October Sky

I read October Sky recently, and here is my review of it:

Not too long ago in our history, the concept of space travel was unheard of. Building Rockets? “How in the world is that even possible” some might have asked. The first object launched into space was Sputnik I launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. The first moon landing was 12 years later by America’s Apollo 11. Sonny Hickam and his friends grew up as these events were taking place, and in 1998 their story was published into a book by Mr. “Sonny” Hickam himself.

The book is about four boys that had a summer to kill, so they began to build rockets. They were inspired by Wernher Von Braun, a scientist working for NASA, in the race to excel at space exploration faster than the Soviet Union. As the boys began their adventures, they gained a new cohort, Quentin. Quentin soon became clear as the brainiest of the group. He very quickly helped them launch their rockets higher and higher. The boys were outcast in their mining town, Coalwood, but eventually became its pride, as their rockets reached new heights. The boys launched a total of 34 rockets known as Auk I-XXXI, and four different Auk XXII’s. They were determined in launching their rockets, and they fought against any and all obstacles they ran into.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is actually during a rocket launch. It is, “Auk XIV erupted from the pad, spinning once around the rod before hurtling into the sky. Quentin threw himself out of the blockhouse with his theodolite and started tracking… ‘Three thousand feet.’ He concluded.” I like this quote because it shows that the boys never gave up, and in the end, they prevailed. Another quote that shows the same thing is, “When I pushed the ignition button, Auk XXII detonated on the lauchpad, sending shards of steel deep into the slack and a boil of greenish-white smoke into the air.”

I liked it because it was very different compared to the other books I usually read. When I first picked up the book, I was very doubtful that I would like it, but in the end it turned out not to be so bad. It wasn’t at all like I thought it would be, and in all truths, I didn’t’ even know what it was about when I first picked it up. Overall though I enjoyed it, but I would only recommend it to people who enjoy books non-fiction books about science, and rockets.