Review of Strong Heart
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Pamela Motshwane
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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.]
Having lived and worked in Olympic National Park located in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A., the author, Charlie Sheldon, has a solid foundation of the Native American legends he weaves into his novel, Strong Heart.
On a rainy day, Tom Olsen and his friend William, together with Myra who is William's daughter, have concluded plans on a hiking adventure until their plans come to a sudden halt when Ruth, Tom's ex-wife, shows up at his door. She is not alone, tightly gripping the upper arm of a child who is quickly revealed to be Tom's shared grandchild with his ex-wife, Sarah Cooley. Though torn between bringing Sarah onto the planned trip or canceling the hike as a whole, Myra and William suggest that he brings her along since Ruth has decided to dump the ornery teenage girl onto him due to her attitude problem.
The trek to the Olympic National Park is not easy, given the changing weather and the trail itself, but having four adults put up with Sarah's many complaints proves to be a great challenge -- a challenge that only grows more difficult when the teenage girl goes missing for eight days and reappears badly wounded, shabby and has a bizarre story to tell about her former whereabouts.
Strong Heart started a tad bit slow for me, nearly forgettable, but the short pages per chapter granted me the ability to carry on reading with ease -- a strategy that would remind me of my progress as well as keep my interest intact. Once I was webbed into the beautiful tale of going into the inner workings of Sarah, who is also an amazing artist, I could not let go of the book. The telling of her journey knocked the air out of the lungs, making me stay up a little longer in the night than usual just so I can know what happens next, what great things Strong Heart will do next.
Charlie Sheldon's intention to entertain and educate is apparent in his humor as well as the strong interjections of knowledge that could only exist with thorough research and investigation.
I adored the style of writing in this book. The characterization was top tier. I even found myself pairing Myra with Pete and Sergei back and forth because the subtle interactions between the characters granted me that. Aside from Myra's stunning character, Sarah also clutched my admiration. The author really captured the angsty, profane and rebellious nature that exists in most teenagers.
Charlie's description of the terrains and foliage immersed me into being present with them, feeling the ache that hiking and the frostiness that washing by a stream brought upon. My only disappointment was the abrupt ending but it created a beautiful itch, an itch that could perhaps be sated by the next book in the series. Lovers of adventure, mysticism as well as historical fiction will come to adore this book just as I have. I am more than delighted to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Very professionally edited and with only a minimal amount of typos. However, if people dying in rather gruesome ways, themes of abuse as well as implied rape is not something you can take, this book might not be for you.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Having lived and worked in Olympic National Park located in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A., the author, Charlie Sheldon, has a solid foundation of the Native American legends he weaves into his novel, Strong Heart.
On a rainy day, Tom Olsen and his friend William, together with Myra who is William's daughter, have concluded plans on a hiking adventure until their plans come to a sudden halt when Ruth, Tom's ex-wife, shows up at his door. She is not alone, tightly gripping the upper arm of a child who is quickly revealed to be Tom's shared grandchild with his ex-wife, Sarah Cooley. Though torn between bringing Sarah onto the planned trip or canceling the hike as a whole, Myra and William suggest that he brings her along since Ruth has decided to dump the ornery teenage girl onto him due to her attitude problem.
The trek to the Olympic National Park is not easy, given the changing weather and the trail itself, but having four adults put up with Sarah's many complaints proves to be a great challenge -- a challenge that only grows more difficult when the teenage girl goes missing for eight days and reappears badly wounded, shabby and has a bizarre story to tell about her former whereabouts.
Strong Heart started a tad bit slow for me, nearly forgettable, but the short pages per chapter granted me the ability to carry on reading with ease -- a strategy that would remind me of my progress as well as keep my interest intact. Once I was webbed into the beautiful tale of going into the inner workings of Sarah, who is also an amazing artist, I could not let go of the book. The telling of her journey knocked the air out of the lungs, making me stay up a little longer in the night than usual just so I can know what happens next, what great things Strong Heart will do next.
Charlie Sheldon's intention to entertain and educate is apparent in his humor as well as the strong interjections of knowledge that could only exist with thorough research and investigation.
I adored the style of writing in this book. The characterization was top tier. I even found myself pairing Myra with Pete and Sergei back and forth because the subtle interactions between the characters granted me that. Aside from Myra's stunning character, Sarah also clutched my admiration. The author really captured the angsty, profane and rebellious nature that exists in most teenagers.
Charlie's description of the terrains and foliage immersed me into being present with them, feeling the ache that hiking and the frostiness that washing by a stream brought upon. My only disappointment was the abrupt ending but it created a beautiful itch, an itch that could perhaps be sated by the next book in the series. Lovers of adventure, mysticism as well as historical fiction will come to adore this book just as I have. I am more than delighted to rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Very professionally edited and with only a minimal amount of typos. However, if people dying in rather gruesome ways, themes of abuse as well as implied rape is not something you can take, this book might not be for you.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
