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Rocket Boys
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By Homer H. Hickam, Jr.
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Coming of Age Nonfiction Autobiography
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Realizing who you are and what you want be and not letting anyone take your dreams away
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The story starts off in the small mining town of Coalwood, West Virginia in the 1950s. The main character Homer Hickam Jr. was the son of Homer Hickam Sr. who was a miner in the coal mines. Jim Hickam, Homer’s older brother, was the town football star and hoped to get out of Coalwood on a football scholarship. Homer, however, had no athletic abilities to get him out of Coalwood. Then one October night he sees Sputnik in the night sky and it peaks his interest in rockets and the U.S.’s space program. Homer befriends the town geek, Quentin, and along with O’Dell and Roy Lee the four build Cape Coalwood where they launch the rockets they build, which they call Auks. All the while Homer’s father is strongly opposed to Homer’s interest in rockets. However, their teacher Ms. Riley encouraged them to keep going and would tell them this,” Let me give you some advice… Don’t blow yourself up. I think I want to keep you in this class,” (152). Then one day the state troopers come to their high school and place the four under arrest for starting a fire in the woods. Not long after Homer’s father is hurt in the coal mines and Homer quits school to work in the mines to provide for his family. Homer realizes he isn’t meant to be a miner and with Quentin’s help he proves that the Rocket Boys did not start the fire. Homer returns to school and the Rocket boys enter in the science fair. After winning it they send Homer to Indianapolis for the National Science Fair. The Rocket Boys win the gold medal and they all receive scholarships.

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The author points out though his own life experiences that we should live our life the way we want to not how someone else would, which I agree with.

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This book inspires its readers to go after their dreams no matter what obstacles are in front of them. No matter how hard they might seem the characters like Homer, Quentin, O’Dell, and Roy Lee show us that if you do not give up your dreams can become reality.

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The story in Rocket Boys is similar to that of Harry Potter by J.K. Rolling. In both books the main characters are faced with what seem impossible obstacles but they don’t give up and over come their obstacles.

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This book challenges people to look and see if they are like are like the people of Coalwood, do you settle for the life you are given or do you try and make something of it. Will you stay in the same place you were born and never go out and see the world?

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This was a very enjoyable book with several life lessons in it. It was all the more interesting because it is a true story. It tells an inspirational story that we can all learn a lesson from. This has become one of my favorite books.