Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
249th out of 525 books
—
4,611 voters
Memory Boy (Memory Boy #1)
by
Will Weaver (Goodreads Author)
A Family in Danger
Ash is still falling from the sky two years after a series of globally devastating volcanic eruptions. Sunlight is as scarce as food, and cities are becoming increasingly violent as people loot and kill in order to maintain their existence. Sixteen-year-old Miles Newell knows that the only chance his family has of surviving is to escape from their Minneap...more
Ash is still falling from the sky two years after a series of globally devastating volcanic eruptions. Sunlight is as scarce as food, and cities are becoming increasingly violent as people loot and kill in order to maintain their existence. Sixteen-year-old Miles Newell knows that the only chance his family has of surviving is to escape from their Minneap...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
March 18th 2003
by HarperTeen
(first published March 6th 2001)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
682)
Worth a single read through at least
Memory Boy was a good quick read but not really all that memorable. The plot and characters where interesting enough and the story never dragged too much to make me lose interest but even at the end I was left wanting. It needed a little bit more action, a little bit more danger, for a world in such a terrible state I was excepting a lot more dangerous things to happen than actually did.
My favorite part was how the book jumped from past to present every other...more
Memory Boy was a good quick read but not really all that memorable. The plot and characters where interesting enough and the story never dragged too much to make me lose interest but even at the end I was left wanting. It needed a little bit more action, a little bit more danger, for a world in such a terrible state I was excepting a lot more dangerous things to happen than actually did.
My favorite part was how the book jumped from past to present every other...more
Mar 24, 2013
Sally Kruger
added it
I don't know how I missed this one, but the mistake has been corrected and I'm glad to share the news here.
MEMORY BOY by Will Weaver is an uncomfortably, believable tale of environmental disaster. Set in 2008, it is the story of the aftermath of worldwide volcanic eruptions that have created ash clouds that have caused pollution, crop devastation, fuel shortages, and more. The story follows one family's attempts to survive.
Miles Newell, his sister Sarah, and their parents have decided their Minn...more
MEMORY BOY by Will Weaver is an uncomfortably, believable tale of environmental disaster. Set in 2008, it is the story of the aftermath of worldwide volcanic eruptions that have created ash clouds that have caused pollution, crop devastation, fuel shortages, and more. The story follows one family's attempts to survive.
Miles Newell, his sister Sarah, and their parents have decided their Minn...more
The book is set in 2008 when a chain of volcanic explosions changes life for everyone as ash falls for three years sending the world into a dystopian, post apocalyptic scenario. A handy 16-year old, Miles, and his family escape Minneapolis to try to reach their cabin in the lakes region and avoid the mayhem and chaos on a contraption that Miles built himself. Miles, who likes to tinker with all things tools and mechanics, remembers the advice an old man gave him, which helps his family survive.
W...more
W...more
When a series of volcanic eruptions spew volcanic ash into the atmosphere, the United States becomes devastated. Miles Newell is a normal sixteen year old kid, except that he has an exceptionally good memory, giving him the nickname Memory Boy. Two years after the first volcanic eruption, Miles and his family are finally forced to flee their home in Minneapolis. The Newell family plans to head to their summer cabin but gasoline is scarce, luckily Miles is also pretty talented when it comes to be...more
Jan 31, 2012
Book Sp(l)ot
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
The Last Survivors by Susan Beth Pfeffer fans
It's been two years since the volcanic explosions in the Pacific Northwest. More than just eruptions, this series of events left the volcanoes - and really - the country irrevocably changed. With Mount Rainier and Mount Adams among other erupted, their ash spilling out across the country, sunlight is scarce and gasoline, food and other staples are being rationed.
Miles Newell and his family are leaving their Minneapolis home behind, settling out on the Ali Princess, a contraption Miles invented,...more
Miles Newell and his family are leaving their Minneapolis home behind, settling out on the Ali Princess, a contraption Miles invented,...more
Memory Boy by Will Weaver is the perfect book for any lover of survival stories. Readers who enjoyed Paulsen's Hatchet, Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick or Ashfall by Mike Mullin will fall under the spell of Miles Newell as he leads his family on a journey fraught with danger.
It's two years after a volcanic eruption, and Miles realizes that his family needs to leave their seemingly safe Minneapolis suburb and go to their cabin in the northwoods. It's there that he feels they will be safe and able to live.
M...more
It's two years after a volcanic eruption, and Miles realizes that his family needs to leave their seemingly safe Minneapolis suburb and go to their cabin in the northwoods. It's there that he feels they will be safe and able to live.
