It’s time again for one of the hardest jobs of the year: guessing which books might win the Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature. These are just a few that might be announced during the Youth Media Awards.

I have to immediately shout out A.S. King’s Pick the Lock. King has now won two Printz Awards and a Printz Honor, but she could have another winner in this surreal book drawing from her own abusive marriage. It's told from the perspective of a teenage daughter who wants to write a punk rock opera to convince her mother to escape for her own good and the family’s own good. Readers will be drawn, as always, to King’s plots and surrealism techniques. Her world feels lived-in and real, even as there’s a character that turns into a rat. What else is there to say except give King her third overall Printz?

A dark horse read from earlier in the year is A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur. Known for her historical fiction set mostly in the Joseon era in Korea, Hur's latest is a fascinating tale of a teen, Iseul, determined to set her sister and other women free, and also of the downfalls of trusting men and politicians in general to have noble reasons to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, Prince Daehyun just wants to overthrow his corrupt half-brother for a better life for the people, but has to work through the politics of allying himself with shady government officials for support. The two fall in love, and the mystery and political drama is worthy of a season of Game of Thrones. Hur once again delivers a stunning historical fiction book that I could not put down, and I would love to see her finally get recognized by the Printz committee.

The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag also deserves a shout, as she examines the trauma of a family secret and how living openly and freely can free you. Magdalena lives a quiet life, taking care of her grandmother and working a part-time job. That is, until her past comes back to haunt her. Will Magdalena expose her family secret, or leave it all behind? Many teens can relate to working hard simply to stay afloat like Molly, who has so many adult responsibilities. Ostertag’s work is much darker than her past graphic novels, but teens enjoy the dark as well.

[Read: The Printz Grows Up: High Points in the History of an Influential Award 

Poetry, Graphic Titles, and New Novels from Past Winners | Pondering Printz]

Flamboyants by George M. Johnson tells the absolutely necessary history of queer Black icons from the Harlem Renaissance. Learning more about how queer people, especially queer people of color, have always existed is proof that queer people will always exist—even when the world is telling them that they’re wrong somehow. The inspiring biographies within give more context to household names that couldn’t or wouldn’t define their queerness in their time, but whose actions inspired and enriched peoples’ lives, and is worthy of a Printz nod.

A quiet contender, The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s by Hanna Alkaf, tells a ghost story that isn’t that unrealistic to millions of sexual assault survivors around the world. There are multiple point of view characters as a mystery begins to build around a school called St. Bernadette's in Malaysia, with characters who either are screamers or know a screamer. The screamers just began screaming one day, and none of them can explain why afterwards. Alkaf works in powerful metaphor about the true cost of sexual assault and explores the nature of ghost stories. This book is not to be missed.

Stacey Shapiro is the YA/Programming Librarian at Cranford Public Library, NJ. When not reading, she's probably enjoying some BTS music or attempting to bake something from the Great British Bake Off.