Review by Barbie_sidhu -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

Barbie_sidhu · Post by **Barbie_sidhu** » 21 May 2020, 07:46

[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]

3 out of 4 stars

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A story about a 13-year-old headstrong girl with the courage like no one who traveled to a land beyond time. Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a fiction of its kind with a blend of adventure and magical realism. It is a story within a story narrated by a teenage girl, Sarah who goes on an unexpected journey leaving everyone around her astonished by her tale.

Tom, William and Myra were preparing for a journey to the Olympic National Park to visit Tom's grand father's grave and return to him an old artifact that Tom found near his grand father's dead body when he went with him to the park many years ago. Suddenly Sarah, Tom's dead daughter's daughter arrives at his door along with her grandmother. Sarah is a stubborn and outspoken kid who does not like Tom and pretty much everyone around her. William and Myra decide to take her along with them on their trip. Tom resists at first but later on agrees. Throughout the trip, Sarah behaves like an irritating and complaining kid who one day encounters something very strange which no one else believes. Sarah gets angry at her grandfather and picks up the old artifact and runs away with it. She goes missing for around eight days and when she returns one stormy night she looks ragged with one of her finger missing and a wound on her head. Everyone wonders what happened to her and where she was all this time and how did she survive. When Sarah tells her tale about her journey to an unknown land it forges paths to the undiscovered history of the American continent and the first men along with the old legends.

Sarah and her experience lead to a different adventure that makes the story a page-turner. The story is plainly written but with a unique idea that reveals a great deal about Native American history. The author has used his personal study and experience to bring to light many facts that make the readers wonder about the undiscovered past which dates back to around sixty thousand years ago.

The thing that I liked the most about the story was the main character of the story. A little girl, bringing whom to the trip was thought to be a bad idea but later on, it is seen that she is the one who leads everyone on an unexpected adventure. The thing that I disliked the most was the facts of the story within the main story could have been written with more elaboration and clarity. When the inner story started I found it little complex and vague as compared to the main story concerning the details at first, but with time it became okay.

On the whole, I would rate it a 3 out of 4 stars read. A mix of history, relationships and magic into a fiction earns the book 3 stars but the book did not earn 4 stars because the inner story although being magical went a little off at some points. Moreover, the book was not very well edited. There were some noticeable typos which demand better editing.

People who enjoy magical realism and adventure must read this book. This story of a little girl’s strength and courage who has no parents provides not only a nice tale but a moral to be brave to the readers.

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Strong Heart
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Jlblawrence · Post by **Jlblawrence** » 30 May 2020, 01:31

I enjoyed this book very much and agree strongly with your review. When Sarah first went on her adventure I thought that my PDF file had been corrupted and mashed with another story. It was fairly surprising, but still a very interesting story! Thank you for the review.

Barbie_sidhu · Post by **Barbie_sidhu** » 31 May 2020, 04:15

Appreciate your replies. Thank you.

And I recommend its squeal "Adrift". Its filled with much higher degree of adventure.

Dee_Robert · Post by **Dee_Robert** » 31 May 2020, 04:36

I'm not one for magic and that sort. But you make it sound like a book I'd like to read.
Great Review.

Barbie_sidhu · Post by **Barbie_sidhu** » 31 May 2020, 12:46

Thank you for the reply. Its more adventure than magic. Bet you will like it.

Paluk Pathania · Post by **Paluk Pathania** » 28 Nov 2021, 11:55

I too reviewed this book a while ago and I simply agree with everything you've mentioned. Even for me, the magic became a little too much. Thanks for your review!