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Rocket Boys (Coalwood)

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 6,345 ratings · 809 reviews

The #1 New York Times bestselling memoir that inspired the film October Sky, Rocket Boys is a uniquely American memoir—a powerful, luminous story of coming of age at the dawn of the 1960s, of a mother's love and a father's fears, of a group of young men who dreamed of launching rockets into outer space . . . and who made those dreams come true.

With the grace of a natural s...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published January 11th 2000 by Delta (first published 1998)

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May 11, 2008 Erin added it

If there is one, just ONE thing that was monumentally historic in this book, a revealing glimpse into our culture's rich history and sociological mindset, it had nothing to do with rockets.

DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE, THAT FIFTY YEARS AGO, PEOPLE WERE HOOKING UP IN BAND BUSES!?

Holy mother of french horns, it's ingrained in our history. I'm not talking to you, ex-cheerleaders belonging to the "'Twilight' fanclubs", you emo english lit majors arguing over poe. You couldn't understand.

Only a certain ty...more If there is one, just ONE thing that was monumentally historic in this book, a revealing glimpse into our culture's rich history and sociological mindset, it had nothing to do with rockets.

DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICE, THAT FIFTY YEARS AGO, PEOPLE WERE HOOKING UP IN BAND BUSES!?

Holy mother of french horns, it's ingrained in our history. I'm not talking to you, ex-cheerleaders belonging to the "'Twilight' fanclubs", you emo english lit majors arguing over poe. You couldn't understand.

Only a certain type of person--- a special combination of musicianship, athleticism and geekiness, if you will--- will truly comprehend the depth of connection I felt after reading Homer's elation at having Dorothy Plunk drift off to sleep on his shoulder while the bus plowed through West Virginia backcountry. That beautiful contentedness with the world, that feeling of satisfaction at the day's performance, the wind whipping through your hair, cuddled up for warmth with half the trumpet section as your dirty, poorly maintained and diesel belching bus careens through the night at the hands of some ill-trained and half asleep band booster.

*sigh*

I mean, serious relationships all over this country have been SOLD on late night band bus trips. Marriages made. Babies born (after the marriages, i mean. we're not cheerleaders, afterall). I'm willing to bet that thousand of American teenagers would never have logged thousands of solid make-out practice hours without this type of magical transportation.I just never guessed it had been around for so long. It's like discovering your great ancestors also signed in at the gym just to get a smoothie so their account would show they came more than three times a week and were actually using their membership. anyway, i digress.

solid book. can't beat the style of writing, it may be slow, but it matches his personality so completely you know it must be genuine. and somehow, for it, the pay off in the end is greater--- i was heartbroken to read the epilogue about dorothy, that she was even the first part of it at all.

homer, i really liked you, man. you should have known, the woodwinds can be a bitch. because i feel like we're friends, and it's never too late for a rocket scientist (you charmer!) ... you can NEVER go wrong with a percussionist.(less)

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Jun 19, 2011 Cass rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, true-stories, 2011, biography

This book was fabulous. It is the type of book I will be lending to everyone. It is mostly a true story (though the author admits to taking some license) about Homer Hickam, Jr. and his rocket building club. Hickam grew up in a mining town in which the only job choice was to become a miner. His mother wanted to ensure he got out of the town and encouraged him to build rockets as a means of proving to his father that he was smart enough to go to college.

This book inspired the movie October Sky wh...more This book was fabulous. It is the type of book I will be lending to everyone. It is mostly a true story (though the author admits to taking some license) about Homer Hickam, Jr. and his rocket building club. Hickam grew up in a mining town in which the only job choice was to become a miner. His mother wanted to ensure he got out of the town and encouraged him to build rockets as a means of proving to his father that he was smart enough to go to college.

This book inspired the movie October Sky which has long been a favourite feel good movie of mine. However I think I like the book for an entirely different reason. The movie is an inspirational story of a boy overcoming the odds in order to become something that was not expected of him. While the book was about that too, it was also about a lifestyle in which children where given much greater freedoms and responsibilities.

When Hickam and his buddies decided to build a rocket they went to the corner store and bought explosive chemicals in order to make it happen. When they blew up his mother's fence her reaction was to encourage him to build more and to not blow himself up. The rocket launches were incredible dangerous especially to spectators who were repeatedly diving for cars in order to avoid being impaled by rockets. Twice he describes rockets that went out of control and ended up in the town itself, potentially deadly weapons.

