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It is the year 2008, and volcanic ash is still falling soft and deadly over 16-year-old Miles Newell's hometown of Minneapolis. Ever since the '06 eruption of Washington's Mount Rainier, the entire United States has suffered food and fuel shortages due to the stifling gray ash. In the big cities, chaos and crime are beginning to creep in. Miles, who always hid his mechanical skills and phenom... More

It is the year 2008, and volcanic ash is still falling soft and deadly over 16-year-old Miles Newell's hometown of Minneapolis. Ever since the '06 eruption of Washington's Mount Rainier, the entire United States has suffered food and fuel shortages due to the stifling gray ash. In the big cities, chaos and crime are beginning to creep in. Miles, who always hid his mechanical skills and phenomenal memory behind a screen of sarcasm and smart remarks, discovers that now his natural talents just may save the lives of his family. Since fuel is astronomically expensive, he uses his tools to build a vehicle made of bicycle and sailboat parts. The Newell family utilizes this strange apparatus to escape to their summer cottage, braving hostile biker gangs and suspicious police along the way. But a nasty surprise awaits them when they finally reach their destination, and Miles must draw upon his other special gift--his amazingly accurate memory--to find sanctuary for himself and his family in this new, uncertain future.

In an interesting departure from his usual setting of farmyards and baseball fields, (Farm Team, Hard Ball, etc.) young-adult novelist Will Weaver has created an eerie gray landscape where only the resourceful survive. While the adventurous plot of this futuristic Swiss Family Robinson tale will draw in even the most reluctant reader, the novel's greatest strength lies in Weaver's characterization of a smart young man who discovers his worth. Memory Boy is an admirable first foray into a new genre for veteran author Weaver. (Ages 12 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert

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