From the #1 bestselling author of October Sky comes this rich,unforgettable tale. With the same dazzling storytelling thatdistinguished his first memoir, Homer Hickam takes us deeper intothe soul of his West Virginia hometown at a moment when its uniqueway of life is buffeted by forces of time and change. It is fall 1959. Homer “Sonny” Hickam and his fellow Rocket Boysare in their senior year at Big Creek High, and the town ofCoalwood 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 feelingincreasingly isolated from both her family and the townspeople.Sonny, despite a blossoming relationship with a local girl, findshis own mood darkened by an unexplainable sadness. Then, with the holidays approaching, trouble at the mine and thearrival of a beautiful young outsider bring unexpected changes inboth the Hickam family and the town of Coalwood ... as thisluminous memoir moves toward