Review of Strong Heart
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Jackie Mcdonnell
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- Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
Review of Strong Heart
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
If a story that includes intriguing characters, exciting action, intense conflict and a dab of ancient legend sounds enticing--then Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon may be for you! The story begins when troubled 12-year-old Sarah shows up unexpectedly on her Grandfather Tom's doorstep. Before his ex-wife dumps Sarah with him, he didn’t even know she existed. Sarah and Tom's difficult and developing relationship is a main theme of the book.
Tom, his brother and his niece were getting ready for a camping trip in the Olympic Peninsula to return an ancient artifact to its original place. Sarah has no interest in going with them, but she has no choice. During the trip, Sarah sees a huge bear that should not be in that part of the world. This bear proves to be important to the story, as he reappears two more times. Tom doesn't believe her when she tells of the bear sighting. Sarah becomes furious with him, steals the ancient artifact, runs away and falls down into a ravine. A huge search ensues and her Grandfather refuses to leave until she is found--dead or alive. Against all odds, after 8 days she reappears at the campsite, barely alive.
While she is gone, she descends into an ancient world that has it’s own excitement, danger and conflict. She survives many challenges here, and the same bear that she saw before leads her back to safety. Tom and the others have a hard time believing her story. After they get back, Sarah returns to her Grandmother. She eventually runs away and comes back to Tom. They decide to take another trip to the mountains to retrieve the lost artifact. They believe this will help to stop a large corporation from taking over the area by having it pronounced a protected area. Near the end of the book, there is an intense showdown between Sarah’s group and the corporation workers.
The positives of this book include well developed characters and a fast-moving story line. I stayed up way too late at night because I just had to find out what happened next! I couldn’t help but cheer for the troubled teen to find peace and for her Grandfather to break through her tough exterior and teach her about family loyalty and love. Tom has the opportunity to mend some family fences and create with his grand-daughter what he never had with his daughter. In addition, there is a ‘David vs Goliath’ story of the little guy trying to triumph over the big corporation. There is a hint of protecting nature vs the greed of big money.
If I had to identify a negative, it would be that the story seemed a little disjointed when it flipped from the current time to when Sarah was in the ancient world. In the ancient world, nobody had regular names, and it was a little difficult to follow. This happens twice as she retells her adventures. I enjoyed the current time part of the book better, but the ancient time was necessary for plot development and by the end you will understand how it all ties together.
All things considered, I give this book 4 out of 4 stars . I found no errors in this book. It seems to have been exceptionally edited. I think this book would appeal to a wide audience of readers who appreciate action, drama, legend and suspense. There is a little bit of graphic violence in both the ancient and current worlds. There was not any profanity or sexuality. Although I did not love the ending, it did leave an opening for a sequel. If that occurs, I will be first in line to read it!
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
If a story that includes intriguing characters, exciting action, intense conflict and a dab of ancient legend sounds enticing--then Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon may be for you! The story begins when troubled 12-year-old Sarah shows up unexpectedly on her Grandfather Tom's doorstep. Before his ex-wife dumps Sarah with him, he didn’t even know she existed. Sarah and Tom's difficult and developing relationship is a main theme of the book.
Tom, his brother and his niece were getting ready for a camping trip in the Olympic Peninsula to return an ancient artifact to its original place. Sarah has no interest in going with them, but she has no choice. During the trip, Sarah sees a huge bear that should not be in that part of the world. This bear proves to be important to the story, as he reappears two more times. Tom doesn't believe her when she tells of the bear sighting. Sarah becomes furious with him, steals the ancient artifact, runs away and falls down into a ravine. A huge search ensues and her Grandfather refuses to leave until she is found--dead or alive. Against all odds, after 8 days she reappears at the campsite, barely alive.
While she is gone, she descends into an ancient world that has it’s own excitement, danger and conflict. She survives many challenges here, and the same bear that she saw before leads her back to safety. Tom and the others have a hard time believing her story. After they get back, Sarah returns to her Grandmother. She eventually runs away and comes back to Tom. They decide to take another trip to the mountains to retrieve the lost artifact. They believe this will help to stop a large corporation from taking over the area by having it pronounced a protected area. Near the end of the book, there is an intense showdown between Sarah’s group and the corporation workers.
The positives of this book include well developed characters and a fast-moving story line. I stayed up way too late at night because I just had to find out what happened next! I couldn’t help but cheer for the troubled teen to find peace and for her Grandfather to break through her tough exterior and teach her about family loyalty and love. Tom has the opportunity to mend some family fences and create with his grand-daughter what he never had with his daughter. In addition, there is a ‘David vs Goliath’ story of the little guy trying to triumph over the big corporation. There is a hint of protecting nature vs the greed of big money.
If I had to identify a negative, it would be that the story seemed a little disjointed when it flipped from the current time to when Sarah was in the ancient world. In the ancient world, nobody had regular names, and it was a little difficult to follow. This happens twice as she retells her adventures. I enjoyed the current time part of the book better, but the ancient time was necessary for plot development and by the end you will understand how it all ties together.
All things considered, I give this book 4 out of 4 stars . I found no errors in this book. It seems to have been exceptionally edited. I think this book would appeal to a wide audience of readers who appreciate action, drama, legend and suspense. There is a little bit of graphic violence in both the ancient and current worlds. There was not any profanity or sexuality. Although I did not love the ending, it did leave an opening for a sequel. If that occurs, I will be first in line to read it!
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
