Review by Whitrobichaux1 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
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- Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
Review by Whitrobichaux1 -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
It’s exciting to be able to say that Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon has surpassed all of my expectations. Despite a number of high-intensity scenes, the author’s writing style is relaxing; reading this book felt like drinking hot tea on a cold day. When the book begins, Tom, William, and Myra are about to set out on a hiking trip in the Pacific North West. On this hike, Tom intends to bury an ancient artifact with his long-deceased grandfather; he’s been buried for decades where the group plans to hike. Before leaving, the appearance of Tom’s granddaughter throws them for a loop. They didn’t know he even had a granddaughter! Essentially, the group is told that there’s nowhere else for this girl, Sarah, to go. Therefore, Tom must take her.
Tom, William, and Myra decide to take Sarah on their hiking trip. While out, Tom and Sarah have a disagreement, and she angrily grabs the artifact and marches into the woods. She is not to be found for eight days, and when they find her, no one believes her story. Sarah says she went on a long journey as someone named Strong Heart. Everyone thinks she’s gone bonkers.
A large corporation wishes to begin mining on the land where the group is hiking; between their collaborative efforts and Sarah’s story, they attempt to prove that the land is sacred and should not be destroyed for capital gain. The rest of the book takes us on a journey from the character Strong Heart’s perspective and from the group’s perspective. If I go further, I’m sure to reveal spoilers.
I loved that the feeling of this book is paradoxical in the best of ways. It feels slow and relaxing, as I mentioned, yet the events are actually happening fairly quickly. Charlie Sheldon has an extremely unique talent for stirring up peaceful yet fierce suspense. The writing has a slow, measured, and rhythmic demeanor to it. Sheldon also makes the magic of the Pacific North West come alive through an obvious love for and knowledge of the Olympic Peninsula. It colors the book with a rich spirit throughout. These things make for a campfire-style novel. The book was written in third-person, so that helped give it the ambiance of a story being told by someone old and wise. It almost felt like we, the readers, were one of the groups’ ancestors observing their journey, cheering silently.
There is a part in the storyline where things get exceedingly interesting, but then the story shifts to a different world. This is when we jump into the character Strong Heart’s point of view. For a long while, I was unsure if what I was reading was Sarah’s story, as presented, or if it was a long flashback with a different purpose. After the narration switched back to the original group, it was made clear that the story was indeed Sarah’s experience. At first, I did not particularly like this part, but after moving forward and finishing the book, I see its necessity. The main storyline doesn’t exist without this part, but it was unclear what was happening. This shift was my least favorite part because it started just when events with the group were building up. Eventually, Sheldon weaves the storylines together skillfully.
After I finished reading, I was confused about why the author did not solve the corporate mining problem. Upon further reflection, he did answer that point. He did so in a smooth and easy way to match the rest of his writing. I am mentioning this in case anyone gets to the end and felt the way I did. Just like the rest of the book, the conclusion is subtle, transformative, and gorgeous.
After much consideration, I rate this book a 4 out of 4. While at first I felt this book moved too slowly to keep my interest, I ended up feeling grateful to have gotten to read it. This book has everything you could want: adventure, history, a little bit of magic, lore, legend, and science. It’s all rolled into one even-paced, emotionally-soothing novel. Another great part of this novel was that it was obviously professionally edited, as I did not notice errors. I would like to say that in addition to fabulous editing, this book is structurally pleasing. I did not feel whiplash from switching storylines or points of view. The keyword to describe this novel is balanced. For these reasons, I’d recommend this book to anyone over the age of 9. Mild cursing and violence are present. The violence consists of animal attacks, hunting for food, and a couple of hand-to-hand combat scenes. None of these would deter me from allowing my child to read the novel, as the scenes are truly present for context only. They are not lingered upon. I would like to gently point out that there is kidnapping in the book for those readers who have a sensitivity to the subject.
This is a great read for anyone looking for something light with substance while traveling or by a beach. It can be enjoyed at times other than these, but with the rich nature scenes, I do believe some outdoor reading would be wonderful with this book. For those who love novels, I recommend this one any time or place. For those who enjoy the occasional read, I have to say go for this one and try to stick it out. It is more than worth it!
