Review: The Survivors by Will Weaver

Title: The Survivors
Author: Will Weaver
Published: January 31, 2012
Publisher:  HarperTeen
Format: Hardcover, 320 pgs
Series: Memory Boy #2
URL: http://www.willweaverbooks.com/

Two years ago, the ash started falling like gray snow. The volcanoes had erupted. . . . For Miles and his sister, Sarah, the real disaster started in the violent aftermath--when they were forced to leave their cushy suburban home and flee to the north woods for safety. Miles got them to a cabin, but now winter is setting in. All they have to get them through is the milk from Sarah's prized possession--her goat--and Miles's memory of wilderness survival skills. When Sarah tries to regain some normalcy by attending the local school, she realizes she is no longer quite the person she used to be. Now she is Goat Girl, a Traveler, and it's hard to pretend she isn't. And when a horrific twist of fate robs Miles of his memory, he discovers the heart of his true identity. They knew the volcanoes would change the world. Now, in order to survive, they must change with it. Will Weaver delivers an extraordinary sequel to "Memory Boy," showing that several basic instincts lie deep inside us all: love, fear, and survival.

Will Weaver does a wonderful job with this follow up novel to Memory Boy.  In this sequel, we find Miles and his family looking to survive once more after the enormous volcanic eruption has caused a global catastrophe. 

When I read this novel I was expecting a true “end of the world” type novel and how the family gets through it all.  However, what I got, was even better.  Will Weaver goes beyond the simple formula of end of the world novel and how the characters survive.  Instead, he focuses on the family.  How do Miles, his younger sister, and his parents learn, or perhaps re-learn to be a family after so many years?  The Survivors is about how they work together, and support each other at a time when they have no one else to depend on. 

If you have not read Memory Boy, I highly recommend reading it before The Survivors.  However, this novel does stand alone, and you will be able to catch up without having ready Memory Boy.  Weaver’s characters are authentic, believable, and extremely likeable.  By the end of the story you will catch yourself rooting for Miles and his family as they attempt to finally take back the house they were forced to leave, and reclaim it as their home. 

I give this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

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