Rating: 
Summary: Captivating
Review: Sonny Hickam, the first year college man, returns home to a summer filled with mystery in his hometown of Coalwood. And our boy gains 20 lbs of muscle in the mines. But as in the other two stories about Coalwood, the center of attention is on his views of others in the town, the strong and capable and those who have suffered severely in the town's industry of mining coal. This is a moving story, seen thru the eyes of a bright 18 year old boy who is learning about life. Each Hickam book reveals more about Sonny's father; a special person who is easy to admire but not so easy to like. Sky of Stone is outstanding for adults, and a great book for young teens. I suggest Hickam books (Rocket Boys, Coalwood Way and now Sky of Stone) to all the undergraduates at my university. Exciting and poignant, with all of lifes secrets. Sky of Stone is a book you will re read time and again. And you may be enticed to visit the town where it all took place.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Homer
Review: Thank you Homer for a great book and your inspiration. I saw you on C-Span. I will be using your words with everybody I know.We are proud of who we are.
We stand up for what we believe.
We are not afraid. I read Sky of Stone in two days. Couldn't put it down. Great writing, very skilful. I couldn't figure the mystery out. Most books I figure out very early. A great writer who just keeps getting better.
Rating:
Summary: sky of stone
Review: This book takes you back to the 50's/60's when Homer built his rockets and his struggles with his somewhat disfuctional family. It will enspire you even now. In the scheme of things you should read "Coalwood Way" first since that will keep Homer's life in sequence. I'm about Homer's age and thoroughly enjoyed all three boks,Rocket boys, coalwood ways & sky of stone. I promise, you'll enjoy Mr. Hickam's works if you like space and rockts!!!
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written, gloriously told
Review: This is a beautifully written, gloriously told, technicolor tale! I can't write enough accolades. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put it down until the end when the mystery of Elsie's fox, Homer's (senior) reluctance to fight the charges against him, and the Secret Man. I nearly leapt out of my chair and cheered at the resolution at the end of the trial. Homer Hickam (Junior, known as Sonny in the book) is an American treasure. Write on, Sonny - more on Coalwood, PLEASE!
Rating:
Summary: Coalwood's swan song
Review: Through Homer Hickam's marvelous memoirs, readers have been transported to Coalwood, West Virginia, of the late 1950s - first in ROCKET BOYS (made into the film OCTOBER SKY), then THE COALWOOD WAY, and now SKY OF STONE. It's the summer of 1961. After his freshman year at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Homer wants to join his mother at her new house in Myrtle Beach, a coastal resort in South Carolina. But there's been a fatal accident back in the mine at Coalwood, and Homer's Dad, the mine superintendent, is under investigation by state and federal agencies. So, Mom tells Homer to go back home and keep his Dad company. And, as readers of the series know, Elsie Hickam is not one to trifle with. SKY OF STONE is, I think, certainly superior to THE COALWOOD WAY, and perhaps even to ROCKET BOYS. It's in this third volume that Homer emerges from adolescence. He comes to grips with his parents' increasing estrangement from each other, his father's emotional distance, the loss of beloved pets, and the primacy of his older brother in his father's affections. Then there's Homer's first serious crush, the object being Rita, a junior mining engineer several years his senior. Finally, to pay off damage done to his father's Buick, Homer defies both parents, joins the United Mine Workers of America, moves out of the family home, and goes to work in the coal mine as a summer job. (SKY OF STONE refers to the ceiling of solid rock over the mine's tunnels.) Homer's semi-dysfunctional family remains a source of reader sympathy. Over one weekend, young Hickam resides with the Likens family, the menfolk of which are going to improve their guest's softball skills. (Homer's been drafted by the union team that will play management on the Fourth of July.) At breakfast, Homer notices: "(Mrs. Likens) smiled lovingly at her husband, and I thought again how much I envied her family. They all just seemed to like each other." The poignancy of this observation is heartbreaking. Hickam self-deprecating humor makes him an eminently likable protagonist. He sets out to that July 4th showdown on the baseball diamond with the thought: "... I had, in fact, only two hopes: one, that I wouldn't hit myself with the bat, and the other, that nobody would hit a ball in my direction." But, Homer rises to the occasion, much to the satisfaction of the reader. Since, in the book's epilogue, Homer's narrative summarizes his life since that maturing summer of '61, I assume that SKY OF STONE is to be the last in the Coalwood series, which has been a genuine piece of true-life Americana. I shall miss it. According to the author, Coalwood's mine has long since shut down, and the town itself barely exists as a place on the map anymore. However, there's a museum there dedicated to the town's mining heritage and the exploits of the Rocket Boys. Homer's books leave me wanting to travel across country to visit. Honor is due.
