Review by Fatima_Palacios -- Strong Heart
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Fatima_Palacios
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Review by Fatima_Palacios -- Strong Heart
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a unique book that will teach you the importance of family, beliefs, and legends. More often than not people have a set of beliefs they defend regarding the scientific findings and data collected from specialists around the world, and this book is a perfect example of that and how important it is to keep legends from native Americans and any other culture.
When I picked up this book I did not have high expectations for it. I enjoy the legends from native people in my country but I’ve had never given many thoughts to legends from other countries, this changed after reading this book.
Strong Heart is the story of Sarah a teenager who has experienced a loss in her life, she also explains that she has been a victim of sexual assault which made her distrust people. She was forced to move with her grandmother after his stepfather got a new job in Europe and then she decides to move with his grandfather in Seattle and is when living with him that the real adventure for her begins.
Sarah, his grandpa Tom and two close friends decide to take a hike and visit the grave of Tom’s late great grandfather. The grave is a the top of a national park and as they start the trail we get to see who Sarah really is and how she managed to run away several times from her stepdad. Tom wants to deposit a spear-thrower known as Atlatl by native Americans, on the grave of his great grandfather. The piece made of bone is very unique and could prove that native Americans have to be in the territory forever. As the legends claim. But we also get to see a scientific perspective of this. Scientists found some facts and data about the animals we can find in Seattle and animals that are extinct now. This information sustains that America was only populated 12 thousand years ago. After the last Ice age. So as you can see there's a discrepancy from both parts and new findings are done every year that help maintain the scientific approach.
As we follow Strong Heart, we get to know the characters and experience an adventure from Sarah’s perspective. Sarah goes missing for a few days after escaping from home, during this she gets a connection with ancient spirits in a very vivid dream. This experience helped her to be more grateful for what she has and at the same time inspired her to look for more evidence that people had been in America forever. However, Sarah has no previous experience or knowledge about the legends.
I enjoyed this book and I’ve decided to recommend it to my friends and people who enjoy learning more about legends and retelling of old tales. This is a good book for people who is willing to expand their mind and accept that there can be truth in legends as much as in scientific facts. Of course, this is a work of fiction but that does not mean that the story is completely made by the author's imagination. But if you’re a person that prefers the scientific approach to old America then this book is not for you.
What I liked the most about Strong Heart was the narrative of Sarah’s experience, it felt real and you could immerse in the story completely. The author makes you feel part of the story. And is ready to shock you when you least expect it. The editing was great, the pace of the book was great and overall the development in the characters made them feel like real people. If I have to pick something I didn’t enjoy, it would have to be the first 30 pages of the book, during the beginning, the story barely moves and is a little discouraging, but once the pace picks everything gets better.
Strong Heart has a place in my heart and I’m excited to read more about this author in the future. For all this, I decided to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a unique book that will teach you the importance of family, beliefs, and legends. More often than not people have a set of beliefs they defend regarding the scientific findings and data collected from specialists around the world, and this book is a perfect example of that and how important it is to keep legends from native Americans and any other culture.
When I picked up this book I did not have high expectations for it. I enjoy the legends from native people in my country but I’ve had never given many thoughts to legends from other countries, this changed after reading this book.
Strong Heart is the story of Sarah a teenager who has experienced a loss in her life, she also explains that she has been a victim of sexual assault which made her distrust people. She was forced to move with her grandmother after his stepfather got a new job in Europe and then she decides to move with his grandfather in Seattle and is when living with him that the real adventure for her begins.
Sarah, his grandpa Tom and two close friends decide to take a hike and visit the grave of Tom’s late great grandfather. The grave is a the top of a national park and as they start the trail we get to see who Sarah really is and how she managed to run away several times from her stepdad. Tom wants to deposit a spear-thrower known as Atlatl by native Americans, on the grave of his great grandfather. The piece made of bone is very unique and could prove that native Americans have to be in the territory forever. As the legends claim. But we also get to see a scientific perspective of this. Scientists found some facts and data about the animals we can find in Seattle and animals that are extinct now. This information sustains that America was only populated 12 thousand years ago. After the last Ice age. So as you can see there's a discrepancy from both parts and new findings are done every year that help maintain the scientific approach.
As we follow Strong Heart, we get to know the characters and experience an adventure from Sarah’s perspective. Sarah goes missing for a few days after escaping from home, during this she gets a connection with ancient spirits in a very vivid dream. This experience helped her to be more grateful for what she has and at the same time inspired her to look for more evidence that people had been in America forever. However, Sarah has no previous experience or knowledge about the legends.
I enjoyed this book and I’ve decided to recommend it to my friends and people who enjoy learning more about legends and retelling of old tales. This is a good book for people who is willing to expand their mind and accept that there can be truth in legends as much as in scientific facts. Of course, this is a work of fiction but that does not mean that the story is completely made by the author's imagination. But if you’re a person that prefers the scientific approach to old America then this book is not for you.
What I liked the most about Strong Heart was the narrative of Sarah’s experience, it felt real and you could immerse in the story completely. The author makes you feel part of the story. And is ready to shock you when you least expect it. The editing was great, the pace of the book was great and overall the development in the characters made them feel like real people. If I have to pick something I didn’t enjoy, it would have to be the first 30 pages of the book, during the beginning, the story barely moves and is a little discouraging, but once the pace picks everything gets better.
Strong Heart has a place in my heart and I’m excited to read more about this author in the future. For all this, I decided to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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-Eiichiro Oda (Luffy)
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: The Knights of Chalethire by Matthew Tysz