The story that stands out in my mind is of Hickam and his mates riding there sleds many miles to school after a snow day was declared. He ended up getting home on his own, walking through a whiteout and suffering near frostbite before coming across a home in which he was invited. He dried off and then kept on going. On arriving home his mother and father were unperplexed, not slightly bothered that there son could almost have died.

I wonder whether the Hickam's mother was so passionate about him leaving the town that she thought it better that he die trying than have to go down into the mines.

I found this book inspirational as a parent. It reminded me that children become adults quicker than we think, and are capable of much more than our current system allows for.(less)

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Nov 17, 2011 05kayleeh rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you love to read about someones life that is really boring, the person is lame and very selfish. There are tons of science related things(that the normal person doesn't care about) and it's story line needs to be flushed down the toilet. And it would have been slightly decent if there was romance. (I know that there was a little bit, but it was only four lines and no detail so I didn't count it.) So if you are some one who likes those kind of books then you are going to love "October Sky."

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Jan 08, 2009 Mark Mallett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, memoir

Interesting that "October Sky" (the name of the movie) is an anagram of "Rocket Boys" (the name of the book - the original name anyway).

Although I was a teenager more than a decade later than Hickam was, some of the things he wrote about hit close to home. I, too, grew up in a rural area - on a dirt road in the woods of NH. I remember what it's like to lie in the dark in the middle of nowhere and watch for satellites. I and my circle of friends experimented pretty freely on our own with things l...more

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Jun 24, 2011 Bucko rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hollywood, non-fiction, memoir-autobiography

Homer Hickam recounts how he and his classmates, inspired by the launch of Sputnick, taught themselves (with a little help from some key adults) how to build rockets in the late 1950s. Hickam proves himself a more than capable storyteller, mixing equal parts nostalgia, humor, and teenage angst as he tells his story, including a warts-and-all look at his hometown and the coal company which gave it life. The result is a finely crafted tale of heartbreak and consternation, despair and, ultimately,...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rocket Boys is a heart-felt story written by Homer H.Hickham,Jr. that shows the true ambition and strength of boy who completes his Journey by putting his mind to it. Homer H.Hickham, better known as Sonny in the book, is a teenager who lives in Coalwood, Virgina. Sonny,as they call him has always been very intellegant from the start. He would always do more than what was asked of him and it is one of the reasons why he made it to where he wanted to go. Growing up Sonny lived with his parents Ho...more Rocket Boys is a heart-felt story written by Homer H.Hickham,Jr. that shows the true ambition and strength of boy who completes his Journey by putting his mind to it. Homer H.Hickham, better known as Sonny in the book, is a teenager who lives in Coalwood, Virgina. Sonny,as they call him has always been very intellegant from the start. He would always do more than what was asked of him and it is one of the reasons why he made it to where he wanted to go. Growing up Sonny lived with his parents Homer Sr. and Elise, and his older brother Jim. Sonny and his father have a very strange and usual relationship, you could call it being loved "Unconditionally". His father looks at Sonny has basically nothing, and his older brother Jim is the " Golden Child". Jim is a star football player and everyone loves him, in his fathers eyes he does no wrong. Elise, Sonny's mother is the only person that truly belives in Sonny, she thinks he will grow up and do something great, and not have to work in the dusty old Coalmind like everyone before him. Sonny has 4 best friends that he has know forever, Quentin, Jimmy,Roy Lee , and Sherman. These 5 boys become so interested and amazed by Rockets that they create a group call Rocket Boys. They go through many trials of flying these Rockets ,but they just cant seem to get it to go high enough. As the story goes on Homer Sr. devlopes lung Cancer in his throat from working in the mine so long, it doesn't phase him a bit and he still goes back to work. Sonny's mother then decides to move to myrtle beach, the place she has always wanted to live. She tell him he can come with her or stay and die in the factory, he choses the factory. On Sonny's final day of highschool, the boys met as usual to test there rocket, this time they have a large crowd watching them as they are about to do liftoff. As they pressed the button and the rocket goes soaring in the air, it reaches the highest it as ever reached before. Among the crowd was his father, he came up to Sonny and told him how proud he was of him , Sonny finally felt like his father accepted him. Rocket Boys is a very inspiring story, it shows you the story of how some boy from Coalwood can grow up and be one of the most successful engineers that NASA has ever employed. This story is good for any person who wants a few laughs and i would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a good book to read. Rocket Boys is my all time favorite Boy and i hope it can be yours too.(less)

