Review by Elke -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

[Elke]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

Strong Heart is a adventure/ mystery novel that takes place in the Pacific North. Tom, William and Myra are getting ready to go on a camping trip to visit Tom's grandfather who was buried at the Olympic National Park 45 years ago. Tom wants to return an ancient artifact to his grandfather grave, which he found the night his grandfather dies, but the night before they leave Tom's ex-wife shows up at their door with Tom's long lost granddaughter Sarah. William decides it's a good idea to invite Sarah along on the camping trip to get to know her grandfather and to learn more about her great-great grandfather. They didn't realize that Sarah would be the one to teach them.

Strong Heart is incredibly well written and really takes the reader to the places the characters are visiting by describing every little detail so well. Personally I always prefer it this way because it makes it easier to visualize the story. It enabled me to fully emerge into the story and escape from everyday life.

What I really liked about the story is that it is a mixture of science and legends. One part of the book really focuses on the legends of the native Americans that lived in the Pacific North, which I found very interesting to read about. The other part focuses more on science and facts to determine who and when the native Americans lived in the Pacific North. I loved the way the author used debates about the subject between characters in the book who both felt differently on the matter. It truly made me wonder which side I most drifted towards. Legends or facts.

I would say that Strong Heart is most suitable for young adults and adults. Not so much for kids because there are some unexpected gruesome scenes in the book. Those scenes where really surprising to me but it made the book better because it was so unexpected.

What I didn't like so much about the book was the sudden change in the story. All of a sudden Sarah's story began and I was really confused. I thought I had accidentally skipped part of the story and I remember thinking the story got weird. At that point I wasn't sure if I liked the book anymore. There where a lot of people introduced to the story and I had a hard time keeping up with who was who. But if you keep reading things will get clearer.

I give the book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars and I would definitely recommend it to others who like adventure/history books.

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Strong Heart
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