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
It’s exciting to be able to say that Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon has surpassed all of my expectations. Despite a number of high-intensity scenes, the author’s writing style is relaxing; reading this book felt like drinking hot tea on a cold day. When the book begins, Tom, William, and Myra are about to set out on a hiking trip in the Pacific North West. On this hike, Tom intends to bury an ancient artifact with his long-deceased grandfather; he’s been buried for decades where the group plans to hike. Before leaving, the appearance of Tom’s granddaughter throws them for a loop. They didn’t know he even had a granddaughter! Essentially, the group is told that there’s nowhere else for this girl, Sarah, to go. Therefore, Tom must take her.
Tom, William, and Myra decide to take Sarah on their hiking trip. While out, Tom and Sarah have a disagreement, and she angrily grabs the artifact and marches into the woods. She is not to be found for eight days, and when they find her, no one believes her story. Sarah says she went on a long journey as someone named Strong Heart. Everyone thinks she’s gone bonkers.
A large corporation wishes to begin mining on the land where the group is hiking; between their collaborative efforts and Sarah’s story, they attempt to prove that the land is sacred and should not be destroyed for capital gain. The rest of the book takes us on a journey from the character Strong Heart’s perspective and from the group’s perspective. If I go further, I’m sure to reveal spoilers.
I loved that the feeling of this book is paradoxical in the best of ways. It feels slow and relaxing, as I mentioned, yet the events are actually happening fairly quickly. Charlie Sheldon has an extremely unique talent for stirring up peaceful yet fierce suspense. The writing has a slow, measured, and rhythmic demeanor to it. Sheldon also makes the magic of the Pacific North West come alive through an obvious love for and knowledge of the Olympic Peninsula. It colors the book with a rich spirit throughout. These things make for a campfire-style novel. The book was written in third-person, so that helped give it the ambiance of a story being told by someone old and wise. It almost felt like we, the readers, were one of the groups’ ancestors observing their journey, cheering silently.
There is a part in the storyline where things get exceedingly interesting, but then the story shifts to a different world. This is when we jump into the character Strong Heart’s point of view. For a long while, I was unsure if what I was reading was Sarah’s story, as presented, or if it was a long flashback with a different purpose. After the narration switched back to the original group, it was made clear that the story was indeed Sarah’s experience. At first, I did not particularly like this part, but after moving forward and finishing the book, I see its necessity. The main storyline doesn’t exist without this part, but it was unclear what was happening. This shift was my least favorite part because it started just when events with the group were building up. Eventually, Sheldon weaves the storylines together skillfully.
After I finished reading, I was confused about why the author did not solve the corporate mining problem. Upon further reflection, he did answer that point. He did so in a smooth and easy way to match the rest of his writing. I am mentioning this in case anyone gets to the end and felt the way I did. Just like the rest of the book, the conclusion is subtle, transformative, and gorgeous.
After much consideration, I rate this book a 4 out of 4. While at first I felt this book moved too slowly to keep my interest, I ended up feeling grateful to have gotten to read it. This book has everything you could want: adventure, history, a little bit of magic, lore, legend, and science. It’s all rolled into one even-paced, emotionally-soothing novel. Another great part of this novel was that it was obviously professionally edited, as I did not notice errors. I would like to say that in addition to fabulous editing, this book is structurally pleasing. I did not feel whiplash from switching storylines or points of view. The keyword to describe this novel is balanced. For these reasons, I’d recommend this book to anyone over the age of 9. Mild cursing and violence are present. The violence consists of animal attacks, hunting for food, and a couple of hand-to-hand combat scenes. None of these would deter me from allowing my child to read the novel, as the scenes are truly present for context only. They are not lingered upon. I would like to gently point out that there is kidnapping in the book for those readers who have a sensitivity to the subject.
This is a great read for anyone looking for something light with substance while traveling or by a beach. It can be enjoyed at times other than these, but with the rich nature scenes, I do believe some outdoor reading would be wonderful with this book. For those who love novels, I recommend this one any time or place. For those who enjoy the occasional read, I have to say go for this one and try to stick it out. It is more than worth it!
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
