Review by leareiler -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
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leareiler
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Review by leareiler -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
William, Myra, and Tom were all packed up and ready to head to Olympic National Park to begin their hike to Tom’s grandfather’s grave when there was a knock at the front door. At the door was Tom’s ex-wife Ruth and a young girl, who happened to be Tom’s granddaughter who he did not know existed. With his granddaughter Sarah suddenly becoming his main responsibility, Tom realized his hike to see his grandfather’s grave before a major mining company, Buckhorn, began mining in the area was not going to happen. Eager to go fix his grandfather’s grave and retrieve an object that was left there, Tom agrees to let Sarah accompany them, despite him not being in total agreeance with the idea.
Eventually reaching their destination, Tom retrieved the object that his grandfather left behind: an atlatl, or a spear thrower used by natives. Having retrieved the object, all was well until Sarah disappeared along with the atlatl. Having been missing for over a week, Sarah was presumed dead until she appeared in the midst of a lightning storm cut up, starved, and delusional. Concerned but curious, the three adults wondered where she had been and how she was able to survive. Her story, when eventually told, was not believed by anyone but William, who knew Sarah was more special than she appeared. The four hikers, however, were still troubled with the disappearance of the atlatl and Buckhorn’s mining of the national park, and soon Sarah’s story becomes more important and relevant than first thought; yet the question still remains: is what Sarah telling the truth?
Charlie Sheldon wasted no time in starting off the novel. In just the second chapter, the characters had already begun their hike, and once the novel began there was no slowing down. Discovery after discovery, new events unfolded when was necessary to move the novel along; nothing felt rushed and nothing was left half-finished. Sheldon also did a great job in weaving in information about Native culture and history to where it felt less like learning and more like entertainment. Strong Heart shows how Native culture exists today and also how it existed before colonization. It shines light on how it struggles to remain prevalent in today’s world with companies and governments taking their land and denying their beliefs.
Before reading this novel, I had little to no knowledge about Native culture and history. But after reading, I am now enlightened on how Natives existed many years ago and how they exist today. This novel allowed me to learn more about whose land I am living on (though not exactly, as I do not live in Washington) and have a greater respect for the fight Natives are fighting today to preserve their land and their culture.
Overall, I give Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon four out of four stars. The novel appeared professionally edited as there were very few mistakes and those few mistakes did not interrupt the flow of the story at all. My one complaint, however, was that a lot of sentences were very short and were read as very choppy and disruptive. However, the novel’s story flowed well enough that the issue soon became unnoticeable. I would recommend this book to almost everyone. It is very informative while still being entertaining and the story, to me, felt very unique and is just a great, captivating read overall.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
William, Myra, and Tom were all packed up and ready to head to Olympic National Park to begin their hike to Tom’s grandfather’s grave when there was a knock at the front door. At the door was Tom’s ex-wife Ruth and a young girl, who happened to be Tom’s granddaughter who he did not know existed. With his granddaughter Sarah suddenly becoming his main responsibility, Tom realized his hike to see his grandfather’s grave before a major mining company, Buckhorn, began mining in the area was not going to happen. Eager to go fix his grandfather’s grave and retrieve an object that was left there, Tom agrees to let Sarah accompany them, despite him not being in total agreeance with the idea.
Eventually reaching their destination, Tom retrieved the object that his grandfather left behind: an atlatl, or a spear thrower used by natives. Having retrieved the object, all was well until Sarah disappeared along with the atlatl. Having been missing for over a week, Sarah was presumed dead until she appeared in the midst of a lightning storm cut up, starved, and delusional. Concerned but curious, the three adults wondered where she had been and how she was able to survive. Her story, when eventually told, was not believed by anyone but William, who knew Sarah was more special than she appeared. The four hikers, however, were still troubled with the disappearance of the atlatl and Buckhorn’s mining of the national park, and soon Sarah’s story becomes more important and relevant than first thought; yet the question still remains: is what Sarah telling the truth?
Charlie Sheldon wasted no time in starting off the novel. In just the second chapter, the characters had already begun their hike, and once the novel began there was no slowing down. Discovery after discovery, new events unfolded when was necessary to move the novel along; nothing felt rushed and nothing was left half-finished. Sheldon also did a great job in weaving in information about Native culture and history to where it felt less like learning and more like entertainment. Strong Heart shows how Native culture exists today and also how it existed before colonization. It shines light on how it struggles to remain prevalent in today’s world with companies and governments taking their land and denying their beliefs.
Before reading this novel, I had little to no knowledge about Native culture and history. But after reading, I am now enlightened on how Natives existed many years ago and how they exist today. This novel allowed me to learn more about whose land I am living on (though not exactly, as I do not live in Washington) and have a greater respect for the fight Natives are fighting today to preserve their land and their culture.
Overall, I give Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon four out of four stars. The novel appeared professionally edited as there were very few mistakes and those few mistakes did not interrupt the flow of the story at all. My one complaint, however, was that a lot of sentences were very short and were read as very choppy and disruptive. However, the novel’s story flowed well enough that the issue soon became unnoticeable. I would recommend this book to almost everyone. It is very informative while still being entertaining and the story, to me, felt very unique and is just a great, captivating read overall.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Rescued by E. Alan Fleischauer
