Review by Lee-Ann20 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

[Lee-Ann20]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a magical realism tale about a group of hikers in the Upper Peninsula who find a native artifact. These hikers are native themselves and are trying to stop a corporation from drilling in their woods. One of the hikers, a young girl who has had a traumatic home life and who has just found out about her grandfather, finds a way into the ancient time where the artifact comes from and has her own adventures there.

Readers who are looking for a survival story will really like this book. This is a very clean book, both in language and romantic situations so younger readers, not only adults, could also pick this up and enjoy it. Fans of Gary Paulsen would enjoy this book, especially those looking for a strong female lead character. I am not sure of the historical accuracy of this book, but it did not seem to detract from the story. The more important aspect deals with the conflict between the native lands and the corporation that wants to drill on the land, which is a very relevant conflict for right now. Readers who are not looking for an adventure story should steer clear.

This is a very well edited book. I did not come across any spelling or grammatical errors. As stated above, the language is clean and there are no romantic situations. I did not see any religious aspects that would be hurtful to any groups.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. My one issue was with the ages of the older men of the hiking party. I could not figure out how old they were supposed to be. Tom is Sarah’s grandfather and sometimes he is characterized as curmudgeonly and cranky, like in the passages when he complains about bringing Sarah along on the hike. Other times his character seems about as old as 45-50. William “Walleye”, is either 60 or 90. Again, I cannot figure it out. William starts out a little creaky, but then complains about his feet, back and the weight of his pack. His daughter worries about him making the hike, but later in the story, the reader finds out that he is an active merchant marine.

I would give Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon a 4 out of 4 stars. This book was very well edited and had a great storyline and plot. There were small problems with characterizations, but overall did not take away from the book.

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Strong Heart
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