Review by Chinacats4 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

[Chinacats4]

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

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon


I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. Strong Heart pulled me in from the first page. I couldn't put it down.

You quickly find out that Tom – almost 70, his friend William – 10 years younger and William’s 29-year-old daughter, Myra, are planning a hiking trip into the Olympic National Forest to visit the place where Tom buried his grandfather 45 years earlier. Tom’s grandfather, Bob-Bob, “had something to show him” but died before he was able to show it to Tom. Tom was unable to carry his grandfather’s remains out of the park so he buried him near where he died. Before they leave to go on the hike, Tom’s ex-wife shows up with 13-year-old Sarah, the granddaughter Tom didn’t know he had and leaves her with Tom. The three adults decide to take her with them on the hike.

Tom brings along an atlatl, a dart thrower, that he found with his grandfather’s body and subsequently took out of the park, intending to bury it with his grandfather. William and Myra are members of the Puget Sound Tribes and recognize the atlatl as an artifact that could turn the area into an Archeological Site. Myra wants to have the atlatl dated to verify the Tribal legends, Tom feels bad about having taken it with him 45 years earlier and wants to leave it with his grandfather’s remains. Sarah gets angry with her grandfather and takes the atlatl and runs away. After eight days alone in the depths of the park, she returns to camp and has a fabulous, vibrant and almost unbelievable story to tell.

While the book does have ‘bad guys’, the main portion of the story does not involve them except on the outskirts. The 'bad guys' do add conflict to the story but are not major players.

I loved the way archaeology, anthropology, genetics and Tribal legends and stories are interwoven throughout the story. This is done without having it sound like a lecture. Charlie Shelton has obviously spent some time learning about the Puget Sound Tribes and their legends. The characters are realistic and their actions are true to their personalities. They could very well be real people. The descriptions of the scenery and wildlife in the park are vivid and make it easy to almost see the trail and its environs. The interactions between Tom, William and Sarah are just what you would expect to find between two elderly men and a young girl.

There is very little back-story to fill out the history of the characters, you learn about them from their conversations and interactions on the trail. More could have been done with Sarah to fill her out as they hiked. She is introduced as a problem for her grandmother; “You can deal with her drinking, her bad attitude, and the skateboard trash she somehow met.” And you later find out she was in a special school “for problem kids”. But not much is done with her character on the hike. She seems very inoffensive and only a bit strong-willed. You learn more about the others from their answers to her questions than you do of her.

The only thing I really didn’t like about the book was the ending. It ended in a good spot, but none of the conflicts were resolved. Who does Sarah live with at the end of the hike? Does the mining company get away with what they did and get permission to work the claim? When I finished the book I said to myself: “Is that it? I want more! Where is the rest of the story?” I wasn’t sure if the author just quit writing or if a sequel was being planned. I have since found out that there will be a sequel so I feel better. I will be watching for the next book!!

******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Chinacats4's review? Post a comment saying so!