Family plays a big role in Sonny’s life. He struggles with his relationships with both his brother and father who are quite different than he is. He does, however, really connect tp his mother who supports him though his dream of building rockets. Right in the first chapter, the reader is informed that his father is not really around much and cares more about his work than anything else. Sonny “saw little of [his] father when [he] was growing up. He was always at the mine, or sleeping prior to going to the mine, or resting after getting back” (Hickam, Jr. 8). Sonny’s father never really payed attention to Sonny because he didn’t play football like Jim and was so invested in his work. On the other hand, however, Sonny has a good relationship with his mother, Elsie. She supports his like for science and rockets. She tells him that she “believes [he] can build a rocket. He doesn’t” (Hickam, Jr. 44). His mother has faith even when “he,” his father, doesn’t. Lastly, Sonny’s relationship with Jim is not the best. Sonny was never interested in football like Jim and felt that his father only cares about Jim. Sonny “would tell people some years later that I was raised an only child and so would [his] brother” (Homer, Jr. 18). They would not speak and would often ignore each other. Family is a part of Sonny’s life, but he struggles a lot with his relationships with his father and brother.