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Dec 06, 2010 Jonathan L rated it 3 of 5 stars

Personally I though October Sky was a great book. The book goes through all of the emotions. Some of the emotions included were sympathy, happiness, and eagerness to get to next page. I’ll have to say. I almost put the book down in the beginning. After you get through the fifty pages or introduction, the book gets real good. I was actually surprised how good it got to be when I got to the “juicy” part of the book. It had a great ending. The ending was kind of a little sadder than I thought it wo...more

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Feb 02, 2009 Alan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved it! The sequels are not as good as he milks the story for more and more books, but the original is fantastic. I've read this three or four times and bought the movie (October Sky). This is a great book about coming of age and relationships and meeting your goals and is great for all kids.

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Dec 07, 2010 Kirsty Darbyshire added it · review of another edition

A friend recommended this to me years back and although I was interested enough to chuck it in my shopping basket at Amazon a couple of years back it's taken me until now to get around to picking it up to read. This is the story (true) of Sonny Hickam and his friends known as the 'Rocket Boys' who, in the late 1950s, were inspired by the Sputnik satellites to build and launch their own rockets in a small coal mining town in West Virginia.

The moral that's often repeated throughout the book is th

...more

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Mar 10, 2009 Zach Hartzell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rocket Boys
Homer H. Hickam Jr.
Genre: Autobiography
Theme: Follow Your Dreams

Sonny (Homer H. Hickam Jr.) is a boy growing up in a cole mining town. His father runs the cole mines and all life in the town of Coalwood revolves around the mining of coal. Sonny is expected by the family to grow up and work in the mines but all we wants to do is design and build rockets. Dr. von Braun's work with Sputnik inspires Sonny and his gang of friends to step outside their normal lifestyles and the town's expec...more

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Apr 29, 2013 02RebeccaH rated it 2 of 5 stars

The intended audience of this book were teenagers/young adults. The main issue the book addresses is that Homer wants to build rockets, for many reasons. The place setting was Coalwood, West Virginia, and it could have been in a different small town. The time setting was around 1957 and on, and it was important because people didn't know how to build very good rockets then and it was during the race to space.
Homer Hickam was a boy who really admired Wernher von Braun, and he started the BCMA....more The intended audience of this book were teenagers/young adults. The main issue the book addresses is that Homer wants to build rockets, for many reasons. The place setting was Coalwood, West Virginia, and it could have been in a different small town. The time setting was around 1957 and on, and it was important because people didn't know how to build very good rockets then and it was during the race to space.
Homer Hickam was a boy who really admired Wernher von Braun, and he started the BCMA. Mr. Hickam was Homer's dad, he was stubborn and in charge of a coal mine. Jim was Homer's brother, and he was a popular football player.
Homer Hickam Jr. lived in Coalwood with his dad, mom, and brother Jim. His dad was in charge of the coal mine across the street. Homer became interested in building rockets because of what was happening at Cape Canerval, and he started the BCMA. It was a rocket-building club with his friends Roy Lee, Sherman, O'Dell, Quentin, and eventually Billy, because his mom wanted him to try. They started out just guessing mostly about fuel, the rocket building, and other preparations, but soon they learned enough to improve. Miss Riley, a science teacher at their high school, also encouraged them. With a lot of self-teaching and help from Homer's dad, their rockets eventually improved from a height of 6 feet to over 10 miles. Meanwhile, Homer struggles with his crush on Dorothy Plunk, and he thinks that his dad and brother don't like him. With hard work and determination, and the help of the whole town, the BCMA made rockets that win the national science fair - exceeding high above everyone's expectations.
I liked about this book that it included details about the rockets and rocket fuels. The book said, "A Swedish engineer, Carl Gustav De Laval, had shown that by adding a divergent passage to a converging nozzle...the expansion of the fluid (or gas) coming out of the throat would be transformed into jet kinetic energy. (pg. 213). It also said, "With a mighty burst of fire and smoke, Auk XXIII tore off the pod and streaked out of sight, a deep thunder reverberating from mountain to mountain and echoing up the valley." (pg. 299)
On theme of the book could be: those who seek knowledge are often rewarded. I recommend this book to people who like science, rockets, and stories about teenage boys, because that's basically what the book was about. Something unique about the book was what happened in it, and that it combined science and a story. (less)

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Apr 15, 2013 Jael Sprinkle rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is definitely one of the best memoirs I have read to date. I read it alongside my thirteen-year-old son at the recommendation of a friend of mine. He finished before I did, but neither of us could put it down for very long, despite its deliberate beginning and lack of action-based plot.

