Review by Twinkiebing -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
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Twinkiebing
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Review by Twinkiebing -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a story about Sarah, a young girl, who shows up at her grandfather’s door. She has never met Tom, but after the loss of her mother and a bad relationship with her grandmother’s current husband, Sarah is willing to try anything. She arrives the night before Tom and his friends, William and Myra, are scheduled to leave on a backpacking trip into the Washington wilderness. Against his better judgment, Tom decides to take Sarah with him, and they set off on an adventure. During their trip, Sarah disappears and after a week of search and rescue, Tom acknowledges if found, she would probably be dead. Then, one night Sarah shows up out of nowhere with a strange story of having experienced an unbelievable journey. Her adventure is of life with the ancient people of the Pacific Northwest. Through her story, we get a sense of how life might have been tens of thousands of years ago.
I rate Strong Heart 4 out of 4 stars. It was a well-written and well-thought-out story. It was professionally edited with minimal errors. Most importantly, this story had so many elements that I enjoyed. I loved the relationship that took place between Sarah and her grandfather, Tom. I appreciated reading about the proposed ancient history of the Pacific Northwest as well as experiencing the beauty and nature described in their backpacking trip. The Native American legends were informative and cultural. The current-day land disputes between large companies and local tribes created tension in the story. Sarah’s disappearance and subsequent discovery engaged me as a reader.
I loved all these elements but what I enjoyed most would be the magical realism of the story. Although Sarah didn’t actually go anywhere when stuck in a crevasse, we are taken back to an ancient time when life was very different. The people Sarah meets speak, travel, marry and live in a culture so foreign to our own experience. While we know so little of the ancient people of that time, it was fun to imagine what things could have been like. William likens Sarah’s experience to that of the visions or dreams Native Americans have had in smokehouses.
If I had to pick something that I like least it would be that Sarah’s journey in ancient times took up too much of the story. It was good in that you got a better sense of how life might have been during that period, but it dragged on. I would have preferred it to wrap up faster and return to the present-day story of Sarah. There were also some issues with the spacing. The margins were justified and a few times in my copy, at least, it pushed the words together and there was no spacing between them. This made it harder to read.
I would recommend Strong Heart to readers of all ages. There was some violence in the story and some themes that might require additional conversations with younger readers. Overall, however, this story is family-friendly. It is also a great coming of age story, full of adventure and legend.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a story about Sarah, a young girl, who shows up at her grandfather’s door. She has never met Tom, but after the loss of her mother and a bad relationship with her grandmother’s current husband, Sarah is willing to try anything. She arrives the night before Tom and his friends, William and Myra, are scheduled to leave on a backpacking trip into the Washington wilderness. Against his better judgment, Tom decides to take Sarah with him, and they set off on an adventure. During their trip, Sarah disappears and after a week of search and rescue, Tom acknowledges if found, she would probably be dead. Then, one night Sarah shows up out of nowhere with a strange story of having experienced an unbelievable journey. Her adventure is of life with the ancient people of the Pacific Northwest. Through her story, we get a sense of how life might have been tens of thousands of years ago.
I rate Strong Heart 4 out of 4 stars. It was a well-written and well-thought-out story. It was professionally edited with minimal errors. Most importantly, this story had so many elements that I enjoyed. I loved the relationship that took place between Sarah and her grandfather, Tom. I appreciated reading about the proposed ancient history of the Pacific Northwest as well as experiencing the beauty and nature described in their backpacking trip. The Native American legends were informative and cultural. The current-day land disputes between large companies and local tribes created tension in the story. Sarah’s disappearance and subsequent discovery engaged me as a reader.
I loved all these elements but what I enjoyed most would be the magical realism of the story. Although Sarah didn’t actually go anywhere when stuck in a crevasse, we are taken back to an ancient time when life was very different. The people Sarah meets speak, travel, marry and live in a culture so foreign to our own experience. While we know so little of the ancient people of that time, it was fun to imagine what things could have been like. William likens Sarah’s experience to that of the visions or dreams Native Americans have had in smokehouses.
If I had to pick something that I like least it would be that Sarah’s journey in ancient times took up too much of the story. It was good in that you got a better sense of how life might have been during that period, but it dragged on. I would have preferred it to wrap up faster and return to the present-day story of Sarah. There were also some issues with the spacing. The margins were justified and a few times in my copy, at least, it pushed the words together and there was no spacing between them. This made it harder to read.
I would recommend Strong Heart to readers of all ages. There was some violence in the story and some themes that might require additional conversations with younger readers. Overall, however, this story is family-friendly. It is also a great coming of age story, full of adventure and legend.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Homeward by Denis Pickwell
