11/23/2020
On the eve of her 12th birthday, Georgia Rosenbloom, daughter of a renowned late artist, feels out of sorts. Her art historian mother, a Columbia professor, is busy curating a retrospective of her father’s work at the Met; her lifelong best friend, Theo, has been embarrassing her in front of cool new girl Harper; and she feels lingering resentment that Theo inspired her father’s most famous paintings, an unfinished series of asterisms—unofficial constellations. Georgia, who still misses her dad fiercely two years after his death, struggles to navigate the tension between her father as a towering public art figure and as her dad, who “sang me ‘Moonshadow’ at bedtime.” When she discovers a sketch that suggests that she would have been the subject of his final asterism, Georgia sets out to prove her role in her father’s legacy. Debut author Gertler’s tale of tween soul-searching, threaded with an intriguing art mystery, satisfies, and the sophisticated and privileged New York City art world milieu is depicted with an insider’s eye for detail. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (Jan.)
"Sensitive and thoughtful—a story about loss, friendship, and the beauty of self-discovery." — —Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me
“Sixth grade for Georgia Rosenbloom means she is finally eligible for the huge NYC art competition of her dreams—but it also means friendship breakups, a deep secret, and eventual self-realization. . . . Like an impressionist painting, Gertler’s novel provides splashes of color ultimately revealing the emotions, drama, and truths of tween life. . . . Gertler’s vivid word choice details color and the senses, creating an authentic and relatable tween girl voice tinged with the perspective of a budding artist.” — School Library Journal (starred review)
“It’s been two years since Georgia’s dad passed away, and her life still feels far from normal. . . . . Gertler’s debut . . . blends art history and artistic expression with Georgia’s soul-searching and personal growth. . . . Satisfying.” — Booklist
“After her father’s death, an 11-year-old girl struggles to find her true self. . . . Georgia’s genuine, first-person narration exposes her loss, jealousy, guilt, and gradual realization that ‘all the different parts of me have been put back together in a new way.’ . . . A realistic, poignant exploration of loss, friendship, and self-discovery.” — Kirkus Reviews
“It’s been over a year since Georgia’s famous artist father died, but she still desperately misses him, to the point where she’s struggling with her own art . . . Then she spots possible clues in her father’s sketches and paintings that he was planning to paint a big new work about her, and she’s determined to put the pieces together . . . The blend of art and mystery in Manhattan . . . [will] likely appeal to lovers of Tucker’s All the Greys on Greene Street .” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
It’s been over a year since Georgia’s famous artist father died, but she still desperately misses him, to the point where she’s struggling with her own art . . . Then she spots possible clues in her father’s sketches and paintings that he was planning to paint a big new work about her, and she’s determined to put the pieces together . . . The blend of art and mystery in Manhattan . . . [will] likely appeal to lovers of Tucker’s All the Greys on Greene Street .
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
It’s been two years since Georgia’s dad passed away, and her life still feels far from normal. . . . . Gertler’s debut . . . blends art history and artistic expression with Georgia’s soul-searching and personal growth. . . . Satisfying.
"Sensitive and thoughtful—a story about loss, friendship, and the beauty of self-discovery."
It’s been two years since Georgia’s dad passed away, and her life still feels far from normal. . . . . Gertler’s debut . . . blends art history and artistic expression with Georgia’s soul-searching and personal growth. . . . Satisfying.
It’s been over a year since Georgia’s famous artist father died, but she still desperately misses him, to the point where she’s struggling with her own art . . . Then she spots possible clues in her father’s sketches and paintings that he was planning to paint a big new work about her, and she’s determined to put the pieces together . . . The blend of art and mystery in Manhattan . . . [will] likely appeal to lovers of Tucker’s All the Greys on Greene Street .
