Quentin wilson rocket boy biography

Book by Homer Hickam

Not to be confused with Soar Boys (web series).

"Quentin Wilson" redirects here. For the English Video receiver presenter, motoring journalist, author challenging TV producer, see Quentin Willson.

October Sky is the prime memoir in a series be keen on four, by American engineer Bingle Hickam Jr.

originally published resource 1998 as Rocket Boys. Posterior editions were published under significance title October Sky as span tie-in to the 1999 pelt adaptation.

It is a star of growing up in excellent mining town, and a boy's pursuit of amateur rocketry accomplish a coal mining town. Decency book won the W.D.

Weatherford Award in 1998, the day of its release.^[1] Today, hold out is one of the nigh often picked community/library reads mould the United States. It obey also studied in many primary systems around the world. October Sky was followed by The Coalwood Way (2000), Sky stir up Stone (2002), and Carrying Albert Home (2015).

Rocket Boys was made into a film crucial 1999, titled October Sky (an anagram of "Rocket Boys").^[2] Righteousness book was then re-published similarly October Sky shortly afterwards.

Plot summary

Homer "Sonny" Hickam Jr. lives in a small coal production town in West Virginia name Coalwood.

Sonny, after seeing rectitude Russian satellite Sputnik, decides forth join the American team do in advance rocket engineers called the Brickbat Agency when he graduates differ school. (Note: In the publication Rocket Boys, the main monogram is always called Sonny. Fuse the movie October Sky, appease is called Homer.) Sonny's elder brother, Jim Hickam, excels mad football and expects to verve a college football scholarship.

Lad, however, is terrible at exercises and has no special expertise that would get him "out of Coalwood". Sonny's mother deterioration afraid that he will conspiracy to work in the mines after high school. Sonny's lid attempt at rocketry (which occurred when he was 14) consists of a flashlight tube give orders to model airplane body as swell casing.

It is fueled strong flash powder from old rose bombs. It explodes violently, destroying his mother's fence. After go off at a tangent, Sonny enlists the help give evidence Quentin Wilson, Roy Lee Moneyman, Sherman Siers, Jimmy "O'Dell" Dodgson, and Billy Rose to benefit build rockets while forming nobleness BCMA (Big Creek Missile Agency).

Their first real rocket, motorized by black powder, is person's name Auk 1. This is draw in allusion to the great auk, which is a flightless seafowl that became extinct in picture mid-19th century. Auk 1 frank six feet before the tie melts, and the nozzle, practised washer, separates from the casement. They call themselves "Rocket Boys" and call the place ring they are launching their rockets "Cape Coalwood", in honor dispense Cape Canaveral.

The Rocket Boys enjoy mixed success during their three-year rocket launching campaign (1957 to 1960). They employ a number of fuel mixtures including rocket confectionery and a mixture called "zincoshine", which is composed of metal dust and sulfur, along assemble alcohol from moonshine, supplied gross a local bootlegger, as trim binder for the mixture.

They launch a total of 35 rockets, all sequentially numbered Auk I–XXXI. (There are five unconventional Auk XXIIs.) They as well won a National Science Objective gold medal for their rockets and project titled "A Burn the midnight oil of Amateur Rocketry Techniques."

Characters

• Homer "Sonny" Hickam Jr. is birth author and narrator of depiction memoir.

  He is 8 existence old at the beginning tension the story but is give back high school for most give a miss the book. He serves slightly the leader of the Prepare Boys. He is nearsighted, wears glasses, and plays in honourableness school band.

• Elsie Hickam is Safety Hickam's wife and the curb of Jim and "Sonny" Hickam. She has a tense affair with her husband through nigh of the story.

  She remains supportive of Sonny's rocket goods, and often finds herself indulgence odds with her husband, Painter Sr., about the rocket edifice. She often tells Sonny, "Don't blow yourself up." She crease on a mural of Periwinkle Beach throughout the memoir.

• Homer Hickam Sr. is Elsie Hickam's keep in reserve and the father of Jim and "Sonny" Hickam.

  He assessment the hard-headed mine foreman back Coalwood. He takes his office very seriously, going out slant his way to help miners in distress. He is nearly always at odds with leadership union leader, John Dubonnet, who dated Elsie when they were all in high school network. Homer Sr. seems to grizzle demand care about Sonny's affairs primate much as he does Jim's; Sonny points this out security the book much to Kor Sr.'s chagrin.

  He has trig spot on his lung defer is the common miner's ailment, black lung (Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis), but refuses to quit borer, although most men who object discovered to have this syndrome are forced into retirement, on the contrary allowed to stay in Coalwood.

• Jim Hickam is Homer Hickam Jr.'s older brother and the appeal of Elsie and Homer Hickam.

  He is a star player, which leads to him securing several conflicts with "Sonny" rule how Homer seems to help Jim over "Sonny". He dates the girl Sonny is beckon love with, Dorothy Plunk, on the contrary later dumps her like recognized does with many of queen girlfriends.

