Customer Reviews

The Coalwood Way (The Coalwood Series #2)

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you enjoyed Homer Hickam's Rocket Boys or the movie October Sky, this book is for you. Homer doesn't so much pick up where he left off at the end of Rocket Boys, but rather returns to the fullness of his senior high school year. He weaves a tapestry that provides detail in breadth and depth that keeps the pages turning. You'll suddenly discover it's well past bedtime and you are content to keep reading.

Homer discovers truths about himself and others, even as he's about to move away from home. There is always more to learn from one's parents. There are many emotional highs and lows in Coalwood, but lessons learned from both will leave you feeling hopeful for the human spirit. The people of Coalwood continue to display a dogged determination to get though the difficulties, even if they stumble along the way. Not one to cry easily, I found my eyes welling up with tears during the last chapter. It is possible to find great joy and beauty in hard times.

Homer doesn't miss on emotion. There's anger, joy, fear, excited anticipation, sorrow, laughter, and contentment. You may very well learn something about yourself while reading The Coalwood Way. I highly recommend it!

While not as lyrical as "Rocket Boys," Homer Hickam still tells an engrossing tale in his new memoir, "The Coalwood Way." The same people we grew to love are here: Sonny, Elsie and Homer; the Rev. "Little" Richard; Quentin, Roy Lee and all the Coalwood boys. But instead of focusing on his rocketing exploits, Hickam delves into the psyche of a town that's changing in ways it doesn't even know. This is less a story about Homer Hickam than it is a story about Coalwood, West Virginia. As readers, we're richer for the experience.

With the clear eye of a scientist, Hickam focuses on two watershed events in the Christmas of 1959. One delves into the undercurrent of spite and envy that marred his beloved hometown. The other shows a proud man, Homer's father, feverishly working to save his town the only way he knows how -- in the mine. But even that battle has unintended consequences.

The book starts a little slowly and the ending seems a little contrived. But it must ring true, or Homer's mother surely would have called him on it. And these are minor flaws in an otherwise excellent story.

As someone who lives in West Virginia but didn't grow up here, I never will fully appreciate Homer Hickam's world. But as one who loves the Mountain State and wants to see it thrive, I thank Hickam for sharing Coalwood with the rest of us. Homer Hickam has a message for the Mountain State: Honor the legacy of coal, but let it go. Education and a refusal to quit will take you wherever you wish to go. If those of us he left behind work hard enough, we can make our dreams come true -- without leaving our West Virginia hills.

Homer Hickham has done it again!! I loved Rocket Boys so much and didn't think it could happen again. Then along came The Coalwood Way!! This is a marvelous book about life. Homer takes the reader on a journey to a time when lives and times were changing, not always for the best. The author shows us a picture of a coal town and the Country in a period of transition, much like Sonny and his friends in their period of transition from high school, stepping into their future. The story tells us that no matter how bright or strong or motivated someone is, that life can throw some hard curve balls, and it is always good to know that you can count on family, friends and neighbors. Mr. Hickam also points out the importance of looking out for each other and knowing when it is time to step up to the plate for others. The story ends with a brilliant Christmas scene that really tells the reader that we are a wondrous creation molded by all the experiences in our lives, those that happen to us and those that we initiate ourselves and that always, always, the Creator's hand is with us. That he can do all this in "The Coalwood Way" without once being preachy is unique. This was an inspiring book, that takes real life examples and attempts to draw the readers along to look at the big picture of life. This book was fun, humorous, introspective, open, honest and very touching. I enjoyed it immensely.

In a time when so much that is published and shown in the media is negative and inconsequential, 'The Coalwood Way' uplifts the spirit with the honest reflections of a young man who discovers the secret of growing up. Homer Hickam reveals the deepest longing of his heart as the book carries the reader through a short but significant period of time that changes his life. Homer's heartwarming self-searching is so reflective of what I experienced as a teen that I'm certain that many others can also relate to his story. The Coalwood Way is not a sequel to Rocket Boys but rather an 'equal' that enlarges upon the relationships and complex personalities of the characters in the town. Homer (who is as sincere and nice as he comes across in the story, and is married to ones of the most beautiful and talented ladies around) seems to unroll the story like a red carpet, encouraging the reader to follow and explore the richness of this coal mining community in southern WV. My husband, daughter and I have visited Coalwood several times and spent time with the gracious people who live there and who are working so hard to bring restoration to this gem of a town. There is a proud spirit among the citizens and that rare closeness that the word 'community' stands for. The reader of Homer's Coalwood books are able to experience this spirit. If you are wondering what exactly Homer means by 'The Coalwood Way' I encourage you to read the book. It's one of those 'life lessons' we need to share with our kids, model ourselves, and encourage in others. Warm, rich, uplifting, thoughtful, and engrossing. It's a rare treat to find an author like Homer who writes with consistent integrity and unashamed joy. I'm so thankful he is working on a third book and can hardly wait to read it!