Hickam's tale is, in all likelihood, embellished, but it is both inspiring and historical without being preachy. The setting is small mining towns of West Virginia as they pass from post-war relevance to shab...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Grace rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: You better read it. I gave it five stars.

Usually, I'm not particularly interested in reading memoirs, but this book is the exception to the rule.

Once a upon a time in Earth Science class, when we were learning about space and the planets (I swear we learn it every year, but whatever), our Earth Science teacher decided to show us a film called October Sky. At first, I thought. Oh, another one of those silly science videos they show us every year like Bill Nye the science guy, but worse. I think I'll just take a nap.

On the contrary, it...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Karl O rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Book Rocket Boys is a memoir written by Homer H. Hickam Jr. Homer is the main character of the story and the book tells of his life while he was a high school student. His credentials are impressive; he is a retired NASA engineer and a consultant for various aerospace projects (Book Panel). I feel that his long career at NASA makes him more than qualified to discuss rocketry. The book takes place in Coalwood, West Virginiaduring the late 1950’s. Coalwood is known as a large mining town where...more The Book Rocket Boys is a memoir written by Homer H. Hickam Jr. Homer is the main character of the story and the book tells of his life while he was a high school student. His credentials are impressive; he is a retired NASA engineer and a consultant for various aerospace projects (Book Panel). I feel that his long career at NASA makes him more than qualified to discuss rocketry. The book takes place in Coalwood, West Virginiaduring the late 1950’s. Coalwood is known as a large mining town where most men are employed by the mine. The cast of characters include Homer, his friends and family, and the various people of Coalwood and the surrounding area. I chose this book because I have always deeply enjoyed underdog stories and I feel this book really is one of the better ones.

The book has various themes and can be interpreted differently by anyone. Some of the main themes I noticed were determination, adversity, and teamwork. The idea behind the book was to show what homer and his friends went through in their quest to build the best rockets. The book begins with Homer in High School when the Russians launch the Sputnik satellite. He was instantly captivated by the satellite “I stared at it with no less rapt attention than if it had been God himself in a golden chariot riding overhead” (32) This moment turns out to become one of Homers main inspirations to become a rocketeer. After seeing Sputnik, Homer and friends begin their first attempt at building a rocket and although it is a failure it helps to solidify Homers dream of creating rockets. The book shows the various times in Coalwood and does a good job of showing the character progression and showing the characters mature throughout High School. “The Boys decide to create the Big Creek Missile Agency (BCMA), named in imitation of von Braun’s ABMA.” (77) The boys began to take their attempt at rocketry more seriously and recruited more members for the BCMA. Over time the group begins to experiment with different materials for their rockets ranging from aluminum to high grade steel. They also begin to gain a better understanding of chemistry and as a direct result begin to figure out higher quality rocket fuel. During the later years of the groups time in High School the group learns of a science fair and one member begins pressuring the BCMA to enter one of its rockets into the show. Throughout the whole book Homer describes his rough relationship with his father and the difficulties surrounding the mine. I feel that the backstory with Homer and his father is an excellent piece and shows a different side of him separate from his rocket career. The book begins its climax during the boys’ senior year. After years of rocket building they are finally convinced to join the science fair and represent Coalwood. “You want this young man to enter, make sure he gets his entry form completed in time!” (296) The group prepares a rocket to take to the competition and the elect to send Homer as the groups’ leader. The BCMA receives the gold medal during the science fair and Homer returns to find a cheering town. “I stepped off the bus in Bluefield to a sea of familiar faces accompanied by applause and cheer.” (348) The book then discusses what becomes of the boys after High School.

