Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Many Points of Me is a book I am pleased to have in my classroom this upcoming school year. Touching on themes such as death of a parent and self worth, is is a story that is relatable to the younger generation.

Georgia Rosenbloom's father was a famous artist who had a specific art style. Rumor has it, his fourth star painting was supposed to be her but he passed away without leaving any hints. As Georgia deals with an art show coming up to honor him, she also has Theo: her best friend who also had ties to her father. Now, Georgia is faced with perhaps entering a popular arts contest while still grieving her father. Many beautiful points of her.

Caroline Gertler tells a beautiful story about discovering yourself and accepting that it's okay to grieve in your own way. Her writing style flowed from page to page and I was entranced with the story. I know my students will be as well.

This was good, fine. Caveat— I don’t feel like I can accurately rate it well though. When I started I had the familiar thought I have which is that I believe that MG can be compelling without having a parent die. It’s an important trope and I’ve read some beautiful MG that uses it.. BUT as an avid MG and YA reader (and teacher) I’m well aware of how overused it is. It’s a lot. Does this drive anyone else nuts too? Anyways, that’s not this particular books fault, sorry book.

Things I liked: appreciated the tensions of friendships and choices. I liked the modeling of two close moms/ family friends and navigating that as humans change. I liked the integration of art.

The eh:
1. I’m currently in the waves of grief and don’t trust my review. Or I do, but I recognize I’m in a particular space and was ready to wrap this up which isn’t a great way to give an ARC a shot. To be fair, I was annoyed about the parental death before that and I do read a ton of MG so I do trust my general.
2. I felt disappointed by the art integration. I was ready for a super art immersive book based on the blurb as well as a good mystery/ reveal. I found both of those parts to be much more eh; ok, than I was expecting.

All in all- it’s good and sweet. It didn’t rock my world and it likely won’t be something that I’d remember after a bit to rec to kiddos over other books, but I’d be happy to see it in a classroom library and say, oh I read that it was nice enough.

And if none of this makes sense, that’s fine too.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Adolescence is hard and is made harder when you lose a parent, This is what happens to Georgia in Many Points of Me. It's been difficult around Georgia's house without her dad, a renowned artist. Trying to help her cope are her mom, best friend and an elderly neighbor. Each of them had a unique relationship with Georgia's dad, and their love for one another help them cope during a difficult time.

The story focuses on an art exhibit showcasing her father's work and dredges up a whole host of memories for those that knew him best. While preparing things for the show, Georgia discovers something in her father's work that had been previously unnoticed. And as it is with life, while she's uncovering things about her father, she's also discovering truths about herself as well.

Gertler's story, Many Points of Me is a study in loss while trying to find one's self. She hits a vein of truth with a heartfelt message many need to hear.

What a sweet book! I enjoyed reading about all the aspects of Georgia's life. Her changing friendship with Theo and her new female friends was very true to real life and I think many young readers will relate to the dynamics between Georgia and her old/new friends.
Georgia's grief was relatable while not being overly sad.
I also enjoyed reading about Georgia's interest in art. I have some students that I think would like reading about a girl their age being artistic.
Looking forward to adding this to my elementary school libraries!

This thoughtful middle grade read focuses on Georgia, a budding artist and the daughter of a famous artist. Georgia is trying to reconcile her feelings after the loss of her father, and retain her private memories as the daughter of a public figure that other people remember. As she struggles with this, she is finally eligible to enter a city-wide art competition that she has dreamed of, but is unsure of herself as an artist. In this book she has to figure out her changing friendships as she searches for proof of her special relationship with her father.

There are, of course, any number of books about grief. Typically, the central focus of these plots is find a way to live again, discovering your new normal, that sort of thing. Obviously, that's a part of this plot. What makes the difference is Georgia's approach. She's given up the things that makes her happy, can't find her art. But she's also incredibly angry. She's jealous of any memory of her father that someone else has, resents sharing him with others. Add in the natural changes in friendship that come in our middle grade years, and it's a recipe for sharp change in a child's life. The art mystery is a convenient tool for moving her relationships forward. Perhaps a bit too convenient.

