In case you missed the news when it was first announced, or the recent news of the finalists, Kirkus Reviews now offers a really excellent writing award — it’s monetary, to the tune of $50,000, which for many authors probably represents a lot more time to write.

The nominee list — all the star reviews published between November 2013 to October 2014 — are listed here, and it’s quite a list (we’ve talked before about the Kirkus star, which is meaningful but not stingy). Much more exciting, though, is the Kirkus Prize finalist list, which was released yesterday.

Read on for the list, with my insights — spoiler warning, though: I haven’t read any of them yet. There are just too many good books!

El Deafo, by CeCe Bell: Too young for our purposes! This is by all accounts an excellent graphic memoir, a growing genre, but it’s middle grade and I’ve been told it actually can swing even younger.

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, by Jen Bryant: Again, too young: this one is a picture book biography.

The Key that Swallowed Joey Pigza, by Jack Gantos: Thoughts? The age recs on this just hit the lower end of the Printz age bracket (up to age 13 seems to be the average, with PW pushing it to 14). I haven’t read any of the Joey Pigza books so take this with that grain of salt, but I would generally consider them as children’s fiction, not YA or even young YA. Anyone think this one is worth thinking about with the Printz in mind?

The Story of Own, Dragon Slayer of Trondheim, by E.K. Johnston: I haven’t read this yet, but I will be reading it, and it’s starting to look more and more like it’s a hit; three stars and now this. It’s the only piece of YA fiction to make the finalists, from a year with lots of great material that was eligible — some of which has way more buzz — which might make this a sleeper hit. Has anyone read it yet? No one I know has been talking about it, but I think that’s partly the curse of the small publisher.

The Freedom Summer Murders, by Don Mitchell: I would have expected The Family Romanov, but I like the trend of upper YA nonfiction that’s happening this year: this bodes well for awards and reading and learning!

Aviary Wonders, Inc., by Kate Samworth: It’s a picture book, but I’m intrigued by Kirkus’s “10 & up” designation; is this, like Tan’s The Arrival, a true all-ages picture book? I’ll need to check it out, literally.

Thoughts, surprises, outraged responses? Comment away!