The book Rocket Boys is indeed a very interesting book and anyone who enjoys a biography should give this book a chance. I found the book to be good for various reasons; from the author’s humor and writing style to the very intriguing subject of amateur rocketry. But that’s not say it is a perfect book. There are spots in the book that have little relevance to the overall story and could have been left out. Occasionally the word choice can be a little stale and may appear dated, but bear in mind the author was describing the late 1950’s. Overall I feel that Rocket Boys is a very well rounded novel and is a book many would find interesting.
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Dec 12, 2012 Ashley Pauley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who is reminiscent of childhood, readers of dysfunctional family dynamics

Recommended to Ashley by: My dad

Shelves: owned, school-books

Immediately, I felt a strong connection with this book. Not because I've experimented with rocket fuel or lived in a coal mining town, but I am originally from West Virginia, a small state so rich in history that I immediately feel connected to anything and anyone associated with the Wild and Wonderful. That being said, I'd wanted to read this book for a while since my dad recommended it to me. It was then to my excitement that it was on a summer reading list. I could read this book that I wante...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Kelsie Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars

The purpose of the book "Rocket Boys" was to chase your dreams, because Homer's (The main character) dream was to build rockets and he got shot down a lot by his dad because he thought it was stupid and now hes famous, this books message is basically go after your dreams no matter what, even when people aren't believing in it as much as you are.
The theme of this novel in my opinion was hope, Mainly a lot of this "hope" being Homer but also the other boys never gave up and kept trying over and...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Michael Burnam-fink rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, biography, history

There are moments that feel like they'll last forever, moments that tie the smallest lives to the grandest events. One of those moments was Sputnik in 1957, when a boy in West Virginia looked at a moving light in the sky, and dreamed that he would build a rocket. But unlike a thousand other dreamers, Homer Hickham built his rockets, and in 'Rocket Boys' he takes us back to his childhood in Coalwood, and way in which a whole town achieved escape velocity from the daily tyranny of mining and high...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Claire Neibergall rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam Jr. is an inspirational book about growing up in a small West Virginia town, while dreaming of escaping a dead-end future working in the Coalwood mine. The memoir of Homer Hickam Jr. follows four friends through High School who discover their love for building and flying rockets, after witnessing the flight of the Russian satellite Sputnik in the summer of 1957. The four “Rocket Boys” find their way through small town life in company owned Coalwood, West Virginia, whi...more Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam Jr. is an inspirational book about growing up in a small West Virginia town, while dreaming of escaping a dead-end future working in the Coalwood mine. The memoir of Homer Hickam Jr. follows four friends through High School who discover their love for building and flying rockets, after witnessing the flight of the Russian satellite Sputnik in the summer of 1957. The four “Rocket Boys” find their way through small town life in company owned Coalwood, West Virginia, while dreaming of escaping to build rockets at Cape Canaveral. Boys who lived in Coalwood either went to college on a football scholarship or went to work in the mine. The “Rocket Boys” wanted to escape Coalwood and the inevitable sentence of working in the town mine while following their dreams.

The main purpose of the book was to show readers the difficulties of growing up in a small, coal mining town in the late 1950’s while following a different path than other teenage boys. The difficulties faced by the author, affectionately called “Sonny”, were not only learning how to build rockets, as well as how to address the conflicts with the judgments from his parents and the tensions within the town of Coalwood. The author must deal with the limits of small town ideals and the lack of finances both at school and at home. While the Hickam family hopes for a football scholarship for Jim, Sonny’s older brother, there is no money for the author to attend college after high school. The different conflicts encountered by Sonny and the rest of the Rocket Boys of Coalwood forces the town to work together despite their different views on the future of the mine.

The struggles of living up to a father’s expectations and the need to gain his approval and affection were the major themes throughout the book. Sonny constantly looks for the approval of his father, but doesn’t want to work in the mine as is expected. Sonny wants something more challenging, to work for his idol Wernher Von Braun building rockets. The Rocket Boys show their passion for learning about and building rockets by sticking with their hobby through many failed attempts. The Coalwood residents struggle with changes that impact the mine while they work together to support Sonny and the Rocket Boys find materials and build rocket components. Sonny learns that while his father does not understand his dreams, he does help him in his own way proving his love for his son. For the big rocket launch, Sonny asks his dad to shoot off the rocket. “There was no mistaking the pure delight I saw spread across his face as he knelt in front of the panel,” (pg 361). A town, which is divided over the future of the mine, puts aside their differences to assist the Rocket Boys and their mission to attend college and prepare for a future outside of Coalwood.

