Sophie And The Scoundrels

She wasn’t supposed to try to fix Mama, but she didn’t want to make her worse. If Mama found out there was trouble among the Corn Flakes and they might fail their science project if they didn’t make it better, she would definitely be upset. On the way down the steps, Sophie switched back to Jesus. I guess I’m back to “you show me my job and I’ll do it, and I’ll let you do yours.” And could you please hurry up?

Those could be weapons of mass destruction! Captain Stella though. With the lighting speed of a finely tuned scientific mind, she made a decision. Diving from her place against the wall, she hurled herself forward and grasped for the green bullet that was even then piercing through the air. It didn’t matter that she herself could be mortally wounded. She couldn’t let anyone else be hurt.

Book: Sophie and the Scoundrels (Sophie Series, Book 3) by Nancy Rue, Zondervan Publishers, 2005

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Target Audience: Girls 11-15
Subjects: Bullying, Friendship, Family Relationships, Depressions

Summary: Fighting the Corn Pops and the Fruit Loops is bad enough. They are getting more determined with their bullying. They don’t seem content with words anymore. Now physical violence has become acceptable. But now there is also trouble in the Corn Flake world! As the girls attempt to work together on their science project Maggie

demonstrates over and over how bossy and unimaginative she is. Fiona can’t stand being around Maggie and refuses to show kindness to her and chooses to believe the worst in every situation. In fact, she finally decrees that if Sophie won’t side with her, they can’t be best friends anymore. The worst part of all though, is that Sophie can’t tell either of her parents about what is going on. Something strange is going on between Sophie’s Dad and Mom, leaving Sophie at a loss for who to turn to when things get too big for her to handle on her own.  
Notes: Sophie And The Scoundrels is third 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) and “Fruit Loops” (Popular Boys) at school. She also continues to struggle with learning how to love and accept others, despite their weaknesses, as well as how to help the other Corn Flakes (her friends) love each other. It also shows a picture of an adult struggling a bit with depression, though it is never labeled as such. And as usual, it weaves a very strong spiritual thread all throughout the story. It’s not just about bullying. It’s about what to do instead of bullying. It would be easy for Sophie and her friends to bully someone else or just ignore them altogether. Instead they learn to go out of their way to show love. I highly recommend this story. Also the Sophie books have been republished. #3 is republished under the title Sophie Under Pressure.
Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 5/5
Reviewer: J:-)mi

Psalm 3:31 - Do not envy a violent man or choose any of his ways,