I only have one real complaint with this book. Rocket Boys is ostensibly a work of non-fiction, but the author's note refers to an "author's license" and "certain liberties in the telling of the story." I think this note under-states the extent to which the story has clearly been fictionalized. The too-good-to-be-true coincidences of timing eventually made me realize that the details of this story are not to be taken literally.

Otherwise, however, this is a wonderful book. I feel like the world I grew up in is far, far away from the coal towns of West Virginia, but Rocket Boys really drew me in and helped me understand that life. On the flip side, I felt a great deal of empathy for the thirst for knowledge expressed by the rocket boys.

The boys' quest to build rockets that fly higher and higher (or at first, just fly) is fascinating, but perhaps more interesting is Sonny's quest to understand his mother and father. Those two characters come across more strongly than any others in this book (or most others).