Tolog Review: October Sky

October Sky
by Homer Hickam
reviewed by Christine Grimes

The book I read was October Sky by Homer Hickam. At the beginning of the book, Homer explains to us that the town of Coalwood was at war with itself. The main characters in this book are the Hickam family and especially Sonny Hickam. There are many struggles the father and the brother have such as worrying about the Russians, learning about rockets and the difficulty with girls. Sonny Hickam got into trouble for something bad that he did and you will not believe what the Americans attempted to do. Everyone around the town hates how much commotion Sonny is making with his rocket. Sonny really likes this girl named Dorothy. Does he build up the courage to ask her out or does something happen when he tries to? Sonny really loves rockets and to build them. One times while he was in the process of making a rocket, he needed a few more things. When he finally has everything he needs to launch it, something bad happens that puts his father in a bad position. After this incident, Sonny’s father does not want him to do anything with rockets for a while, but will Sonny still play with the thing he cares about or will he listen to his father and stop playing with rockets? Things are not going smoothly for Sonny’s brother because the original plan for him to go to college is not going to work so he is struggling to find another way to get in. Later on, Sonny’s parents are fighting over him. At the end of the book, Sonny and his father build a better relationship since it was not too great before. Sonny’s career has kicked off with the rockets and he could not be more proud of himself.