Aimlessly wandering the fiction aisles of the library, glumly looking over the "been-there-done-that" Grisham novels, wishfully scanning the Hiaasen section in slim hopes of finding something new, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught a name on a book spine: Homer H. Hickam Jr. I instantly recognized the name as a character from one of my all-time favorite movies, "October Sky". I pulled the book, expecting it to be "Rocket Boys", the memoir on which the movie was based. I had always meant to pick up that book and get more familiar with the story that so captivated me in the movie. Only, the title of this book was "The Coalwood Way". Instantly, I knew that my browsing malaise was cured (funny how that often works)!

Not only did I now have a chance to get more familiar with the "Rocket Boys" story and characters, but I also had a whole other novel with which to do it. For, you see, this memoir isn't really a sequel to the aforementioned book, but actually an expansion of a section of the original story; a kind of story within a story. Think of it as zooming in on just one section of a fractal image to see all of the intricate details within the new image.

The scope of the first memoir was pretty much the entire high school career of Homer (Sonny) and the Rocket Boys and focused predominantly on their exploits with amateur rocketry. But, the real charm of the original story came from the background setting and people of Coalwood, West (by God) Virginia. The boys of the Big Creek Missile Agency (BCMA) still play a big part in this story that spans basically only one year of high school from roughly Christmas of their junior year through Christmas of their senior year. However, this time around, rocketry plays second fiddle as we delve much deeper into the lush background and learn more about Sonny's deep roots in Coalwood and how really fortunate (and bittersweet) it was that he and the rest of the boys of the BCMA could escape that life.

Having seen the movie first, I found myself constantly imposing the images of the actors onto the characters in the book, which wasn't always such a bad thing since all of the characters in the movie were wonderfully cast. The only time this was a problem was with the group of boys, which in the movie numbered four, but in the book numbered six! It seems that possibly as many as three characters in the books, Sherman, O'Dell and Billy, were all "merged" into one character, Sherman O'Dell, in the movie. Not much of a problem, though, as Hickam's eloquent prose quickly conjured up images for all six young men.

In this story, the town of Coalwood really comes alive. I instantly felt like I could have grown up there myself and maybe, in a way, I did. Hickam has an uncanny ability to touch the heartstrings of just about any American man (and possibly woman as well) who grew up in and around that time period, regardless of geographic location. We all have either shared a common anecdote or experienced an unrequited, adolescent love like he describes in his books (I was just crushed when Ginger told him that they would just be great friends). The ending of this book did seem a bit sappy and contrived but, darn it, I felt like it really needed to have a storybook ending. The beleaguered folks of Coalwood deserved one, even if it probably didn't actually happen exactly like that (i.e. historical fiction).

I immensely enjoyed this book. So much so, that I have since gone back and read the original "Rocket Boys" and then skipped forward to read the third book in the series "Sky of Stone". I'll probably also buy his non-fiction book "Torpedo Junction" and his true fiction novel "Back to the Moon". But, this is the one that started it for me. I think I have found another favorite author!

When I started Coalwood Way, I thought, "These are the same characters as those in OCTOBER SKY; how can I love them more? What more can I learn about them that will make this book enjoyable?"

Opening the book on a Saturday night, I could not put it down until I finished on Sunday. I watched Homer's "problems list" closely and felt as if I were right there in his troubled heart and pulled for him to solve the mystery- perhaps allowing me to solve mine. I listened to the credit he gave his father, although Homer Jr. felt as if he couldn't do enough, let alone good enough, for Homer Sr. and win his approval.

Homer has done a wonderful job in exploring the age-old struggle between children and parents. He explores the parent-child, teacher-student, friend-friend, and self-self relationships by delving more deeply into the souls of each, even exposing us to the idea that the heavens indeed hold much more than we will ever understand. And it all is done with great humor! Homer's childhood friend, the preacher, was right-on when he said we are being shaped on God's wheel. We just have to believe in what we're doing.

