From the #1 bestselling author of October Sky comes this rich,
unforgettable tale. With the same dazzling storytelling that
distinguished his first memoir, Homer Hickam takes us deeper into
the soul of his West Virginia hometown at a moment when its unique
way of life is buffeted by forces of time and change.
It is fall 1959. Homer “Sonny” Hickam and his fellow Rocket Boys
are in their senior year at Big Creek High, and the town of
Coalwood finds itself at a painful crossroads.
The strains can be felt within the Hickam home, where Homer Sr.
struggles to save the mine, and his wife, Elsie, is feeling
increasingly isolated from both her family and the townspeople.
Sonny, despite a blossoming relationship with a local girl, finds
his own mood darkened by an unexplainable sadness.
Then, with the holidays approaching, trouble at the mine and the
arrival of a beautiful young outsider bring unexpected changes in
both the Hickam family and the town of Coalwood ... as this
luminous memoir moves toward its poignant conclusion.