I picked this little beauty up at the old "Friends of the Library," sale this past spring, for an astonishing 2 bucks! I just had to have it, because the author, Homer Hickam, is the author of the book Rocket Boys, which October Sky, the movie, is based off of.
And I just love me some October Sky.
Plus, Jake Gyllenhaal's smile just melts me everytime.
So, on the cover of my book, there is a quote by Stephen Coonts that says, "Homer Hickam is the best natural storyteller I've read in years."
I second that.
Seriously!
This book is a historical fiction, based off of some historical facts, which makes it even more intriguing!
Set on a fictitious island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, at the start of WWII, the story follows a band of islanders going about their business, when German U Boats (a type of sub,) begin wreaking havoc on the shipping lines.
Now, I know nothing about boats, torpedos, submarines, or the navy, but it was a very compelling story, and it had you wrapped around it's pretty little finger from the beginning. A mystery stretches the entire story (missing child!) plus there is romance (sigh, beach romances are my thing,) and lots of German words throughout.
So, that's a plus.
If you want to catch up on your German, that is.
I loved this book, and tore through the 54 chapters in 3 days! It was very clean (no to minimum language, and no gratuitous scenes,) though was slightly graphic since it was a book on war and devastation.
Great book. And, now that I have stalked Homer Hickam's author site, I have found that there are a 3 more books in this series! Plus he has a brand new one that looks AMAZING....
And now, I am off to scour our 30 books that we have brought with us for the summer, to find something that looks remotely interesting. I will purchase "Red Helmet," as soon as possible, but I'm really craving some new stories from Terri Blackstock, which I will probably hunt down in the next day or so!
2 comments:
I think I might have to find that book! I love October Sky too. It's one of my favorite movies.
My Mum read Red Helmet and loved it! x
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