Book Review: Jumping the Scratch

Another book review blogger I know, Lucy of the Life is a Spasm Who Flow blog, has made a new year's resolution to write her book reviews within two days of finishing the book.  Great resolution.  I'm struggling now because I finished reading this book a week ago.  It was a fine little book.  I just don't remember all that much about it.

I selected this one because it was written by Sarah Weeks, the author of a favorite children's book called So B. It.  I think I enjoyed So B. It more than this one, but it was still a worthwhile read and would be fine for a read-aloud in a grade school classroom of 4th grade or higher.  It does treat the difficult subject of abusive behavior, but handles it delicately and in a vague enough way as to not be too graphic for young readers.

Jamie Reardon is dealing with some unpleasant circumstances.  His father has left, his cat has died, and his aunt Sapphy has had an accident causing her to to be unable to make new memories.  It is like she's playing a record and cannot seem to jump over the scratch where things repeat and repeat.  I found the repetitive conversations humorous (given the fact that I have a relative who tends to repeat the same conversations over and over again).  Jamie does what he can to try to jump-start her memory.  While Sapphy can't remember, Jamie has something he wants to forget.  Somehow Jamie's struggles provide the necessary elements and both Jamie and Sapphy find a way to "jump the scratch."