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Books like The Coalwood way by Homer H. Hickam


Set in fall 1959, the story follows Homer “Sonny” Hickam in his senior year at Big Creek High as he and the Rocket Boys launch hand‑built rockets high above West Virginia’s Coalwood. The town’s fortunes hang on the local mine, and Homer Sr. takes a daring gamble to keep it running. Amid these economic strains, his wife Elsie feels isolated, and Sonny’s budding romance with a local girl is tinged with a personal sorrow. When Elsie enlists the boys to support a Christmas pageant that could lift Coalwood’s spirits, conflict arises at the mine and an outsider’s arrival threaten to fracture the community. The story culminates when a home disaster forces Sonny to confront the true cost of redemption and responsibility in a town that needs unity more than ever.
First publish date: 2000
Genre: Family & Domestic Fiction/Family Saga
Authors: Homer H. Hickam
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.5 (2 community ratings)

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The Coalwood way by Homer H. Hickam

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