So B. It was a five star read for me in 2012, and thus I'm compelled to read other books by Sarah Weeks.This one did not disappoint and Weeks is an author I'll follow.When Jamie and his mother move to northern Michigan to live with and assist his Aunt Sapphy, the transition is difficult.Abandoned by his father who left for another woman, Jamie and his mother moved and now live in a tiny trailer; his mother works long hours, and his Aunt is different.Suffering from an accident at a cherry factory, Aunt Sapphy now has amnesia. Like a needle stuck in a record, Aunt Sapphy repeats herself over and over and over and over.While Aunt Sapphy cannot remember, Jamie has a terrible secret and he longs to be more like his Aunt. While she cannot remember; he cannot forget.Persecuted on the bus and in school, Jamie simply tries to zone out. When Audrey Krouch, a gangly, curious girl who lives in the same trailer park, begins to notice and tries to interact with Jamie, he realizes just how much his secret impacts on his ability to relate to others.Before he moved, Jaime had a lovely cat named Mister. A stray, Mister was taken in and cared for by Jaime. When Mister has an accident and dies, it coincides with the loss of his father. Losing two things he loved is terribly painful.Losing the wonderful relationship he previously had with Aunt Sapphy before her accident, simply represents yet another tragedy and loss.When Mr. Gray, the manager of the trailer park befriends Jamie, he thinks he can trust and share his loss and pain. Sadly, he is used and abused by Mr. Gray. Mr. Gray's betrayal leads to shame for Jamie and represents yet another loss of innocence.Desperately trying to hide his secret from everyone, Audrey notices that Jamie takes the long way from the bus to his home, avoiding the area where Mr. Gray lives, and she continues to question Jamie.As Jamie's secret unravels, the relationship with Audrey and with Aunt Sapphy helps both Jamie and Aunt Sapphy to "jump the scratch" and to sing a new song.Highly recommended.
Definitely not as good as her 2008 award winner, So B. It, this has similar themes surrounding the main character. The young boy in this story has an Aunt that suffers from memory loss. In So B. It, the young female character has a mother struggling with memory loss, but it is more severe and has many other complications. I cried several times at the end of So B. It, because I was really attached to the characters. I didn't feel the same about this book, although Weeks deals really nicely with the issues surrounding sexual abuse. Unfortunately, I think that there are many young people out there that may relate well to the struggles of this main character.
What do You think about Jumping The Scratch (2006)?
This book deals with forgetting and remembering. Jamie's aunt Sapphy has suffered an accident that has caused her to have amnesia. She can remember the past but has no short or long term memory of the present. She cannot form new memories. Jamie and his mother have come to live with Sapphy to care for her and help her unlock her amnesia. At the same time, Jamie suffers acutely from a memory that he cannot forget and wants desperately to expunge. The story is well written and moves along with humor and grace. However, there is a tense build-up in the arc of the story as the reader begins to guess what Jamie's secret might be. I think this topic could make some readers uncomfortable, but the book is sensitive and well written with characters you genuinely care about. It is never voyeuristic or exploitative.
—Lisa Nocita
Do bad things really happen in threes? Jamie Reardon sure thinks so...in the past year, he's watched:1.) His father leave2.) His cat die3.) His aunt suffer from an accident at work.Aunt Sapphy hasn't been the same since the accident at the cherry factory that caused her memory to skip, much like her Frank Sinatra records. Sapphy cannot make new memories, so it seems as though she goes around and around. Jamie wants to find the trigger that will cause her memory to jump its scratch...and he also wants to find his own trigger, to help himself forget what happened last Christmas...
—Erin
Overall, I thought this book was good. The characters were interesting and seemed real, plus it was short and the plot was interesting. I wish Jamie would have talked to Audrey more because she was really funny and I always enjoyed the scenes she was in. I love the title "Jumping the Scratch." It made so much sense once I read this part: "The blow to her head caused Sapphy's memory to develop a skip, like an old phonograph record with a scratch." So, Jamie spends a lot of time trying to help Aunt Sapphy remember, all while he's just trying to forget...
—Sarah
