Sophie Loves Jimmy

Sofee, the mail said. Check out this cool website. Sophie clicked on the website address. The minute she saw it, she turned to ice.
Who’s getting together at gmms?
it said. And before the visitor could even wonder, there was the answer complete with a photograph of Sophie and Jimmy huddled up like the were peeking out an imaginary window together.
”That was when we were practicing for the movie during lunch Friday!” she said out loud. “It was right out in the courtyard! Who took that?”
Sophie’s hand was so cold she could barely scroll down the page. There was a “quote” from Sophie’s own screen name. below that was a picture of Jimmy with his mouth open and a written quote: “I wanted Julia but she’s going out with Colton now. Lucky guy. Sophie’s okay but,”
For more, click here, the instructions read. Sophie did and heard Jimmy’s voice saying “She’s got some serious mental problems.
Even after the images disappeared from the screen, Sophie sat staring at it. It’s not true! She thought over and over. It’s all made up! And then it pinged in her head. She’d just been cyber-bullied.

Book:Faithgirlz! #10: Sophie Loves Jimmy by Nancy Rue, Zondervan Publishers, 2006
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Target Audience: Girls 11-15
Subjects: Bullying, Friendship, Dating Relationships, ForgivenessSummary: “You are a loser. Only losers go out with a cool guy like Jimmy and then dump him”. “You are scum. You aren’t even that cute”. “Who do you think you are?” “You’re such a geek. You’ll never get another boyfriend”. “You skinny little weirdo. I don’t know why Jimmy ever liked you in the first place” Now that the pops have been caught in the act of bullying, they have to find another way to attack Sophie and her friends. The internet and cell phones provide the perfect opportunity for that. Hate filled e-mails, websites set up with lies about anyone they dislike, pictures snapped with phones in the locker room. It’s all sneaky and extremely hard to prove or take action on. Unless it was done at school and caught by a teacher, nothing can be done. Sophie knows all the rules about cyber bullying, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less, especially when friends believe the lies that have been told about her.
Notes: Sophie Loves Jimmy is tenth in the FaithGirlz series, a twelve book series about a young girl in late elementary/early middle school who uses her big imagination to make movies and figure out how Jesus wants her to love those around her. In this book Sophie continues to struggle with bullying from the “Corn Pops” (Popular Girls) at school. However, having been caught one too many times, the bullies take it to a new platform: cell phones, e-mail and websites. As usual, Sophie tries to go to Jesus with her problems, but when her friends, particularly Fiona, betray her and believe the lies spreading around, she finds herself unsure how to respond. Dr. Peter, the counselor she saw for a time, who is now her Bible Study leader, uses an example of a time someone forgave Sophie to help her learn how to respond to her friends. As for the cyber-bullying, Sophie has to forgive,

and even trust, someone who was once an enemy in order to find the help she and her parents need to stop the bullying. This book really hits hard the issue of bullying and how it can destroy a person. Sophie finds her grades slipping, her friendships slipping, her ability to concentrate on anything slipping and her ability to just feel ok about life slipping. It shows how far bullies will go to attack their targets and how sneakily they can do it. It gives a lot of good insight on how to respond to it – especially in regards to parents being involved. And as usual, it weaves a very strong spiritual thread all throughout the story. It’s not just about bullying. It’s about forgiveness and love. I highly recommend this story.
Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi

Psalm 9:9 –The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.