First off, I love the bright colors and cute illustration on the cover! This is the first book in the new Spotlight Sprinkles series. I found this book so nostalgic. When I was a tween, I was totally boy obsessed. My best friend and I were also into doing quizzes too. We would spend hours talking about the boys we liked. We however weren’t as lucky as Julie and Sophia were because we didn’t get to enjoy a three week beach vacation in the summer!

I think middle grade readers will enjoy these characters and story, while also learning a valuable lesson about friendship and being yourself!

Definitely a fun new middle grade series to look out for!

So this book is part of the Spotlight sprinkles series by Lee Heart which are standalone books for middle grade readers.
I found this one after reading the other one in the series, both coming out May 6 2025, called Written in the Stars.

It’s hard not to compare the works especially because I loved Written in the Stars and gave it 5⭐️. Had I read this one first I may have liked it more than I did but I still enjoyed it and thought it was cute and fitting for the mid grade reader.

Lee Heart brings us another very appropriate romance story for a tween reader. This one didn’t have as much depth to it as the other one did but it was fitting for the audience. It really is a great depiction of first crushes and “tween love”. What I liked also is that the book is also about friendship and the ebbs and flows that one can go through.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from Simon and Schuster Kids through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system for Middle Grade and children’s books

⭐️ Significant problems and would never recommend to the audience.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea but may have some appeal.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ an ok book which I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend but it has some value for young readers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! I would recommend for the age or reading level appropriate for the book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Would recommend highly, especially to school programs as a wide spread reading opportunity.