Alexandra Reads #2 - Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam

Hey there and welcome back to Alexandra Reads with my second book recommendation: Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam! 

Growing up, I never had too much interest in the sciences, mainly because I was bad at it and never really scored good grades in science classes. While my friends took Honors biology, chemistry and physics in high school, I stuck to Earth and space science because the earth was something I could wrap my head around. All the other sciences, not so much… That was the class where I first encountered the movie October Sky. I instantly fell in love with the story and grew further interested in space science.

And of course, I just had to read the memoir October Sky was based on: Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam (Rocket Boys being October Sky’s anagram!).

"A rocket wont fly unless someone lights the fuse!" - Homer Hickam, pg. 120

A nostalgic and emotional look into the beginnings of space exploration between the years 1957 and 1960, following the launch of Soviet satellite Sputnik, Rocket Boys follows fourteen-year-old Homer Hickam and his friends who are inspired to build their own rockets. Over the next three years, Homer and his “Big Creek Missile Agency” perfect their rocket model, culminating in the participation in a national science fair, a great achievement for the young boys who grew up in a small mining town.

With coming-of-age themes of youthful romance, familial struggles, and adulthood, Rocket Boys is a profound and honest take on the boys’ journey toward finding a way to escape their dying coal town.

Dog-Eared Quotes:

 “Mom stared at me for a long while and then said, ‘Well, don’t blow yourself up.’”

-Homer Hickam, pg. 34

“If you stop working on your rockets now, you’ll regret it maybe for the rest of your life.”

-Homer Hickam, pg 263

“You must completely dedicate yourselves to it. To do less will be to let down your country, your state, your parents, your teachers, and ultimately, yourselves. Remember this: The only good citizen is the well-educated citizen.”

-Homer Hickam, pg 146

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about my second Alexandra Reads book recommendation. If you’ve already read Homer Hickam’s Rocket Boys or you’re planning on giving it a go, comment down below!

And as always, thank you for reading!

Read on!

Alexandra