Rating: 
Summary: A budding Hickamite
Review: To start, if you haven't read Rocket Boys, read it first. I love Sky of Stone but can't imagine enjoying it near as much without the background established in Rocket Boys. As far Sky of Stone goes, it is a fantastic book, BUT much different that Rocket Boys. The tone is much darker and mysterious. It is NOT another light-hearted nostalgic look at life in the 50s although parts do lend itself to that. The first half of the book is somewhat slow, but the second half is very quick and is GREAT!
Rating:
Summary: Not like Rocket Boys, but still excellent
Review: To start, if you haven't read Rocket Boys, read it first. I love Sky of Stone but can't imagine enjoying it near as much without the background established in Rocket Boys. As far Sky of Stone goes, it is a fantastic book, BUT much different that Rocket Boys. The tone is much darker and mysterious. It is NOT another light-hearted nostalgic look at life in the 50s although parts do lend itself to that. The first half of the book is somewhat slow, but the second half is very quick and is GREAT!
Rating:
Summary: Sonny Does It Again!
Review: Well, here I am again, writing another bleary-eyed rave review for one of Homer Hickam's fantastic books that I could not put down till the wee hours of the morning! This one almost surpasses the wonder I felt when I read ROCKET BOYS-- almost, but not quite--- hence four stars, instead of five! SKY OF STONE has different excellent qualities going for it--- one of which is a mystery, one that is well-constructed so that even the most avid mystery reader does not know what the real truth is until the very last moment. That is what kept me up all night-- I wanted to see how it ended! I love that the characters of Coalwood are once again painted against that familiar tapestry that was "ROCKET BOYS"--- I felt myself drawn into that place I have physically driven through so many times in my life (living only 20 minutes away from Coalwood), but only know personally through Sonny's books. I missed the Rocket Boys in this one, those comrades who shared so much in ROCKET BOYS and THE COALWOOD WAY. But the characters that were involved in the telling of this story had so many wonderful aspects to them that I found myself enthralled by their interactions with Sonny. Floretta was my favorite. I also loved how Elsie Hickam was the puppetmaster for this book, even though she was in her beloved Myrtle Beach for most of the book--- GIRL POWER!!! I cannot say enough about this book or the two that precede it, so I will just say this (in an unfair take on the film "Field of Dreams"), "Sonny Hickam, write them, and I will come!" Another well-written, awesome tale of life in the county I, too, call home!
Rating:
Summary: A rousing tale of wonder
Review: Yesterday, I heard Homer Hickam give a speech on his book tour here in Boise, Idaho. He is a wonderful speaker and everybody in the audience was inspired. I wrote down what he said. He said he was going on book tour while others were canceling because he wanted to show the American people that he wasn't afraid and they shouldn't be either, that he's flown all over the United States, including New York City, since Sept. 11. He said, and I quote, We all have to be like the people of Coalwood and say We are proud of who we are. We stand up for what we believe. We are not afraid.
I bought his book and took it home to read. I read through the night, not because Mr. Hickam had impressed me personally but because this is a wonderful story of mystery. I especially loved the woman mining engineer. She is a great character. I used to think Jan Karon and Danielle Steele hung the moon. But Homer has magic in his words like no other writer I've read in a very, very long time. Now, I going back and read everything he's written.
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