october sky
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October Sky
Taking place in the year of 1957 in Coalwood, West Virginia we start following the life of a boy who is drove to scientific research through his own curiosity. This young boy, Homer Hickman, strives to get a toy rocket to fly, inspired by the newly launched Russian satellite Sputnik. An idea like that is unheard of in a place like Coalwood. It's a small town where men know that when there are older they will have no future but an under ground one, working in the coalmines. When Homer first presents the idea to his family at the breakfast table, no one takes him or the idea seriously.
Homer finds himself running into snags along the way. Not knowing where to begin he checks books out of the library as reference guides, he becomes friends and requests the help of a guy named Quentin, the class outcast. He may be an outcast, but Quentin certainly knows something about rockets, and soon they are spending all their spare time trying to launch handmade rockets into the sky.
Their ambition catches the eye of Miss Riley, the science teacher, and she encourages Homer to enter their rocket into the state science fair. The winner goes on to the national competition in Indianapolis...