Mom’s Small Victories reviews Baby Rocket

Baby Rocket

Baby Rocket, a novel by Stephanie A. Smith

Baby Rocket, a novel by Stephanie A. Smith

“Baby Rocket”

Historical Fiction Set During the Space Race: Baby Rocket by Stephanie Smith – a Book Review

My Thoughts:

The main character, Clementine (Lem) Miracle Dance, has a name that signifies mercy, hope and art but her childhood was far from beautiful. An “accident” she cannot recall leaves her motherless and earns her the media name of “Baby Rocket.” The father that raised her was a NASA employee and when he passes, she finds out that he is not her biological father. The childhood she knows suddenly comes into question and she’s determined to find the truth about her past.

What I enjoyed about the book was that Lem’s childhood took place during the great Space Race. As a kid, I was fascinated by astronomy and wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. I dreamed of going to Space Camp. In the story, Lem is a historian writing about NASA’s female astronauts and I enjoyed learning about their role in NASA. As a child in the 80′s, I remember how exciting it was to have a teacher on board the Challenger and how heartbreaking it was when the shuttle exploded. I enjoy historical fiction and Baby Rocket covered a different time period than I had read about before.

Secondary to the Space Race was Lem’s dad’s infatuation with Marilyn Monroe. A Hollywood icon her dad claimed to have met. I enjoyed how Lem got to know her dad a little better as she searched for the truth about her mother’s death.

The story revolves around Lem trying to find the truth. They found her nearby her mother’s dead body. How come she couldn’t remember what happened? She must have witnessed it. Lem meets people along the way to help uncover the truth, slowly but surely. This is where the story started to drag for me. Except for Lem, I didn’t connect to the characters in the story. I felt like they were all kind of shady and I really couldn’t be sure what their motives were in the decisions they made. The end finally came but then it felt rushed and wrapped up quickly. Thankfully, the ending was good and Lem found the answers she sought, it saved me from being disappointed.

Overall the story was interesting and different than anything else I had read. If you like historical fiction, try it out and let me know what you think.

Favorite Quotes:

“We all know that the future is made when the present shears away from us into the past, like the calving of an iceberg, and still we say ‘I’ll do that tomorrow. I’ll apologize later’ as if our time is infinite.”

“Without dreams, the earth would still be flat, the bottom of the sea full or monsters, and the moon a distant piece of cheese. I’m not saying wonder doesn’t have a price.”

[Read the full review]

Review by
Mom’s Small Victories
Celebrating Books, Family and Life With Rheumatoid Arthritis…One Small Victory at a Time

5.0 out of 5 stars
By Tanya M. – July 18, 2014
This review is from: Baby Rocket (Hardcover)
Reviewed at: Mom’s Small Victories Reviews

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