On Wednesday morning, the National Book Foundation narrowed its longlist down to five finalists for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature: Elana K. Arnold for What Girls Are Made Of; Robin Benway for Far from the Tree; Erika L. Sánchez for I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter; Rita Williams-Garcia for Clayton Byrd Goes Underground; and Ibi Zoboi for American Street. The announcement was made live on CBS This Morning. Three of the five finalists were published by HarperCollins, one by Carolrhoda Lab, and one by Knopf.

Local middle and high school students will have the opportunity to hear the finalists read from their works, and to take part in a live Q & A at the Teen Press Conference, held on November 14 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, as part of National Book Awards week. The winners will be announced at the NBA’s 68th annual awards dinner on November 15. Read on for PW’s reviews of the books by all five finalists.

What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold (Lerner/Carolrhoda Lab).

“According to nursery rhymes, girls are supposed to be made of sugar, spice, and everything nice, but Arnold (Infandous) knows that reality isn’t so pretty or simplistic.”

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway (HarperTeen).

“In an equally heartwarming and heart-wrenching story, three siblings separated in infancy find each other as teens.”

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez (Knopf).

“As the book moves along, Julia’s frustration with the many constraints she lives under—poverty, family expectations, and conditioning that she resents but can’t quite ignore—reaches dangerous levels.”

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia (HarperCollins/Amistad).

“Newbery Honor–winner Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer) creates a memorable cast and sketches complex, nuanced relationships.”

American Street by Ibi Zoboi (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray).

“Zoboi’s powerful debut, set in current-day Detroit (but based on the author’s experience as a Haitian immigrant in 1980s Bushwick, Brooklyn), unflinchingly tackles contemporary issues of immigration, assimilation, violence, and drug dealing.”