Rocket Boys

Author: Homer Hickam, Jr.

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 362

Rocket Boys is a memoir about a small town misfit Homer who felt he should be achieving more with his life. Homer and his friends are able to achieve this through the up and coming hot topic in the United States during the 60’s, rockets. The boys dream big and achieve more than they ever thought was possible. The book is about four boys and their journey from average high school students to winning the state science fair with their professionally tuned model rockets.

Much to my surprise, the book Rocket Boys exceeded all of my expectations. October Sky, the movie based on this memoir happens to be my favorite movie. Coming into this book with extremely high expectations and having them blown away makes this a true masterpiece to me. My intrigue with space helped me place myself in the character's shoes. The book is a great read for anyone interested in the memoir genre, or interested in science and engineering.The writing style in the book is very engaging and helps the reader picture exactly what the author is trying to showcase. An example of a quote from the book that  engages the reader is, “My mind closed down and I came immediately back to my bed, my room coalescing around me, my desk my chair, my little chest of drawers, the books and model airplanes suddenly so terribly real.” This excerpt highlights his heavy use of imagery and using his perception of the world as the readers view in the memoir.I rate this book a nine out of ten. The engaging story and powerful writing make me feel like I am sifting through the memories of the author when I read this book. One drawback is that I believe Rocket Boys may speak to a limited audience. This is because the book focuses heavily on scientific and math related content. While the book may be focused around those topics it is still very much a masterfully written coming of age story about Homer Hickam Jr. and his close group of friends.