M...more
Mount Rainier is gone - pulverized by a gigantic, volcanic blast. Now the dust has been clogging the atmosphere for two years. Miles Newell's family decides that living in a big house in the suburbs is no longer safe so they board a hybridized bicycle-ship that Miles has constructed and head north to their cabin on the lake. Along the way, they are harassed by gangs of roving looters and price-gougers in the few towns still inhabited. When they reach their cabin, they are shocked to find two fam...more
In the year of 2008, a volcano explodes, and a sixteen year old by the name of Miles Newell and his family try to survive through the chaos.
Fuel and food has become short throughout the U.S. There is also a lot of crime happening throughout Minneapolis.
Miles is known as a kid that goofs around, and is not taken seriously, but Miles is a smart kid with a good memory.
The eruption ever since 2006 in Washington Mount Rainer is still causing problems, and Miles and his family have to go to a cotta...more
Fuel and food has become short throughout the U.S. There is also a lot of crime happening throughout Minneapolis.
Miles is known as a kid that goofs around, and is not taken seriously, but Miles is a smart kid with a good memory.
The eruption ever since 2006 in Washington Mount Rainer is still causing problems, and Miles and his family have to go to a cotta...more
In the book memory boy by Will Weaver I believe it was kinda of a lesson like when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. This Story was kinda of a drag at the beginning but it started to pick up and really caught my attention with the events going on through the book.I think my favorite part was the ending to the whole book because even when they made it through all the problems they still had to fix an even bigger problem.Through the book it was nonstop suspense and action left and right bu...more
I loved this book. Excellent narration, excellent riveting story, good characters that your care about, excellent writing. Boys will love it, and some girls, too. Set in the aftermath of a huge volcanic eruption, society has almost broken down, and one family tries to get to the safety of their lake cabin. But, the story also goes back to an encounter with an old nursing home resident, who imparts much wisdom about survival in the woods. I loved the nod to older people's experience actually bein...more
Interviewing an old geezer in a nursing home. What a stupid assignment especially when your whole world is collapsing. 16 year old Miles and his family must flee their home World wide disaster has struck, chain of volcanic explosions send clouds of ash in to the atmosphere. 3 years later the ash is still falling. sunlight is scarce. food and gas is rationed. Cities are becoming wastelands of looting and murder. Miles ties up their bicycles around a platfrom and attaches the mast from the boat. U...more
Sep 25, 2012
Meg McGregor
added it
If I had known about this book when I was teaching at-risk students, this would definitely have been one I would have read to them. The story of a family facing the destruction of a world gone insane with volcanoes erupting world-wide is both incredible and deeply personal. You truly feel for this family and I know most of my middle school students would have liked to say Miles was a friend of theirs. The family learns they have to rely on the only resource they have - that of Miles memory. Read...more
I enjoyed this book for several reasons. Miles and his family are trying to survive in a world after volcanoes have erupted and changed life forever. Ash and debris are everywhere and they keep coming down, even 2 years later. I enjoyed Miles and his family's spunky spirit, even when everything seems to be going wrong. I also really enjoyed that Miles learned his survival training from interviewing an old man at the local nursing home,for a class project. As their family journeys to their cabin...more
3.5 rating - Miles is living in a time of turmoil. the volcanoes of the Pacific Cascades have erupted spreading ash throughout the world. Supplies are limited and society is in crisis. Miles convinces his family to leave Minneapolis and head to their cabin in the woods. 2 years earlier - Miles learns a thing or two about survival from the "old geezer" he has to interview for an oral history project. Then and now come together on the road trip to safety. A fast plot with some scary exciting passa...more
It could happen. Say the active volcanoes in the Cascade Range all decided to blow at once, wreaking havoc on the earth and tumbling the fragile social structure of the U.S. It happened in Will Weaver's Memory Boy. Miles and his family escaped the looting and violence in the city, only to find that their safe haven was neither safe, nor a haven. But with ingenuity and togetherness, they find that survival is possible and that facing the future is not so grim.
After earthquakes cover the Earth with ash and people are becoming more desperate for food and supplies, Miles builds the Ali Princess so he and his family can escape to their vacation cabin on the lake. The Ali Princess is like a sailboat on wheels and other than the fact that she runs great, nothing on the trip goes as planned. It will take Miles and his family working together to find a place to survive until things return somewhat to normal.
