomplishing some petty goal of his. Every single one uses one of his inventions, which he dubs “-inators,” built specifically for that day’s plot. However, his plans always fail due to Phineas and Ferb’s pet platypus, Perry. Perry is a secret agent working undercover in the boys’ home, and every day is trapped by Doofenschmirtz, escapes the trap, foils Doof’s plan, and escapes. 

Another series continuing in 2025 is Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. It is a slice-of-life following the elf mage Frieren years after her quest to defeat the Demon King ended. She undertook the quest with Himmel (a hero), Heiter (a priest) and Eisen (a warrior). After Himmel’s death, Frieren decides not to take her connections for granted. When visiting Heiter, he entrusts her with a grimoire that he believes may hold a spell for immortality. However, it is in a dead language and must be translated. He also entrusts her with caring for Fern, a young orphan girl with magical potential. He knows he doesn’t have long left to live and wants to make sure Fern will be cared for by either Frieren or himself. Frieren sets upon translating the grimoire alongside helping raise Fern. Unfortunately, the grimoire contains no immortality spell. Heiter is saddened, but accepts his fate. Soon after his death, Frieren learns of Aureole, a place where souls go to rest. She decides to embark on a journey to Aureole alongside Fern to see her friends once more. The series is on most anime viewing sites and has a second season that began on the 16th.

That’s all for this year. See you all in (the rest of) 2026!

Conclusion 

Written by: Yuri 

Edited by: Kaylee 

After looking over all the different areas of pop culture that flourished in 2025, there was still so much that we missed for 2025. There were many events that showed the worst side of this year, with natural disasters and lots of unusual decisions the politicians made, but the pop culture made those dark moments more bearable… Well, except that live-action Snow White.