Overcoming Obstacles In Sonny Hickam's October Sky

October Sky is a true story based on the life of Homer “Sonny” Hickam Jr. It describes how he is inspired to build rockets when he sees Sputnik, at age 14. Throughout the book, Sonny has to overcome many obstacles to achieve his dream of sending rockets into space. The reason he was able to overcome these obstacles was due to his determination to work, willingness to learn, and his faith in his friends. Because of these three things, Sonny and the other Rocket Boys were able to go to college, escape Coalwood, and get jobs in which they could pursue their dreams.
Sonny did not start off building rockets with much success. In fact, he burnt his mom's fence down in an explosion that scared the whole town, because they were afraid it came from the mine. However, instead of discouraging him, he kept working on the rockets; changing the body and nozzle design, using different types of propellants and metals, until it finally worked. The bad news, however, was that the rocket veered off course and hit his father’s office, causing Mr. Hickam to forbid his son from launching any more rockets. But Sonny’s determination to keep working on the rockets eventually leaded his father to give them a place to launch their rockets. Sonny and his friends, now calling themselves the Rocket Boys, started putting ads in the newspaper so people could come watch

In the beginning of the book, he befriends Quentin, the unpopular nerd at school, in order help him learn more about rockets and how to make black powder. He also relies on many characters such as Mr. Bykovski and Jake Mosby, which are local engineers that help him build and design his rockets. He also receives a huge amount of support and aid from Miss Riley, from propellant to learning calculus. If he had not had enough faith in his friends to help him when he needed it, he never would have been as successful as he was in his