Review by wendilou49 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
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wendilou49
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Review by wendilou49 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
On a stormy night, Tom Olsen and two of his friends are preparing for a backpacking trip into Washington’s Olympic wilderness. As they are packing and discussing their trip (which is mainly about Tom returning something to his grandfather’s grave), they are interrupted by a knock at the door. Tom’s estranged granddaughter Sarah is suddenly and unwillingly added to their group.
Sarah is a difficult 13 year old who decides one day to wander off and is missing for eight days. During those days, she earns the name of Strong Heart from a group of Native Americans because of her courage and strength. When she returns to tell her tale of adventure, Tom, Myrna and William all doubt her because her story is all but impossible to believe. Her story is months long.
In the meantime, the spear thrower (or atlatl) that Tom brought to return to his grandfather’s grave is lost and later destroyed by land-hungry men. The atlatl is living proof that the Indians inhabited the state wilderness "always" as Myrna puts it, and thus would prevent the company from mining the land. During a fight between the miners and the campers, one man is shot. Sarah then proves her story by using the skills she learned from the Natives to throw darts to stop two of the men from doing any further harm to her friends.
I enjoyed reading Strong Heart, although at first I didn’t understand why Sarah’s abduction by Native Americans and their long hard journey was included. That bogged my reading down a bit, but the way that Sarah learned from the Natives and became one of them was exciting and at times scary. She was a young girl who knew nothing of the wilderness, yet in a very short time she became skilled and confident in throwing darts with a tool much like the atlatl that was destroyed.
I most enjoyed the interaction of the characters and the way Sarah, aka Strong Heart, matured and learned to be part of Tom’s life and family, and vice versa, how Tom learned to love and respect his granddaughter. I also liked the way the author, Charlie Sheldon, interwove archaeology with fiction thus making the learning experience enjoyable. I disliked, at first, the story about Sarah’s capture, but later looked forward to her telling her whole story to Tom and his friends. Therefore, there was really nothing that I disliked a great deal. A book has to grab my attention and imagination quickly in order for me to truly enjoy reading it, and Strong Heart did just that.
I believe Strong Heart was professionally edited. Other than a couple of unnecessary commas, I didn’t find any instances of editing errors. There was no profanity and no suggestive talk in this book. I give it a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because of how exciting and interesting the story was. This is a book many readers, teens and older, will enjoy.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
On a stormy night, Tom Olsen and two of his friends are preparing for a backpacking trip into Washington’s Olympic wilderness. As they are packing and discussing their trip (which is mainly about Tom returning something to his grandfather’s grave), they are interrupted by a knock at the door. Tom’s estranged granddaughter Sarah is suddenly and unwillingly added to their group.
Sarah is a difficult 13 year old who decides one day to wander off and is missing for eight days. During those days, she earns the name of Strong Heart from a group of Native Americans because of her courage and strength. When she returns to tell her tale of adventure, Tom, Myrna and William all doubt her because her story is all but impossible to believe. Her story is months long.
In the meantime, the spear thrower (or atlatl) that Tom brought to return to his grandfather’s grave is lost and later destroyed by land-hungry men. The atlatl is living proof that the Indians inhabited the state wilderness "always" as Myrna puts it, and thus would prevent the company from mining the land. During a fight between the miners and the campers, one man is shot. Sarah then proves her story by using the skills she learned from the Natives to throw darts to stop two of the men from doing any further harm to her friends.
I enjoyed reading Strong Heart, although at first I didn’t understand why Sarah’s abduction by Native Americans and their long hard journey was included. That bogged my reading down a bit, but the way that Sarah learned from the Natives and became one of them was exciting and at times scary. She was a young girl who knew nothing of the wilderness, yet in a very short time she became skilled and confident in throwing darts with a tool much like the atlatl that was destroyed.
I most enjoyed the interaction of the characters and the way Sarah, aka Strong Heart, matured and learned to be part of Tom’s life and family, and vice versa, how Tom learned to love and respect his granddaughter. I also liked the way the author, Charlie Sheldon, interwove archaeology with fiction thus making the learning experience enjoyable. I disliked, at first, the story about Sarah’s capture, but later looked forward to her telling her whole story to Tom and his friends. Therefore, there was really nothing that I disliked a great deal. A book has to grab my attention and imagination quickly in order for me to truly enjoy reading it, and Strong Heart did just that.
I believe Strong Heart was professionally edited. Other than a couple of unnecessary commas, I didn’t find any instances of editing errors. There was no profanity and no suggestive talk in this book. I give it a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because of how exciting and interesting the story was. This is a book many readers, teens and older, will enjoy.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Blossom ~ The Wild Ambassador of Tewksbury by Anna Carner