Many Points of Me is a novel that will just hit you straight in the heart. Georgia is a young girl trying to find herself after her father died. She is struggling with who she is and what she wants moving forward. In her efforts to find herself, Georgia finds an unfinished art piece her father did of her. It inspires her to move forward and find her own path instead of following in her famous father's footsteps. Brilliantly-written and crafted. It is a great novel to teacher characterization and plot development. I adored it!

This YA book is a beautifully written story of loss and finding the way back to who you are. Georgia's grief over the loss of her father and her possessiveness of his memory are the focal points in the story, but it's her relationship with the people closest to her that are the most touching. Similar to "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life", Georgia is on a mission to solve a mystery connected to her late father's final work of art - an asterism of Georgia.

While I definitely enjoyed the story, I did feel that some of the characters were a bit flat until the final third of the book. At that point, we finally learn more about Theo's feelings about his own father as well as Harper's admission that her picture perfect life isn't so wonderful. The book then wraps up neatly with a heart-felt, if predictable, ending. Overall, it's a definite recommend for the middle-school crowd.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Gertler's debut novel is a character driven story about friendship, loss, art, and moving forward. When Georgia starts to feel "stuck" in her world, she realizes that she must change a few things to see things from a different perspective. Georgia and Theo's relationship is more than best friends, they act like siblings, but Georgia starts to feel like something needs to change. When Georgia becomes friends with Harper, a new girl at school, the dynamic between them shifts, and instead of her "go with the flow" attitude, Georgia starts to get pulled into middle school drama. On top of that, after her father's death, Georgia feels a sense of jealousy towards Theo, and the relationship he had with her dad. While helping her mom get an exhibit together that honors her father's life and art, Georgia finds something that could explain his final work, sketches that he did of her. While Georgia wants to keep these for herself, she is torn about what the right things to do is...give them to her Mom so that they are shared with the world, or keep them to herself and try to solve the mystery of their meaning. What's an almost-12-year old to do...
This novel is a perfect tween pick, it intertwines the themes of family, friendship, and the art world of NYC. While complicated, all of these worlds come together in Georgia's life. The reader is taken on this emotional journey with Georgia and those closest to her, where everyone is just trying to figure out where they belong!

Beautiful debut novel that I will definitely be recommending to colleagues and students.

With extremely likable characters, mystery around her fathers paintings, and sweet hope mixed in with the realness and sadness of her fathers death, I was on board from the beginning and had to see Georgia’s story through.

I enjoyed the way the author brought together art and the self discovery the main character was going through to really portray some deep and touching moments.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with an eARC.

I will absolutely be purchasing copies of this book for our school library, both ebook and physical book if possible! This book was charming and mesmerizing. I enjoyed every minute of reading Georgia’s story and getting to know her and Theo, as well as the art world that surrounds their lives. A huggable book if I do say so. It deals with the loss of Georgia’s father in a truthful, aching way and it allows Georgia to feel all the feelings that often come after the death of a parent. Her relationship with Theo and how it is affected by everything going on rings true, too.

A solid middle grade novel about a girl dealing with the loss of a parent and friendship issues. Very enjoyable to read!

4.5 stars!

Many Points of Me did a terrific job of navigating friendships at this age...as kids are finding out more of who they are as an individual, childhood friendships can be difficult to maintain. Gertler also does an excellent job bringing in a touch of mystery to the story and by the end of the book I desperately wanted to see Georgia's art!

Georgia's dad, a famous artist, passed away over a year ago but the emotions are still raw and Georgia is learning to figure out life without her dad. As she mourns this loss, she finds the many different points of herself and who she is going forward. An excellent read about loss, friendship, the truth, and finding yourself.

With thanks to NetGalley and Greenwillow Books for an early copy in return for an honest review.

What Caroline Gertler's Many Points Of Me Gets right: how difficult friendships can be, loyalty, artist's block, the complexity of grief, and the lengths a daughter will go to feel close with her late father. Georgia is the daughter of an artist, who was famous for his work on Asterisms. Her mom claims that her dad wanted the final asterism to be of Georgia, but how can she be sure without proof? Georgia's adventure in trying to find proof, balancing her friendship with Theo and her new friendship with Harper, and realizing that she may or may not want to enter a big art content is the focus of this heartwarming book. 5/5 stars.