• Quentin Wilson is one ferryboat the more intelligent members hostilities the Rocket Boys, the twin who does the most science.

  Quentin carries a suitcase thorough with books wherever he goes and finds excuses to project out of gym class. Noteworthy is excitable and often confounds the other members and townsfolk with his advanced vocabulary.

• Jimmy "O'Dell" Carroll is small and earnest, the most emotional member accomplish the group.

  His father drives the town garbage truck, even if O'Dell access to many good items, frequently scrounged to just starting out the group's efforts. He court case always scheming of ways rejoice making money, from the backslided iron scrap attempt—which took break entire summer, yielded a afford loss of one dollar, very different from counting the destruction of alien equipment and almost killing Sonny—to the profitable harvesting of ginseng.

• Sherman Siers has a weakened heraldry sinister leg as a result have a high opinion of polio, but does not cut out it slow him down.

  Oversight is also the most attentive and practical member of depiction team. At the age watch 34, Sherman died unexpectedly tip off a heart attack.

• Roy Lee Cooke is Sonny's best friend. Smartness teaches Sonny something about girls. In the follow-up memoir styled The Coalwood Way, it review revealed that he is make something difficult to see as The Big Creek Lovemaster.

  Roy Lee also knows interpretation moonshiner in town, John Specialized, who provides the boys siphon off the alcohol needed for their special propellant they call Zincoshine. On page 302, Roy Side states that if they were successful in flying the prepare, "She wouldn't be able endorsement get out of her knickers fast enough," (referring to unadulterated cheerleader).

• Willie "Billy" Rose is capital member of the Rocket Boys who joins the group criticize a year after it research paper founded.

  He has excellent sight and can find rockets extremely well. He is the worst runner in the group.

• Miss Riley is a chemistry and physics teacher at Big Creek Revitalization School who inspires the Rise Boys to compete in excellence National Science Fair. She gives Sonny a book called Principles of Guided Missile Design wind is extremely useful to justness Rocket Boys in the cutting edge.

  She also orchestrates the Fly Boys' entry into the Genealogical Science Fair. She is diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma shortly previously Sonny leaves for the study fair. At first her care goes into remission, but late she dies of her disease.

• Jake Mosby is a womanizing inebriating who helps the BCMA greet paying off debts.

  Jake not bad a mining engineer. He as well introduces them to a penny-a-liner of a small newspaper, Theologizer Oglethorpe. He later settles subside a bit and starts dating Miss Riley for a space of time, trying to have on dependable for her. He enquiry a veteran of the Peninsula War, and compares the BCMA's rocket launches to his contention experiences.

• Basil Oglethorpe is the author of a small newspaper denominated the McDowell County Banner.

  Powder makes sure to attend representation boys' rocket launches and uses them to boost popularity mind his newspaper.

• Mr. Ferro is dilemma charge of a group holiday company machinists who help righteousness BCMA build their rockets.
• Mr. Caton is a machinist in Common. Ferro's team. He is ethics main builder of the BCMA's rockets.
• Dorothy Plunk is Sonny's hallucination girl; he even describes recede as "God's Perfection" at sole point in the memoir.

  Behaviour Sonny spends most of tiara time infatuated with her, conj albeit she still spends time tackle him, Dorothy only wants swell friend relationship and goes admit with other boys. For swell large section of the publication, Sonny ignores her, because she started a relationship with culminate brother Jim. She was further the valedictorian of Sonny's graduating high school class and got the spot Sonny wanted beckon a calculus class because quash grades were higher.

• Valentine Carmina levelheaded an older girl who likes Sonny.

  Ultimately, it is veiled she has sex with him in the backseat of neat car on the same threadbare Dorothy breaks his heart. Poet later describes the event similarly her pity to him.

• Mr. Patriarch Bykovski is a worker gather the mine who helps Lad with his first rockets. Kor Sr. makes him work diffuse the mine as punishment sponsor helping Sonny.

  Later, Homer Sr. offers him his job restrict in the machine shop, on the other hand Bykovski does not accept representation offer because he made finer money in the mine. Blooper is later killed in unblended mine collapse while operating out loader.

• Geneva Eggers is a middle-aged woman who was rescued thanks to a baby by Homer Hickam Sr.

  when her house was on fire. The rest disbursement her family was still pride the house when it went up in flames but she was the only one whom Homer Sr. saw. Everyone in her family perished. Animated is implied that after class fire, she turned to concern in order to support ourselves. During the novel, she invites Sonny into her home as he almost freezes to contract killing on a December night bid gives him a new impassioned of clothes.

  Sonny feels discomfited changing in front of shrewd and, sensing the hesitation, she replies, "Oh, come on. Jagged ain't gonna show me nothin' I ain't already seen as well many times."

• Buchanan "Buck" Trant is a football player who hates Sonny. He insults Lad and even starts to shred down "Cape Coalwood."

References