In last year’s wrap-up I noted that 2025 was a big important sounding year for doing big things and I don’t want to brag…

Like, I genuinely don’t want to brag. I’m Irish Catholic, I’m brag intolerant. But fine, yeah, this was a REALLY big year for me. Without a doubt my most successful year since becoming a full time writer.

For starters, my third novel, The Burial Tide was released and was selected by the New York Public Library not only as their second best horror book of the year but one of their 20 best books of 2025.

But let’s not beat about the bush. The real star of the show this year was Don’t Trust Fish, my first picture book illustrated by the incomparable Dan Santat which was…deep breath.

• A US bestseller.
• Translated (or is in the process of being translated) into Irish, French, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Swedish, Spanish, Catalan, Korean, Danish, Italian and Turkish.
• Shortlisted for the An Post Book Award Children’s Book of the Year (Junior).
• Selected as one of Slate Magazine’s 25 best picture books of the last 25 years.
• One of Bookpage’s Ten Best Books of the Year.
• Selected as a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, Booklist, School Library Journal, Book Riot, Chicago Public Library and NPR.
• Hicklebee’s Picture Book of the Year.
• One of Waterstones’ Best Books of the Year.
• Shortlisted for Blackwell’s Book of the Year.
• One of Barnes and Noble’s Best Picture Books of the Year.
• Indigo Books’ Kids Book of the Year.
• One of Colby Sharp’s Awesome Books of 2025.
• One of Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids.
• Shenzhen Reading Month’s “Favourite Book of the Year” for the Simplified Chinese Translation.
• Shortlisted for the West Sussex Picture Book Awards.
• Longisted for the 2026 UKLA Book Awards
• One of The Smithsonian’s Ten Best Children’s Books of 2025.
• Nominated for a Carnegie Medal for illustration

All detached irony aside it’s been absolutely humbling and wonderful to see this little product of Covid dementia get such a warm response. If you read it, thank you so much. You’re a real one.

This year also saw the first year of Now That’s What I Call Nostalgia where, despite numerous bouts of illness we managed to clock in 13 episodes (maybe more by the time this post goes live). I’ve had such a wonderful time doing this show with Aoife and Esther and you’ve been listening I really hope you’ve been enjoying it too.

Oh, and speaking of podcasts, I recently guested on Sean Spillane’s Irish Folklore podcast Tales Unbound and you should check his channel out in general.

But enough of this fuffery. I know what you’re all here for. On Unshaved Mouse in 2025 I reviewed 1 Canon Disney movie, 3 MCU movies, 2 animé, 4 live action movies, 6 non-Disney canon animated features, 1 Bats versus Bolts, 2 animated series and the first entry in my new series of Superman movie reviews.

This was the year I finally finished my backlog of reader’s requests (thank you all for you patience, I’m guessing some of you have literally raised children in the interim). As a result, many of the movies I reviewed this year were the ones I’d put off to the very last because I either knew I didn’t like them or didn’t have anything interesting to say about them. In the New Year I will be, along with the regular series of reviews, be focusing on my own choices for films that I either love or think deserve a good kick in the knackers which should be more fun for all of us. As for those regular series, the MCU is starting to show signs of regeneration and I actually enjoyed 2 out of the three Marvel offerings this year. As for the Disney Canon…

So, overall, not as good as 2024, not as bad as 2023, more…odd. But, best movie of the year should be no surprise if you’ve been following me recently.

It’s so wonderful to know that after all these years I can still find a movie like Son of the White Mare that reminds me why I fell in love with animation in the first place. This is the first film in the thirteen years of doing this blog that I gave a perfect score to and I doubt if I’ll do that again even if this blog lasts another thirteen years. (Jesus, writing a blog in 2038 will be like being a town crier in 2025).

Worst film is a surprise only that it comes from a studio that was, at one time, considered the most consistently excellent in the English speaking world.

As for Most Pleasant Surprise, I suppose technically that was also Son of the White Mare because finding your new favourite film is always a “pleasant” surprise in the same way Mozart made “pleasant” music but instead I’ll give it to Batman versus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I was expecting maybe a fun little nostalgia hit. I was NOT expecting a fantastic action comedy that managed to be one of my favourite stories from either franchise. They did not have to go this hard.

So to wrap up. This has been a fantastic year creatively and personally for me. I met some wonderful new people, did a lot of good work and overall it’s been a blast.

In the New Year I will actually be doing a book tour of North America to promote Don’t Trust Fish and I’ll have a schedule before long. If I’m in your parish, do stop by and say hi. Oh, and I have also just finished the first volume of a new fantasy series I’ve been writing. If fantasy is your genre and you’re interested in being a beta reader, hit me up at unshavedmouse@gmail.com, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Anyway, as always, I hope this has been a good year for you and I hope a better one is around the corner.

Lots of love from the Mouse House. Nollaig shona daoibh go léir.