I really enjoyed writing this book and hope it finds its audience in paperback. It’s all about sisters, changing friendships, the rhythms of Jewish life, and set in NYC.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is a great tween book. It's about a young teenage girl who is Jewish. It's dealing with the challenges of not a being a little kid but not an adult either. It did a good job describing the Jewish faith and culture. I definitely recommend to any teen. This is a great book for tweens to relate to but also learn about diversity.

Where You've Got to Be is a very well written character driven story for middle-grade readers by Caroline Gertler. Released 13th Sept 2022 by HarperCollins on their Greenwillow imprint, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out 4th quarter 2023 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a beautifully nuanced and sympathetically written book with a young Jewish tween protagonist who is feeling left behind by her sister and her best friend who are growing up. She feels misunderstood and marginalized and wants to find her place in the world and doesn't quite know how to go about it.

It's a quick read and will appeal to the intended audience. I enjoyed the realistic relationship between sisters Nolie and Linden, as well as their family dynamic with their parents and grandmother and extended family. There's a lot of information about the Jewish faith and the sisters' cultural and spiritual lives included in an organic and not-at-all-preachy manner.

Four and a half stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, as well as home reading.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Where You’ve Got to Be is an engaging, immersive, and relatable middle grade book about dealing with changing circumstances. Centering a likable Jewish tween and her struggles with an evolving friendship, this book takes readers through life in the Big Apple, making new friends, making mistakes and repairing them. Anyone who enjoys character-driven stories with an enjoyable plot will love this one!

A great middle school book about family, friendship and finding your own way. This book was a quick read and the author did an excellent job portraying the normal feelings of a middle school girl.

Where You’ve Got to Be is a heartfelt story about Nolie, a 12-year-old girl who is trying to find her place in her home and school. She’s overshadowed by her brilliant ballerina older sister, rejected by her best friend who no longer finds her cool enough, and wondering what about herself makes her special. Nolie deals with the stress by stealing items of sentimental value from her ex-best friend and grandmother, and must navigate her changing relationships while taking responsibility for her actions. Gertler also weaves in Nolie and her family’s Jewish identity in both a natural and edifying way. A highly recommended read!

As she begins sixth grade, 11-year-old Nolie feels everything changing around her. Her annual beach vacation with her cousins is cut short, her parents' time is entirely taken up with her older sister's Nutcracker schedule, and her best friend, Jessa, is suddenly trying to change everything about Nolie to make her "cooler." Amid all of this chaos, Nolie begins to pick up a habit of stealing. As she makes a new friend at school, Nolie must learn how to cope with change in a healthier way.

I think this book had a lot of promise. I really liked Nolie's character, even if I felt she read a little younger than 11. The conflicts are also all quite plausible, and it's easy to see how somebody her age would begin to feel like everything is changing around her and there's nothing she can do about it. I will say that I didn't love the stealing element of the story—it felt unnecessary, and I didn't really feel like it was resolved well either. I've read a couple other middle-grade books with similar storylines recently, and I feel like Where You've Got to Be handles it relatively poorly in comparison. I also wish that there had been a little more exploration into Linden (Nolie's sister) and Jessa's characters.

Overall, I did quite enjoy this story. Its struggles feel quintessentially middle-school—the cliques, the feeling that others are growing up fast than you, the adjusting to new commitments and scheduling priorities—and I definitely think that it could be a really important read for anybody in that age group. Despite that, I do wish that there had been a little more character depth for Jessa and Linden, and that the stealing plotline had been handled a little better. It also read a little younger to me than being about a sixth grader. I'm giving Where You've Got to Be 3.5/5 stars, and would definitely recommend it to older elementary schoolers or young middle schoolers.

Feeling left behind by both her sister and her best friend, Nolie tries her best to belong but soon finds herself at a moral crossroads. Set in the bustle of New York City during the Jewish High Holy Days, Where You’ve Got to Be is an accessible story about identities and relationships—the ones you keep and ones you let go. Pitch-perfect for tween readers who love Rebecca Stead, Holly Goldberg Sloan, and contemporary realistic stories.

Nolie’s sister, Linden, may be only fourteen months older than she is, but suddenly that feels longer than it ever has before. Linden is growing up. She cuts short their Cousins Week at Grandma’s beach cottage to focus on excelling in her ballet auditions, and she throws away the seashell necklace Grandma gave each of them—though Nolie secretly saves it. Even Nolie’s best friend, Jessa, is suddenly trying to act older and cooler, and she wants Nolie to be someone different, too.

With everything and everyone changing around her, Nolie starts to feel adrift. Should she be changing, too? Who does she want to be? One impulsive decision leads to another and another . . . until Nolie has a secret collection of things that don’t belong to her. Now, Nolie must face the fact that she may have ended up on the wrong path so she can start to find her way back.

