Sweet little YA that I will definitely passing on to the young girls in my life. A true delight!

Sweet, funny, and heartbreaking story about best friends and growing up. My 9-yr-old read it and recommended it -
Loved this book so much.

This book was interesting, and way too accurate for life. I found the MC to be a bit unlikable though she was not even a teen yet so I can't blame her for her actions right? She really was acting her age.

This hits on friend loss/gain/growing up and it does an accurate job - losing my best friend when I was in Grade 5 and her moving away was one of the hardest things ever - luckily for me we still talk to this day (YAY best friends) but people grow apart and this book accurately portrays that.

It's a middle gradeish book (there were some things in there for more older young girls, hello periods) but this is definitely one for girls around that age that are having it rough with friends - friends come and go, truly, SO SO ACCURATE.

The thing I remember finding most puzzling about fiction when I was growing up was that friends played such an unimportant role in characters' lives. The central relationships in Running through Sprinklers are friendships and sibling relationships, and they are remarkably beautiful, bittersweet, and believable. The MC is likable, but there are times she treats people terribly in ways that felt so recognizable they made me squirm. I cannot say strongly enough how much I love this middle-grade debut novel.

* I received this book from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.

This book is cute and an easy read for sure but I found myself wondering what it’s actually about. Sara is immature and at times selfish, which could be perfectly normal but it just seemed to go against the grain of the story. At the beginning of the book her best friend (Nadine) skips a grade, landing her in high school. This is apparently the worst thing that can happen in Sara’s eyes and she spends a majority of the rest of the book obsessing over it. To the point that the story actually suffers a bit.

There were parts of the story that I really liked, it’s based where I live, the family dynamics but the good didn’t outweigh the bad unfortunately.

There was not much about this book that I liked. I don't read middle level books often, so I don't have a lot to compare it to. The style felt disconnected. Things were happening to the main character that she didn't understand, and they were not resolved through the story. I would think that a young reader would not walk away with an understanding of how to handle those situations. The ending resolved in a truthful manner.

This is a great middle grade novel about real life.

Sara tells this story through her memories and things that are happening to her right now. The story takes place throughout one year, her last year of elementary school. She experiences many things, such as losing friends, making friends, puberty, and even a friend going missing.

Some of the things that Sara goes through are sad, but it reflects real life. Her friendship with her best friend, Nadine, breaks apart when Nadine is moved ahead a grade and into high school. Also, Sara’s brother’s friend goes missing, and they are the last ones who saw him, so they feel like they have to help find him. Though these experiences are tough to read about, they are things that kids may experience in real life, so it is important that their books reflect that.

I enjoyed this book, and I recommend it for middle grade readers!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Okay, I loved this book. What a beautiful story of a girl coming into herself. I really didn't always like Sara, but I loved getting a glimpse into her life! I've never had a book give me so much nostalgia - even for things I am so glad to be done with as an adult (like sneaking around behind my mother's back, or dressing a certain way and then immediately regretting it, or even just saying something simply to gain a reaction)! This is, to me, basically a perfect portrait of girlhood - especially in (small town) Canada where your neighbourhood growing up is so easily and intrinsically tied to your identity. I felt the ending was a smidge fast, compared to how much turmoil Sara and the Andos went through up until their breaking point, but I understand that it usually works that way. Also, Sara's view of Nadine was pretty interesting - I really enjoyed the perspective of how intense and integral best friendships can often feel (and how losing them is usually worse than a breakup), but there were several moments where I thought the clues were leading to Sara being genuinely in love with Nadine, which I think would have been a lovely addition to her understanding of herself. Alas, the message is still wonderful and I can't wait to booktalk this to my grade 7s!

This debut middle reader is perfectly paced. Recounting how two twelve-year-olds grow apart as friends, this coming of age novel captures the best and worst of being a tween.