Chinese New Year begins Wednesday, January 29! There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals used to represent years. These zodiac signs are believed by some to determine a person's fortune for the coming year, marriage compatibility, career fit, and more. 2025 is the Year of the Snake, dedicated to a sign believed to bring wise and intuitive energy. The Snake symbolizes transformation, offering opportunities for personal growth and change.
Looking for a fiction book that matches your Chinese Zodiac sign? Check out some suggestions below!
Note: Zodiac sign descriptions are from chinesenewyear.net. Zodiac signs repeat every 12 years.
Year of the Snake
Recent years: 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Snakes are sensitive, effective, and adaptable. Positive personality traits often complemented by a considerable intelligence. However, Snakes can be emotionally detached, which can manifest as coldness or selfishness.
Shutter by Ramona Emerson
Rita, a talented forensic photographer for the Albuquerque, New Mexico PD, has a secret behind her skill. Her attention to detail as a photographer comes from her ability to see the grieving ghosts of crime victims, who point her to clues the investigators miss. When she photographs a supposed suicide over a highway overpass, the ghost of the victim appears and insists she was murdered. She quickly latches onto Rita, forcing her on a dangerous quest and lands her on the radar of one of Albuquerque’s most dangerous drug cartels.
Year of the Horse
Recent years: 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014
Upcoming: 2026
A Horse is confident, agreeable, and responsible, and adores physical and mental exertion. But they tend to dislike being ordered around by others, and, although they are generally decisive, they can also easily be swayed.
Sooley by John Grisham
Samuel Sooleymon, an aspiring basketball player from South Sudan, gets a chance of a lifetime when he visits the United States for a team tournament. But during the visit, he receives devastating news: rebel troops have attacked his home village, and his family is in danger. Realizing he can’t return to help them, the coach of North Carolina Central offers Samuel a scholarship. At NCC, he enrolls in classes, joins the basketball team, and prepares to sit on the bench his freshmen year, but he soon discovers that he has something his other teammates don’t have: the drive and determination to bring his family to America – to freedom – that propels his game forward to places he never imagined.
Year of the Goat
Recent years: 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
Upcoming: 2027
Goats are gentle and mild, sensitive and content, with a thirst for knowledge. Often very dependent, sometimes goats are easily hurt by others' actions and can be hard to please. They need to learn to guard their own interests and stand their ground as they mature.
Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
Elaine of Shalott is cursed with always knowing what’s to come. On her home isle of Avalon, she learns of an ancient prophecy surrounding her and her infamous friends--Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana--and what devastating ends they will all experience. It was just a vision… right? When the future eventually does come for them, Elaine and the others follow Arthur to rule the stiff-natured Camelot, where magic is outlawed and enemies are everywhere. But as she comes to discover, the real danger lies within their own circle of friends, and, as Elaine’s horrifying visions are fulfilled, she must decide how far she will go to change the course of what’s to come– and what she’s willing to give up.
Year of the Monkey
Recent years: 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
Upcoming: 2028
Monkeys are intelligent and funny, especially in analyzing and solving complicated problems. Monkeys' sharp intellect can also make them vain and condescending, and many perceive their tricks as hypocritical and arrogant.
The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
Judith is 77 years old and happily living alone in a mansion just outside of Marlow, England. There’s no one to tell her what to do, how much she can drink, or how many crosswords she can complete from The Times newspaper. One night, Judith witnesses a grisly murder, but the local police don’t believe her. This won’t do for Judith. Joined by a group of misfit yet curious ladies, the Marlow Murder Club begins to investigate the murder themselves. When another body turns up, the puzzle gets more complicated, and the ladies realize the culprit has laid the perfect trap for them.
Year of the Rooster
Recent years: 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Upcoming: 2029
Roosters are serious organizers, characterized by the ability to quickly come to the right decisions. They’re very outspoken, especially against any injustice or amoral behavior they perceive, and others may not agree with their strong opinions.
Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks
1957, Alabama: Alice Young moves to the African American town of New Jessup, where the residents reject the movement of integration, and instead strive for Black social advancement. Alice falls for a local Raymond Campbell, who is outspoken against New Jessup’s decision to ignore basic civil rights. After they fall in love and marry, Raymond continues to try to push the political power of the town toward integration, while Alice navigates a way to balance her support for his passionate work and her urge to protect the town she loves.