This voice-driven read hits the sweet spot for readers of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and Finding Orion.

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Wish I read this during my junior high school era. I love Nolie and she's so relatable. Everyone experienced what she experienced too!
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!

This tender coming-of-age story set during the Jewish High Holy Days in NYC is a cozy contemporary treat. The tone and candor of the writing is sure to be a hit with readers.

Very gently paced with some wonderful side characters. Nolie's struggles to fit in and find herself will resonate with anyone who has ever wanted to hold on to the simplicity of childhood just a little longer than their peers.

Another great book from Caroline Gertler? Yes, please!

Where You've Got to Be is a very realistic middle grade fiction story, with friendship drama and sibling battles galore. Grandma is a fantastic character, and the New York City setting is wonderful. This is one I'd want to discuss with my kiddos when they were finished, though -- as there are some serious issues mentioned.

I recieved a free eARC of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Nolie is comfortable with her life, with her week every summer with the cousins at Grandma'a cottage, with her best friend, Jessa, helping out at her father's store, and her day to day life. Unfortunately, that's changing. Her sister's nutcracker dreams are getting in the way, her best friend wants her to "improve herself". and suddenly being Nolie isn't enough, This is a relatable growing up story that a lot of kids will understand and see themselves in. It's also a great book about casual antisemitism and how this affects kids.

Well done!

The author deftly explores the awkward transitions of the preteen years like changing friendships, new schools, sibling rivalry, and finding your place in the world. The characters are so real and poignantly created that you feel as if you could be reading about your own friends and neighbors, It all happens among the bustle of New York City which itself becomes a character in the tradition of the best New York stories from literary greats like Judy Blume. At the bookstore picking up a copy of this book is Where YOU'VE Got to Be!!

This was a great middle grade read about friendship. Many kids outgrow friendships as they start middle school, with difficult feelings. I liked that Nolie is also dealing with living in the shadow of her older sister. She deals a lot with feelings of inadequacy. She's also a character who does things that are not likeable - stealing. I like that Nolie is not a perfect kid, which is part of what makes it a great middle grade book.

Middle school seems to be changing faster than Nolie wants it to. She thought going from fifth to sixth grade would not be that different, but, wow! Everything seems to have changed. Older sister Linden, achieves her goal of starring in the ballet, The Nutcracker, and the parents seem to be always caring for and looking out for Linden. Nolie's best friend, Jessa, has found new cool friends and she wants Nolie to make over herself, so Nolie will "fit in." Nolie doesn't see herself as being good at anything. She thinks the only person she has in her corner is her grandma. Nolie picks up things that don't belong to her, hiding them from everyone, and this leads to interesting parts of the story.

The story rings true for middle school, the cliques, the geekiness, the uncertainty. Nolie can't see her way out of the forest. The author does a good job of including Nolie and her family's participation in the Jewish religion, and some of the customs surrounding it.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

First of all, I just want to say that I loved the inclusion of Jewish culture in this story. It was done really well and I would love to see more books with a range of different faiths in the story. I think kids will really relate to the changing friendships of 6th grade and the sibling relationship between Linden and Nolie. 4.5 stars for a book I will be recommending to students!

Things are changing all around Nolie and she feels stuck trying to figure out what's for her. WHERE YOU'VE GOT TO BE is spot on middle-grade fiction! It touches on all those "in-between" feelings, the complexity of middle school friendships, and the ups and downs of sisterhood. Oh, and the pacing is so awesome at keeping the reader engaged!

I especially loved how Gertler included the Jewish holiday traditions the main character and her family observe.

Thanks to the author and HarperCollins for the eARC.

This is a nuanced and realistic feeling story about a young girl struggling to figure out where she's got to be in the world when everyone else around her seems to have things figured out. Or, at least they do, at first glance.

Nolie's best friend suddenly wants to make their duo a trio, and wants to give Nolie a makeover into being someone cooler. Nolie's older sister, Linden, is the star of a big production of The Nutcracker and her dream of being a ballet star is taking up all of Mom's attention.

In so many scenes, I felt my middle school aged self cringing with recognition. The jealousy, insecurity, and longing will resonate with so many readers. Nolie deals with the pressure in a way that's realistic and perfectly woven into the themes of the story. I also loved the way the author wove the observation of the Jewish High Holy days and culture into the story.

This tender story is one I will treasure in my heart for a long time.

Nolie lives with her loving but busy family in NY City. She has good friends but is feeling the friendships changing as they grow older and go to middle school. Nolie's sister is a dancer and gets a lot of attention for her dancing and Nolie is trying to figure out how to get attention. She starts taking things that don't belong to her and that doesn't really work out too well, but it does get people talking. This is a nice story about a Jewish family and some of the prejudices that Jews continue to face in modern society.