Review by Winter Swan -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
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Rita Baadom
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Review by Winter Swan -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
Strong Heart written by Charlie Sheldon follows Sarah, a thirteen-year-old moody girl with one hell of an attitude with seemingly no place to call home. She is dropped off at her grandfather’s (Tom’s) place on the eve of his planned trip to Bob-Bob’s (his own grandfather) grave - located deep in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula - to pay his last respect before it is taken over by Buckhorn. He, upon the suggestion of William, takes Sarah on the trip. After drawing the image of a short faced bear she claims to have seen, Sarah mysteriously disappears along with a very important artifact. Although Tom and his friends find it hard to believe Sarah actually saw the animal, whose species has been extinct for thousands of years, they can’t deny there is something unusual about the girl and the circumstances of her disappearance.
Strong Heart provides a beautiful blend of science, native mysticism, and the exploration of familial ties. These themes are all interwoven throughout the story, creating a cohesive and powerful plot. The book is written partially in Sarah’s point of view, as she recounts the outlandish events surrounding her disappearance which gives the readers a little insight in to how the people of old lived and loved. The author masterfully tells the story of a teenage girl lost in the world, struggling to believe that what she in fact experienced was real and not just a figment of her imagination or a tale that is a result of a bad concussion as many would have her believe.
The main characters were not given much backstory, which would normally be a negative aspect of any book; however, that in no way affected the readability of the story. I must say that it even worked very well as it kept the focus most of the times on the current happenings in the lives of the characters. The author however gave the readers an insight into the life and history of the characters by having characters like Tom, William and Sarah tell stories of their past experiences. One thing I must point out is that while reading the novel, I felt like I knew everything about the feelings and internal struggles of the main characters, but upon some reflection, I realized the author actually provided very little detail about the character’s lives, proving his talent as a writer.
Another thing I really enjoyed in the story was the sparring between the Sergei and Myra. Sergei is a man of science who believes in hard facts, while Myra, William’s daughter believes in the legends of her people and needs no fact to know that they are true. They are both quite stubborn and stiff in their belief and their arguments about the history of the Native people was both educative and entertaining.
I however did not like how the book ended. It left so many question unanswered and left me wandering how the conflict between the group of adventurers and Buckhorn was resolved. I hope that the author writes a sequel not only to address that but also to show what kind of woman Sarah grew up to become and how Tom fared with his new status as a grandfather. I must say that Sarah really did grow on me.
In conclusion, I really did enjoy reading the unique and mysterious story and I loved that it was professionally edited, no typographical or grammatical error was seen in the book by me. For all of the above, I give the book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars and I recommend this book to readers of any age who enjoys fiction about native legends and mysticism.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Strong Heart written by Charlie Sheldon follows Sarah, a thirteen-year-old moody girl with one hell of an attitude with seemingly no place to call home. She is dropped off at her grandfather’s (Tom’s) place on the eve of his planned trip to Bob-Bob’s (his own grandfather) grave - located deep in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula - to pay his last respect before it is taken over by Buckhorn. He, upon the suggestion of William, takes Sarah on the trip. After drawing the image of a short faced bear she claims to have seen, Sarah mysteriously disappears along with a very important artifact. Although Tom and his friends find it hard to believe Sarah actually saw the animal, whose species has been extinct for thousands of years, they can’t deny there is something unusual about the girl and the circumstances of her disappearance.
Strong Heart provides a beautiful blend of science, native mysticism, and the exploration of familial ties. These themes are all interwoven throughout the story, creating a cohesive and powerful plot. The book is written partially in Sarah’s point of view, as she recounts the outlandish events surrounding her disappearance which gives the readers a little insight in to how the people of old lived and loved. The author masterfully tells the story of a teenage girl lost in the world, struggling to believe that what she in fact experienced was real and not just a figment of her imagination or a tale that is a result of a bad concussion as many would have her believe.
The main characters were not given much backstory, which would normally be a negative aspect of any book; however, that in no way affected the readability of the story. I must say that it even worked very well as it kept the focus most of the times on the current happenings in the lives of the characters. The author however gave the readers an insight into the life and history of the characters by having characters like Tom, William and Sarah tell stories of their past experiences. One thing I must point out is that while reading the novel, I felt like I knew everything about the feelings and internal struggles of the main characters, but upon some reflection, I realized the author actually provided very little detail about the character’s lives, proving his talent as a writer.
Another thing I really enjoyed in the story was the sparring between the Sergei and Myra. Sergei is a man of science who believes in hard facts, while Myra, William’s daughter believes in the legends of her people and needs no fact to know that they are true. They are both quite stubborn and stiff in their belief and their arguments about the history of the Native people was both educative and entertaining.
I however did not like how the book ended. It left so many question unanswered and left me wandering how the conflict between the group of adventurers and Buckhorn was resolved. I hope that the author writes a sequel not only to address that but also to show what kind of woman Sarah grew up to become and how Tom fared with his new status as a grandfather. I must say that Sarah really did grow on me.
In conclusion, I really did enjoy reading the unique and mysterious story and I loved that it was professionally edited, no typographical or grammatical error was seen in the book by me. For all of the above, I give the book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars and I recommend this book to readers of any age who enjoys fiction about native legends and mysticism.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Protectors of the Black Prince by Curtis Stephen Burdick