Year of the Dog
Recent years: 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018,
Upcoming: 2030
Dogs have a keen sense of justice, valor, and loyalty. They’re courageous and kind-hearted, but can often experience emotional turbulence and impulsiveness, which creates setbacks.
Man's Best Friend by Alana B. Lytle
El has given up on becoming a famous actress and has no other passions to pursue. The world of uppercrust society is always and will always be just out of reach. But then she meets Bryce, a trust-fund Ivy League grad who holds keys to everything she’s ever dreamed of. He may not be good-looking, charming, or even remotely interesting… but he has chosen her. As El falls into Bryce’s safety net, she becomes his pet, giving up everything and everyone else to only be loyal to him. But when Bryce begins to reveal his sinister side, El realizes that he is not all he seems to be.
Year of the Pig
Recent years: 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019,
Upcoming: 2031
Pigs are cool-headed and capable in any situation, detailed-oriented, and intelligent. They can be naive in nature and can easily become self-indulgent.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
There's a small back alley in Tokyo that's home to a quaint café that has been brewing coffee for over one hundred years. But local legend says the ancient shop offers something more than coffee– a chance to travel back in time. Four customers enter the shop hoping to be rewarded with that journey. Time travel, however, has many rules that have to be followed, and most importantly, they must return before the coffee gets cold.
Year of the Rat
Recent years: 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020
Upcoming: 2032
Rats are cheerful, intuitive, versatile, and quick-witted in any given situation. But they can be prone to extreme paranoia and can be timid in high-stakes situations.
Atomic Family by Ciera Horton McElroy
November 1961: In a small South Carolina town, 9-year-old Wilson Porter believes nuclear war is coming. He knows this from studying fallout pamphlets and observing the strange behavior of his father, a scientist at a nuclear plant in town. Meanwhile, his mother Nellie sides with an anti-nuclear movement, and his father grapples with secrets he's discovered about his employers. When tragedy strikes, the Porter family must confront what they know and then deal with the repercussions of what they don't.
Year of the Ox
Recent years: 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021
Upcoming: 2033
Ox is one of the least flashy and least approving of the zodiacs, and their practical mindset is both their greatest asset but can be their greatest weakness.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Opal is determined to make a better life for her younger brother Jasper… once she can get them out of Eden, Kentucky, that is. An unexpected job offer at the local “haunted house,” the Starling House, may be the chance for them to finally leave, if she can earn enough money. But she soon discovers that Starling House has something sinister in mind for her and her employer, its last lonely heir, Arthur. Now it’s up to the two of them to dig up long buried secrets and confront their own fears, before Starling House takes over the town of Eden by literal nightmares.
Year of the Tiger
Recent years: 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Upcoming: 2034
Tigers are brash, passionate, and confident leaders with a keen sense of adventure. They are chivalrous and upright and will keep their word at all costs, making them trustworthy despite their apparently dominating charisma.
To the River's End by William W. Johnstone
Eighteen-year-old Luke joins the American Fur Company, traveling up the Missouri River, with the plans to hunt and trap for one to three years. Along the way, they encounter violent weather, wild animals, hunger, and attacks from indigenous tribes. Five years later in 1833, Luke is a seasoned trapper and hunter, a master of his trade. The American Fur Company sends him on what he hopes is his last job to the now-famous Rendezvous at Green River, where his life takes an unexpected turn and a new and more dangerous adventure begins.
Year of the Rabbit
Recent years: 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Upcoming: 2035
Rabbits are open and optimistic, sensitive and imaginative, and enjoy the comfortable side of life. They’re not the bravest of the zodiac signs and may become neurotic if they choose to dwell on their emotions.
The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by Melissa De la Cruz
Evan must go through five stages of Philippine courtship to win the heart of his new coworker Dalisay. But when familial expectations and modern love societal norms collide, they both must find a way to respect and carry the history of Dalisay’s family into a shared future.
Year of the Dragon
Recent years: 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Upcoming: 2036
Dragons are powerful, endlessly energetic and full of vitality, goal-oriented yet idealistic and romantic, and visionary leaders. But, they can also be domineering, self-centered, and sometimes gullible.
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
Former spy Maggie Bird, forced into retirement after a mission has gone wrong, discovers a body in her driveway. She turns to her “Martini” club of former spies to help uncover the truth about the body--and the sinister plan the perp has put in motion: to kill Maggie, no matter what.