Memory Boy is, like McCarthy's The Road or Ellison's A Boy And His Dog, about what happens after a major disaster, in this case the Cascade Mountain range erupting volcanically. I've always found these kinds of stories to be really interesting; what would happen after a major disaster? That we've had major disasters in our lifetime, especially recently, only adds to the fascination. That this book was written for young adults didn't take too much from my enjoyment of the story. In fact, I think...more
This was a super easy read, as in it only took me an hour or two from start to finish. I enjoyed the quick pace, and I liked the concept of the book, but I do wish it had been more detailed. Things just clip along at such a fast pace that you're not sure why or how they've gotten to that point. I look forward to reading the sequel though because Memory Boy just kind of ends and definitely leaves you wanting more.
In the book Memory Boy by Will Weaver.There was a volcanic explosion about three years ago. It is still raining ash over miles' house. They decide they should leave their house on a bike. But as they venture further people are crazier. I thought this book was good because of the mystery and craziness. I would recommend this book to people who like mystery books.
Another survival book filled with adventure and suspense. Love the fact that they have a chance to start anew and finalize someones last wishes. It shows that anyone can make friends with an old grouch of a man. The ending was kind of sad to me. I was able to finish it in 2 weeks by reading it in school, So I had little time to read it. Shows that it is a quick read.
The book opens with Miles reluctantly cooperating with an openly hostile teacher's assignment to interview a member of a local retirement residence.
Miles is partnered with a crusty old guy who misses his own place in the woods, when he finds that Miles has a mechanical streak he teaches Miles all manner of practical skills on the QT. No one knows and when Miles is required to report on his meetings with the man he omits their real interactions and makes up a story.
Fast forward to perilous times...more
Miles is partnered with a crusty old guy who misses his own place in the woods, when he finds that Miles has a mechanical streak he teaches Miles all manner of practical skills on the QT. No one knows and when Miles is required to report on his meetings with the man he omits their real interactions and makes up a story.
Fast forward to perilous times...more
This is an exciting apocalyptic-like story about a boy who takes charge of caring for his family. They leave the big city, only to discover that the country is just as dangerous. In an every-man-for-himself world, Miles' snot-nosed attitude toward an old man during a past high school project may be all that can save them.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Excellent! Simply excellent. I picked up this book, because I was enamored with Will Weaver's short stories and this is the prequel to his latest release, THE SURVIVORS. The writing is authentic. As the characters are faced with greater hardships, they become more united as a family in a plausible tale of survival. I highly recommend this book. It is especially well suited fora young adult male audience, a la HATCHET by Gary Paulsen.
Very well written book. This is entirely too possible. Weaver creates a very likely world populated by people acting as they do in crisis. It is very well done, and while I thought some of the banter was a bit fake toward the start, the deeper in I got, the more I realized just how realistic it was.
This is perhaps my favorite young adult fiction book ever. There is a strong plot with interesting inventions by the youth character and the intertwining of the past and the future and how that saves people. It is a page turner. Give it a read and write and tell me what you think
I came into this with low expectations; it sounded like a typical survival story. And in ways, it is. But the characters are well fleshed out, and the jumps from past to present really show how they've grown. It's a bit forgettable, but a short book, so it's worth at least a quick read.
Memory Boy was a great survival story written by Will Weaver. The alternation between flashback and real life for every chapter was a great way of including two stories that come together in the end without making the book confusing or boring. Although a little short, it's a great book
Very easy read. Well done. Thank goodness like 1984 this book has in theroy already took place because it comes off as a very real possibility but to my knowledge no earthquakes or eruptions in Washington state so we should all be safe for awhile..Looking forward to reading next book in series.
Very quick read about a family escaping city life in Minneapolis to try and begin a new life in the country after a cataclysmic chain of volcanic eruptions in Washington State has resulted in two years of falling ash. Living conditions in the United States worsen as the lack of sunlight disrupts food production and distribution, and neighbors turn on each other in an attempt to survive.
Sixteen-year-old Miles is nicknamed Memory Boy for his near photographic memory. His smarts and skills with too...more
Sixteen-year-old Miles is nicknamed Memory Boy for his near photographic memory. His smarts and skills with too...more
Ash is still falling from a series of volcanic eruptions and Miles knows his family must move to the woods to escape the increasing violence of the cities. He and his family are assisted by his memories of his Grade Nine oral histories project with Hans Kurz, an old woodsman.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I grew up on a small dairy farm in Minnesota. Had no idea I'd become a writer one day, but I enjoyed history and English classes in high school–along with lots of outdoor and team sports. Too skinny for football, good at basketball, great glove at third base but couldn't hit a curveball to save my life.
Off to college at Saint Cloud State University (Minnesota), and then the University in Minneapo...more
More about Will Weaver...
Off to college at Saint Cloud State University (Minnesota), and then the University in Minneapo...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
