Review by thaservices1 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

thaservices1 · Post by **thaservices1** » 31 May 2018, 14:16

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

4 out of 4 stars

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Strong Heart
By Charlie Sheldon

Strong Heart is a heartwarming novel of mystery and legends. Thirteen-year-old Sarah is suddenly dumped on her grandfather Tom's doorstep for the summer. Tom had no idea he even had a granddaughter and is stumped. William and Myra, Tom's hiking partners, talk him into bringing Sarah along on their trip into the Olympic National Park woods rather than canceling their carefully scheduled plan. Tom has serious misgivings about taking this smart mouth city kid into the woods but goes along with it anyways.

The hiking trip takes a turn for the worse and Tom's fears are realized when the child disappears in the forest. This story follows Tom, William, and Myra in their desperate attempts to find Sarah. It also follows Sarah's journey in what turns out to be something quite out of the ordinary. In an ancient land full of mystery, legend, and magic the lives of the hiking group are turned upside down as they experience a once in a lifetime adventure.

Charlie Sheldon's writing is very good. His detailed scenery has the feel of a real experience, both in woods and water travel. His characters are excellently written. They have the feel of fully fleshed and relatable people. The story itself is simply fantastic. The combination of detailed real-world action and mystical legend is stunning. His detailed prehistory knowledge is presented in a wonderfully easy to understand way and gives a completely different dimension to a tale that at first seems simple and straightforward.

I greatly enjoyed the ancient native legends and the way they were presented in the story. I also enjoyed the emotional depth of the friendships between the elderly characters in the book. Sheldon explores connections in a broken family and the effects those connections, or lack of, have on people throughout their lifetimes. There are many different parent to child relationships detailed throughout the book and these are described with keen insight.

I give Strong Heart a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. The writing was excellent. The story was involved and thought-provoking. My only complaint were instances where a 'he said' or 'she said' would have been nice in the dialogue so as to not lose track of who the speaker was. These were very few and not overly distracting, so I feel no need to remove any stars. I think anyone who enjoys history or archeology will particularly enjoy this novel. Any fan of family tales, hiking, sailing, or just a well-written book will definitely enjoy this as well.

******
Strong Heart
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jcoad · Post by **jcoad** » 24 Sep 2018, 20:13

Agree with you again. The ancient part of the story was cool. The writing was very descriptive. I could have lived without the "oil company" plot line but it did provide the bad guys. Thanks for a great review.