This book is a declaration for working families and an exaltation for all of us who are striving to become something for which we have a passion.

I am awaiting another book by Homer Hickam with great anticipation. Cheryl

Written by the same author of October Sky, about the same period in his childhood, the COALWOOD WAY and OCTOBER SKY cover the exact same themes-a son trying to shine despite the disappointment/disapproval of his father, rocket trial and error, etc-and have the exact same arcs. Minor characters and sub plots are different, however, and are very poignant and engaging.The protagonist, Sonny is an earnest boy with enough flaws to make him interesting. He is smart yet a little too proud; a friend but sometimes too self-centered to see when his closest friends are in trouble; he's handsome yet can't get a date to the senior dance. These imperfections make him the perfect Everyman, easy to root for. Minor characters are well drawn, and some are heartbreaking to watch. Dreama's tragic arc is painful but gives the story a darkness and depth. Her ostracization by town snobs is well-depicted, and shows that the author didn't just sail through his childhood without noticing the little evils that men do. Great read.

Several years ago, ex-NASA engineer Homer Hickam published the first volume of his memoirs, ROCKET BOYS, which was subsequently made into the hit film OCTOBER SKY. In these, the author remembers growing up in the West Virginia coal town of Coalwood in the late 1950s. From the moment he saw the first Soviet Sputnik traverse the night sky in 1957, Homer became obsessed with space, rockets and his hero, Werner von Braun. Along with several high school chums, Hickam built and, after some initial failures, launched several dozen rockets. As high school seniors, the group won a national science fair for their achievements in rocketry.

In THE COALWOOD WAY, Homer expands on that period during his final high school year when he was steadily improving the design and performance of his missiles, but before he won the national competition that was the culminating triumph of his first book. This second volume of memoirs focuses less on rocketry than the other challenges Hickam faced in his hometown and personal life. His father, the mine superintendent, is a stern workaholic who demonstrates little overt love for his second son (while being more lavish with his firstborn, Jim). His mother, Elsie, is increasingly disenchanted with her marriage and life in Coalwood, and wants to move to Florida to sell real estate. Miners are being laid off by the parent company, an Ohio steel manufacturer. Families are going hungry. There's talk of a strike. Homer is driven to get all A's in school to be able to escape his environment, go to college, and ultimately work at Cape Canaveral. And, of course, there's the distraction of girls, and deciding whom to take to the Christmas Formal. After all, Melba June did sidle up close and say in a throaty voice, "I just love your rockets."

That THE COALWOOD WAY is less inspiring then its predecessor, and that Hollywood is unlikely to consider it material for the silver screen, shouldn't detract from the fact that it's a poignant coming-of-age story with an attractive hero. Delightfully, the author can be occasionally humorous in a homespun sort of way, as when he observes of preachers:

"Did failure to volunteer information count as a lie? I didn't think it did though I wouldn't have wanted to put that question to a preacher. It was my experience that preachers could get snagged on the details and miss the big picture entirely."

Perhaps my favorite character in the whole book is Elsie. As Moms should be, she seems eternally wise. She doesn't hesitate to occasionally tweak her husband's stiff-necked obstinacy, and there are no shenanigans that Homer is getting into, or considering, that she doesn't know of. It is she I most look forward to reading about in Homer's next volume of memories, SKY OF STONE.

Today, I heard Homer speak to a group of Tech Prep educators in Charlotte. His talk moved many in the audience to tears and cheers. I hadn't read his book, just seen the movie, so I decided to give his new one a try. I am now a committed fan. He really knows how to tell a story, out loud, and in a book. He said Rocket Boys was being taught in a lot of English classes and some the teachers at the conference confirmed it. Now I know why. Coalwood Way is a moving tribute to a small town, to parents, to teachers, and to life.

I have lived in West Virginia all my life. I know how hard life is, to find a job and raise a family. I also know how proud most West Virginia's are of the state. I have traveled all over this great nation, and I can honestly say, West Virginia is one of the most beautiful states in the Union. I have also visited Coalwood on several occasions. The people are great, they are willing to tell there story.

Most of the housing that existed when Homer was growing up still exist and people still live in them. Homer boyhood home still sits on the corner in the center of what is know as Coalwood. There are no new houses in the town. I do hope that some day the people of Coalwood will be able to expand the town and have a greater tourism draw. If you ever get a chance to visit the town, stop by the only gas station/store and sign the visitors book and become a part of history.