October Sky was a good book. It is about this kid living in a coal mining town but he doesn't wanna start mining, and can't get a scholarship, so when he see's Sputnik he decides he wants to join the space race.

In the scene where he decides to work in the coal mine because his dad gets hurt saving other miners, but he lost Mr Bykoskvi, at the face where it collapsed. His mom doesn't mind but in the movie, she probally wouldn't have let him even consider it.

His teacher, Miss Riley, gets all mad at him for dropping out of school and she won't even talk to him on his last day. He starts working in the mine and his dad becomes really proud of him, but then he decides he wants to go back to making rockets.

They get their formula right and their rocket goes really high. Then, Miss Riley asks them if they wanna enter the science fair, they decide to. They get 1st place in the county sciene fair. Their principle tells them that they have to choose one person to go to the national science fair because thats all the school can afford to send. They choose Homer.

He goes to the Nation Science Fair and the day before judging, his parts get stolen. He calls his mom to see if she can get some parts made for him, but the coal workers are on strike and can't get to the machine shop to make some. She goes to Homer and tells him to give the coal workers what they want so Sonny can get some parts made. He does and they make the parts, and Sonny wins the Nation Science Fair.