Memory Boy

Need a little ecological wake-up call? Written in 2001, this book describes events that occur in 2008, but the story starts with a volcanic eruption of Mt. Ranier in 2006. As a result the entire United States is suffering food and fuel shortages from the stifling gray ash. Miles Newell, a sixteen year old in Minneapolis constructs a vehicle from bicycle and sailboat parts that will allow his family to escape the city for their summer cottage near Lake Itaska. Anyone who has travelled Highway 10 or 371 on a trip north will feel like they are part of the adventure. A gripping adventure by Will Weaver, it was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award in 2002, and a nominee for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award in 2003.