Homer Hickam Jr. narrates the story of growing up in a small, coal mining town and coming to terms with his relationship with his father. The author takes the reader on a journey through the numerous obstacles that were faced by the Rocket Boys in order to achieve their dream. The Rocket Boys went from being labeled town troublemakers, trying to blow up the town with their rockets, to the representing Coalwood with pride. Sonny, while achieving success with the Rocket Boys and the residents of Coalwood by building rockets, can never seem to please his father and always seems to fail in his eyes.

Rocket Boys was interesting and entertaining as I was unfamiliar with that time period in America’s history. The author’s first-hand account of life in a small coal mining town was interesting and informative. Throughout the book, I wanted Sonny and the other Rocket Boys to succeed and escape Coalwood and have a future that they dreamed of while they were teenagers.
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Aug 14, 2012 Jose Esparza rated it 4 of 5 stars

it was interesting how the book took time during the Cold War in the Space War between the US and the Soviet Union. The whole life of these boys were surprising in the fact that they were born with such little hope, only to grow up and develop a future.

reading this book helped me realize that with hard work anything is possible. Their life was an example of hard work paying off in the future. They didn't let negative comments stop them from doing what they grew to love. Homer and his friends pr...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Frances Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, union-township

This is one of the books that reminds me why I love being in a book club - it forces me to read books I would never have selected to read or even become aware of.

I was fairly certain I would not like this book, and I read the first chapter with a negative predisposition toward it, just to decide whether I would actually read it. About ten chapters later, I realized I could not have been more wrong. I was absolutely hooked and I never looked back.

It's one of the best, most inspiring stories I've...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Chris S added it · review of another edition

The book I have read is called October Sky by Homer Hickam. A Memoir. The book October Sky is about a boy that lives in a town called Coalwood. Homer as a dream to become a rocket scientist but his dad believes that he will work in the coal mine just like him. Homer has a brother named Jim who is a Football star that gets all of the girls. There's a girl in Homer's school that Homer likes but she doesn't like him back. Her name is Dorthy. Homer and his friends start to build rockets and put thin...more

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May 01, 2012 Joe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: true-story

Joe Emerson - October Sky

October Sky is about a boy, nicknamed “Homer”. His brother was the star footballer in the little town called “Coal-wood”. His dad was the chief miner in the big mine and used most of his time in the mine. He was too weak too play football, and his dad wanted to get him into mining. Homer, liked one thing, and that was rockets. He watched them on TV. His mom, on the other hand, thought that he could do much better. She told him that he should get out of the town as soon a...more

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May 01, 2012 Mariah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book I read is October Sky by Homer Hickam. This book is a memoir about Homer Hickam and his friends Roy-Lee, O’dell, and the brains, Quintin. This story was about Homer proving that he could accomplish something and get out of the town Coal Wood. They did this by building rockets to prepare for a science fair.“we win the science fair with our rockets, it’s got to help us get on down to the Cape.”(Hickam 96). Along the way they had some trouble with the police and a forest fire and they were...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Gerardo Trejo added it

In my opininon this book was really good because I have learn new histories about this people. This book show me the good aventures that people have on thier lives and what they do to resolve thier on questions. Also, October sky was really a good book because axplain about what Homer have to do to complete his dream. Homere,s dream was to explore tha space because he wan to know if on other planets cuold have life and how the look. Homere, idea was to show people that he was strog and the only...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Jessica Griggs added it

Rocket Boys

What is more motivational than a group of boys in a cole mining town who want to build rockets? This book would be an amazing tool geared towards young men, especially trying to break out of stereotypes in their surroundings or situations. Homer Hickam does what ever little boy dreams of doing, breaking away and making a name for themselves, doing the impossible, never giving up, following your dreams and making them a success. With his mother to encourage him, he tries to prove to hi...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Ross Watson rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Rocket Boys" by Homer H. Hickam was a very hard book to read at first. I had trouble reading it because it did not catch my attention. After about the 40th page or so I started to like it. It had a very easy writing style. The writing style was straight forward and very easy to understand. Even though I do not read a lot I found a book that I enjoyed.
The novels genre is a memoir. A memoir is a autobiography or a written account of one's memory of certain events or people. In this case it was...more