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
It’s been over a year since Georgia’s famous artist father died, but she still desperately misses him, to the point where she’s struggling with her own art . . . Then she spots possible clues in her father’s sketches and paintings that he was planning to paint a big new work about her, and she’s determined to put the pieces together . . . The blend of art and mystery in Manhattan . . . [will] likely appeal to lovers of Tucker’s All the Greys on Greene Street .
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
★ 12/01/2020
Gr 5–8— Sixth grade for Georgia Rosenbloom means she is finally eligible for the huge NYC art competition of her dreams—but it also means friendship breakups, a deep secret, and eventual self-realization. Since her esteemed modern artist father Hank Rosenbloom died over a year ago, Georgia, who is white with dark hair, has been adrift in a cloud of melancholia. Georgia and her best friend since birth, redheaded Theo, talk, live, and create art. But after hearing the theme of the all-important competition is a self-portrait, Georgia shrinks from the monumental task and Theo. Instead, she befriends the popular trio at school and begins a secret investigation researching her father's art. As her mother is consumed with the upcoming exhibit of her late father's lifetime work at the Met, Georgia feels more lost and alone than ever. To create a self-portrait, Georgia must first learn who she is outside of art and her father's shadow. Like an impressionist painting, Gertler's novel provides splashes of color ultimately revealing the emotions, drama, and truths of tween life. Georgia's first-person, diarylike narrative provides readers with a fusion of her inner thoughts and realistic dialogue, helping to keep balance while moving the plot forward. Gertler's vivid word choice details color and the senses, creating an authentic and relatable tween girl voice tinged with the perspective of a budding artist. The inclusion of famous artists, techniques, and history throughout delivers opportunities for outside research and connections. VERDICT Recommended as a well written, cathartic narration of a young teen struggling with her father's death and finding her true self.—Mary-Brook J. Townsend, The McGillis Sch., Salt Lake City
Narrator Jesse Vilinsky skillfully brings depth and emotion to this novel about love and loss. Eleven-year-old Georgia is grieving the death of her father, a famous artist. A retrospective of his work, curated by her mother, is proving challenging—sharing her father with the public is hard. Along with trying to make new friends, Georgia is working to solve the mystery of a painting her father left unfinished. Vilinsky captures a range of emotions and portrays each character in a distinct voice. Her dialogue transitions are seamless, and her use of cadence and tone creates a tender story that listeners will want to stay with. A.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Narrator Jesse Vilinsky skillfully brings depth and emotion to this novel about love and loss. Eleven-year-old Georgia is grieving the death of her father, a famous artist. A retrospective of his work, curated by her mother, is proving challenging—sharing her father with the public is hard. Along with trying to make new friends, Georgia is working to solve the mystery of a painting her father left unfinished. Vilinsky captures a range of emotions and portrays each character in a distinct voice. Her dialogue transitions are seamless, and her use of cadence and tone creates a tender story that listeners will want to stay with. A.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
2020-10-27
Georgia, the daughter of a famous artist, and her lifelong best friend, Theo, live in the same Upper West Side apartment building. Georgia and Theo used to draw with her father after school, but now Georgia’s unable to draw the way she wants. Increasingly resentful of the close relationship Theo had with her father, Georgia pulls away from their predictable friendship and becomes friends with a new girl at school. Expected to enter a citywide student art contest, she eschews tackling the required self-portrait. Discovering a drawing her father made of her before his death with markings suggesting he intended it to become part of an important series, Georgia keeps it secret. But when Theo finds the drawing and misguidedly submits it to the contest for her, Georgia must find a way to recover it, preserve her father’s legacy, and prove she’s more than just her dead father’s daughter. Georgia’s genuine, first-person narration exposes her loss, jealousy, guilt, and gradual realization that “all the different parts of me have been put back together in a new way.” Repeated use of the self-portrait device reinforces the self-awareness theme while relevant material on art and artists adds background depth. Main characters default to White; there is ethnic diversity in the supporting cast.
A realistic, poignant exploration of loss, friendship, and self-discovery with appeal to budding artists. (Fiction. 8-12)
