Rating: 
Summary: Rockets are historical, but real message is timeless
Review: Wow! I don't know how often a book gets a 5-star average for 170 reader reviews, but this one deserves all the superlatives! The change of title to _October Sky_ was appropriate because _Rocket Boys_ was too parochial to encompass the universal message of this book. What started as a tale of the adventures of a few young men in West Virginia became a sort of compendium of the teenage years of every American boy who grew up in the late fifties, revolving around two truly significant concepts that transcend time and space. The first of these is essentially intellectual: the demands of each era tend to assimilate the available human material and adapt it to changing conditions. The other is spiritual and far more basic and essential: that for each of us, true maturity and fulfillment are found in learning to listen to our own heart and having the courage to follow wherever it leads us. Whether these two points were in the mind of the author as he wrote, all of the adventures of Sonny and his friends reinforce them. The book truly has all the elements of a good story--conflict, love, tragedy, triumph,-- woven together in captivating fashion. For this reviewer the story had special meaning beacuse of an incredible number of parallels to his own personal life. But it would be surprising indeed if anyone with a heart and soul could read it through with dry eyes!
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Summary: Inspiring book and movie
Review: If it hadn't been for the movie, I would never have read the book. My great grandfather was a coal miner in Pennsylvania and I wanted to find out what that life was like. Plus, my math and science background drew me to the story. The movie moved me as few movies do. I simply had to read the book. My bookstore had an autographed copy which I eagerly snapped up, although I wish I had been able to meet Mr. Hickam personally. I haven't encountered such wonderful, vivid tales of growing up in the U.S. since reading the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Hickam is a master storyteller, just as Mrs. Wilder was. His characters leap off the pages and touch you. One can't help but like these Rocket Boys. Bravo!
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Summary: Simply One of the Best Books I've Read in a Long Time
Review: Mr. Hickam made growing up in Coalwood West VA seem so real that you half expected to put down the book and smell the coal dust in the air. It is witty and charming and innocent. I have found a new author that I will add to my "Must Read" list. John Grisham...Move over...you have company in the name of Homer H. Hickam Jr.
Rating:
Summary: A good story!!!
Review: I just watched the movie. It made me want to read the book all over again. What a triumph. Anyone who grew up in the small towns of the 60s can't help but be drawn to this story. Hickam paints a fabulous picture of life in a small town. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to the other kids in town, the ones who didn't make it out.
Rating:
Summary: The best book of the year!
Review: I'm just in the middle of the book, but I've seen the movie. If you haven't seen the movie go rent it right away! I love it! The book seems very intelligent and well written!
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Summary: A young finds his calling in the most unlikely of places.
Review: More than anything else, when I finished the book, I wanted the story to go on and on and on. In my heart, I know that I could have been a rocket boy--part of the Big Creek Missle Agency. The characters were so real, the lessons that life taught one growing up in Coalwood, West Virginia so valuable and the experience of being part of a close-knit group with the sole purpose of all the participants just to build great amateur rockets--it all seemed like I was there with Sunny and everyone else. I guess a small town environment is something that I longed for growing up. I've only lived in large cities. The strides that the rocket boys made as their rockets went higher and faster than I can even imagine with the resources they had at hand is amazing. In the end, 6 young men, several of whom were dirt poor, believed in themselves enough to each find a way to get through college because, collectively, they didn't know the meaning of the word "quit." I wish the book had some photos of that time now 40+ years past...I will keep this book until I'm dead and I'll probably want to read it every so often when I'm feeling like life is getting the upper hand on me.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding-reminds us dreams do come true
Review: Mr.Hickman's account of his life reminds us all that we too can dream and make those dreams come true. In his book as in the movie, we are reminded that no dream is impossible when one is determined to over come challenges and reach our goals.What a better world this would be if we all dared to reach our goals. Great reading...recommend it to everybody. Dare to Dream!
Rating:
Summary: This is a wonderful book
Review: Homer H. Hickman, Jr. knew what he wanted to do with his life: build and launch rockets. Homer realized his dream with his friends while he also had to fight his people and other people to keep his dream alive. Homer then became a rocket scientist after leaving his West Virginia home.
Rating: 
Summary: Nearly all good.
Review: I would definitely rate the book 5 stars, except in my eyes it has some not too good morals. It is a very magnetic story.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Source Material
Review: I have an enormous project for Pre-AP English on this book that I have been working on for five weeks that is due tommorow. Right now, it's sixty pages long. And yet, I don't hate this book. I think it is the best literature, aside from Shakespere, that I have ever had to read.
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