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Oct 26, 2011 04MaddieK rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

October Sky
Written by: Homer Hickam
The Rocket Boys must have launched over 40 rockets to finally get one to fly successfully. These rocket models ranged from, the first one being made out of an empty flashlight tube with cherry bomb powder in it, to their last one made out of steel and S.A.E. bar stock. Over and over they tried until they found success.
Homer Hickam, the main character of this story is the son of the superintendent of the mine in Coalwood, West Virginia. He has been told that...more October Sky
Written by: Homer Hickam
The Rocket Boys must have launched over 40 rockets to finally get one to fly successfully. These rocket models ranged from, the first one being made out of an empty flashlight tube with cherry bomb powder in it, to their last one made out of steel and S.A.E. bar stock. Over and over they tried until they found success.
Homer Hickam, the main character of this story is the son of the superintendent of the mine in Coalwood, West Virginia. He has been told that his only future is working in the mine, but he doesn’t feel that he can do that. When the Russians put the first satellite in space, Sputnik, he becomes interested in rockets and space. Homer decides to build a rocket. Problem is, he doesn’t know how. He seeks out help from Quentin, the school nerd, and his friends, O’Dell, Roy Lee, and Sherman.
They form the BCMA (Big Creek Missile Agency). Most of the town is not supportive except for Miss Riley, Homer’s mother Elsie, and Mr. Bykovski. The BCMA has many failures but that never stops them. Even when they accidentally launch a rocket and it goes flying toward the mine and Homer’s dad forbids them to launch any rockets on company property. The BCMA just goes to a site that the company doesn’t own and builds a launch pad, and shed. They go through several trials, trying every combination they can think of until they have a success, like when they flew one of their rockets and it went about seven hundred and sixty feet in the air and they realized they were headed in the right direction.
Once Coalwood started hearing about some of the successes the BCMA were having people started coming to watch them launch their rockets. One time over two hundred people came to watch. Thankfully that was a success and it went five thousand feet in the air. This just drove more people to come watch and the next rocket they launched three hundred people showed up. This rocket went seven thousand and fifty six feet high, and the next went up at least eight thousand feet.
Homer Hickam and his friends enter the County science fair and they win. They go on to State and win that too. When Homer gets to go to Nationals, he finds after he leaves his stuff out over night, that it is all gone. In Coalwood they pull some strings and are able to get all his stuff remade and sent to him over night in time for the judging. When Homer’s hero Wernher von Braun is at the National science fair, he go running looking for him but he misses him and never gets to see him. But, the judges love his display and Homer wins! When he gets home he is welcomed by cheers and applause. But he finds out that Miss Riley is in the Hospital. She is really sick with a disease and eventually dies from it. Homer, Quentin, Sherman, and Billy go on and become engineers. Roy Lee becomes a banker, and O’Dell goes into insurance and farming. Homer’s father died of the black lung, and his mother moved to Myrtle Beach.
The Rocket Boys were amazing boys, failure after failure, they just kept going. They wouldn’t take no for an answer. They were regular boys that wanted to change their destined future and they did. In life, you just need to try over and over until you find success.
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Oct 26, 2011 07alexw rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

October sky book review
well it was published in 1998
The author of it is Homer Hickam (as from the book)
It has 428 pages
well I think that anyone would love to read this book it is kind of boring though I probably wouldn’t read it again but if you like science more than me than you will probably like this book. Now Some of the characters in this story are homer(the author), roy lee, miss Riley, Sherman, And more.
Now the story starts in 1957 at Coal wood, West Virginia were we start to follow ou...more

