Review of Strong Heart
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Michaela Gordoni
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Review of Strong Heart
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
The novel Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon, a Yale scholar, is a well-written, laid-back adventure highlighting modern Native American struggles and sentiments. This interesting novel follows the journey of a grandfather, his friends, and his newly discovered teenage granddaughter, Sarah, through harrowing hikes and surreal experiences that actually took place thousands of years ago. The book contains spiritual elements, intrigue, mystery, excitement, and peril. But it does not become a real page-turner until page 195 or so. It reminds me of another book that I have read, Come In and Cover Me by Gin Phillips. It is about an archaeologist who keeps seeing dreamlike events from the past unfold before her at historical ancestral sites. The teenager in this story also has similar events happen to her.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read that contains all the right elements. The book has several older characters, several middle-aged characters, and a teenager. The diversity of the character’s different ages makes this book appealing to people from ages 15 to 100. It was also very well edited. I could not find any grammatical errors.
There are a few trivial things I noticed that would have improved the book and my experience as a reader. I would have liked for there to have been more time spent introducing the characters so you can initially warm up to them and become familiarized with them. As I first started reading, I found it hard to remember who was who, as there were not any introductions or descriptions of the characters. In this book, you learn about them as you go along. It would have been especially nice to have been let into Sarah’s head a little bit more. The novel format could have benefitted from subdivisions to better show that time has passed, as is currently standardized (usually indicated by a paragraph separation and a symbol) in English novels. This makes the novel more immersive and easier to understand for the reader. There are parts in the book when several days pass, but they are mentioned right next to the prior paragraph.
This is a great book, and I will rate it 4 out of 4 stars. It had no significant faults and I feel good after reading it. I hope this novel prompts thoughts of appreciation for modern-day Native Americans and their ancestry.
I believe that this is a diverse novel that will appeal to many people. I recommend this to audiences ages fifteen and up.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The novel Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon, a Yale scholar, is a well-written, laid-back adventure highlighting modern Native American struggles and sentiments. This interesting novel follows the journey of a grandfather, his friends, and his newly discovered teenage granddaughter, Sarah, through harrowing hikes and surreal experiences that actually took place thousands of years ago. The book contains spiritual elements, intrigue, mystery, excitement, and peril. But it does not become a real page-turner until page 195 or so. It reminds me of another book that I have read, Come In and Cover Me by Gin Phillips. It is about an archaeologist who keeps seeing dreamlike events from the past unfold before her at historical ancestral sites. The teenager in this story also has similar events happen to her.
Overall, this is an enjoyable read that contains all the right elements. The book has several older characters, several middle-aged characters, and a teenager. The diversity of the character’s different ages makes this book appealing to people from ages 15 to 100. It was also very well edited. I could not find any grammatical errors.
There are a few trivial things I noticed that would have improved the book and my experience as a reader. I would have liked for there to have been more time spent introducing the characters so you can initially warm up to them and become familiarized with them. As I first started reading, I found it hard to remember who was who, as there were not any introductions or descriptions of the characters. In this book, you learn about them as you go along. It would have been especially nice to have been let into Sarah’s head a little bit more. The novel format could have benefitted from subdivisions to better show that time has passed, as is currently standardized (usually indicated by a paragraph separation and a symbol) in English novels. This makes the novel more immersive and easier to understand for the reader. There are parts in the book when several days pass, but they are mentioned right next to the prior paragraph.
This is a great book, and I will rate it 4 out of 4 stars. It had no significant faults and I feel good after reading it. I hope this novel prompts thoughts of appreciation for modern-day Native Americans and their ancestry.
I believe that this is a diverse novel that will appeal to many people. I recommend this to audiences ages fifteen and up.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