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Oct 26, 2011 03celestes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Don’t you hate those boring books that teachers always assign you to read for projects? I sure do. That was my first reaction was I was assigned to read Rocket Boys. But to my surprise, it was actually quite interesting. It contains 428 pages and is a true story written by none other than, Homer Hickam. The book takes place around 1957 in a small town called coalwood.
Science, the subject many students dislike. Well, not in this case. Science is what changed Homer Hickam’s life for the better. H...more Don’t you hate those boring books that teachers always assign you to read for projects? I sure do. That was my first reaction was I was assigned to read Rocket Boys. But to my surprise, it was actually quite interesting. It contains 428 pages and is a true story written by none other than, Homer Hickam. The book takes place around 1957 in a small town called coalwood.
Science, the subject many students dislike. Well, not in this case. Science is what changed Homer Hickam’s life for the better. Homer is a fourteen year old boy. He, like all other teenage boys, loves girls. Homer however takes a special interest to rockets when the Russian Sputnik is sent into space. Next thing he knows, Homer is building rockets of his own. Growing up in coalwood however is not easy, especially for a boy who wants to build rockets. In coalwood all the boys grow up to work at the coal mine. Not to mention Homer’s father is a Captain at the coal mine.
But, despite the challenges Homer builds rockets and is determined to become the best he can be and get out of this small town where he is locked up.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved how it was a true story and that he never gave up no matter what everyone else said. By the time I got to the ending and read the passage “ ‘Sonny,’ Roy Lee said. ‘Do you see who’s here?’ I looked up from my work. Tag opened a path through the crowd and there stood my father in his work clothes.”(pg 419) I was actually quite moved. I also loved when he said “We danced to “its all just a game” that night and to no surprise to me, I found I still loved her.”(pg 421) It showed the true emotion of the book and how real it was.
This book was intended for an older audience and I would not recommend it to kids.
I really loved the theme of the book. I loved how it was about going after your dreams even when they seem impossible. If only we could all be a little more determined like Homer was. It made me really want to change and not care what others thought.
The book was really good and much better then I ever would have thought. And yes, I would recommend this book to you and hope that you have the chance to read it.

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Oct 25, 2011 01dallinc rated it 2 of 5 stars

Rocket Boys or October Sky was a book I enjoyed alot. At frist I did not want to read it and even if I did read it I wanted to read it because I wanted to not because it was assinged to me by my science teacher. I was not sure what to think of it but I read it anyway and was glad to find it was about rockets hence the name. And about the space race it is Homer Hickam's life story when JFK was the presidnet and before that. It is his life in coalwood before graduting high school.

Coalwood is a sma...more Rocket Boys or October Sky was a book I enjoyed alot. At frist I did not want to read it and even if I did read it I wanted to read it because I wanted to not because it was assinged to me by my science teacher. I was not sure what to think of it but I read it anyway and was glad to find it was about rockets hence the name. And about the space race it is Homer Hickam's life story when JFK was the presidnet and before that. It is his life in coalwood before graduting high school.

Coalwood is a small town that is just made and only exists to get Coal from the ground. The book talks on how Homer built his rockets and how he made his fuel he uses all kinds of things to build this rockets. It has the Coalwood rockets at there best and the coalwood rockets or should I say bombs at there worst. Homer was a young man when spudnik was lanched by the Russains into space. He then trys to make his own rocket and it blows up his mom's fence. His dad is in charge of the Coalwood mine and has to work very often and is almost never home. While he is home his Black Phone pulls him right back to the mine. Homer falls in love and his book shows that.

I did enjoy this book but word to the wise there were many parts where you did not need to read they could have been skiped because they were crass and a look into the parts of a teen age boys mind that quite frankly were just bad and it severly times made me skip ahead a page because that page or chapter had not the highest standerds. But when he stayed with the rockets it was a safe enjoyable book.

One of the main things that Homer is trying to say in this book is to show love to your children because one day you are going to miss the times that you did not have because you were not pround of you did not love your son.

I would't advies anyone to read this book but if I had to it would be to an adult that would know when it was time to skip if needed. If my grade in that class had not been at skate I would not have read the book very far I would have to stop because it was very very crass.(less)

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Great Read: Tonight's Book Discussion	1	2	Feb 23, 2012 06:49pm
The Great Read: The Coalwood Way	1	1	Feb 17, 2012 08:43am
The Great Read: The Coalwood Series	1	1	Feb 10, 2012 09:58am
The Great Read: October Sky Trailer	1	2	Feb 02, 2012 06:02pm
The Great Read: Rocket Boys Discussion Questions	1	4	Jan 27, 2012 07:49am
The Great Read: Rocket Boys	1	5	Jan 19, 2012 12:10pm
Thoughts on Rocket boys	3	57	Jul 17, 2008 07:54pm

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“I had discovered that learning something, no matter how complex, wasn't hard when I had a reason to want to know it.” — 51 people liked it

“Not much comes easy in this world, Sonny. If it does, it's best to be suspicious of it. It's probably not worth much.” — 8 people liked it

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