Review by bookishbiche -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
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Review by bookishbiche -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
Charlie Sheldon’s Strong Heart is a tale of 4 central characters – Tom, the 70-something man who unbeknownst to him is a grandfather, his unexpected and troubled 13-year-old granddaughter, Sarah, his slightly younger friend, William, and friend’s independent and intelligent daughter, Myra. A later character to join the ragtag team is Sergei, the scientist from Russia. The majority of the story takes place in the backcountry of the Olympic National Park in the Pacific Northwest with two timelines, one in the present-day and one during an Ice Age with mammoths, massive short-face bears, and saber-toothed tigers.
Following Sarah’s unceremonious and abrupt delivery to Tom’s house the day before a camping trip, the small group marches into the backcountry of Washington for Tom to pay respects to his long-dead grandfather and take care of some family business. During their trip, Sarah is coming to terms with being abandoned with strangers, her troubled past, and navigating new territory by foot only to see a short-faced bear while separated from the group. When she returns to the group after drawing a picture of the massive bear and tells them of her experience, her story is met with disbelief - the bear she drew has been extinct for thousands of years. The lack of her grandfather and his friends believing her on top of her recent uprooting lead to Sarah leaving the group in a fit of anger, only to be lost for 8 days in the wilderness without any gear. Shortly after Sarah’s disappearance, we meet Strong Heart – thousands and thousands of years ago. An epic lasting many months is told for Strong Heart’s journey from one land to another via canoe with strangers, through dangerous weather, past deadly ice bears in the ocean, and in life-or-death combat with unbelievably huge animals of the past. We follow her journey of self-growth, loss of new companions, and learning of survival skills only to abruptly return to the present day with Sarah’s unexpected return to the campsite mid-thunderstorm, with the same injuries as Strong Heart. Sarah slowly unravels her tale with her companions as they fight their way home, then back into the wilderness months later to try to stop the mining of the national park and destruction of their people’s past.
For someone who has always been fascinated with myths and legends, this story doesn’t disappoint. The author does a wonderful job of transporting you to the Pacific Northwest and its fairytale-esque setting with ease. Sheldon creates a wonderful balance of science and folklore for those scientific-minded, fairytale-loving individuals such as myself. Not to mention the inclusion of character discussions of climate change, the destruction of nature and wildlife for industrial purposes, and how to “creatively discuss” (read: argue) different beliefs in a mature way. For me, the most poignant statement during one of these conversations was the argument that many confuse belief with fact, that utter faith equals the truth, and attitudes such as these are what lead to zealotry, be it religious or scientific. That point resonated with me especially given that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and an extremely polarized political climate these days.
The story is a delightfully written, exceptionally well-edited saga that kept me riveted from start to finish. Sheldon clearly conducted countless hours of research before writing his story, a quality I greatly admire in a writer. I love having learned new information from a story (especially history) without feeling even the slightest bit lectured. For that, I give Sheldon major kudos. Ice Ages aren’t a time period I’ve read about in fiction; the majority of my very minimal knowledge has come from middle school history classes that I didn’t pay quite as much attention to as I should have. I appreciate the scientific facts woven into his narrative in a very eloquent and reader-friendly manner.
Overall, I rated this work 4 out of 4 stars. Between the unique storyline, the combination of science and folklore, adventure in a magical land, and the research put into this story, I absolutely loved the book. For me, this book was the “one more chapter” book that isn’t the best for getting adequate sleep – the best of problems in my humble opinion. Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t enjoy about Strong Heart. Okay, maybe one thing, the fact that it ended far too soon for my liking. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think it might be time to hunt down other works by Charlie Sheldon. Here’s hoping for a sequel soon! I’m desperate to hear the fate of the characters and the outcome of the industrial company take-down.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Charlie Sheldon’s Strong Heart is a tale of 4 central characters – Tom, the 70-something man who unbeknownst to him is a grandfather, his unexpected and troubled 13-year-old granddaughter, Sarah, his slightly younger friend, William, and friend’s independent and intelligent daughter, Myra. A later character to join the ragtag team is Sergei, the scientist from Russia. The majority of the story takes place in the backcountry of the Olympic National Park in the Pacific Northwest with two timelines, one in the present-day and one during an Ice Age with mammoths, massive short-face bears, and saber-toothed tigers.
Following Sarah’s unceremonious and abrupt delivery to Tom’s house the day before a camping trip, the small group marches into the backcountry of Washington for Tom to pay respects to his long-dead grandfather and take care of some family business. During their trip, Sarah is coming to terms with being abandoned with strangers, her troubled past, and navigating new territory by foot only to see a short-faced bear while separated from the group. When she returns to the group after drawing a picture of the massive bear and tells them of her experience, her story is met with disbelief - the bear she drew has been extinct for thousands of years. The lack of her grandfather and his friends believing her on top of her recent uprooting lead to Sarah leaving the group in a fit of anger, only to be lost for 8 days in the wilderness without any gear. Shortly after Sarah’s disappearance, we meet Strong Heart – thousands and thousands of years ago. An epic lasting many months is told for Strong Heart’s journey from one land to another via canoe with strangers, through dangerous weather, past deadly ice bears in the ocean, and in life-or-death combat with unbelievably huge animals of the past. We follow her journey of self-growth, loss of new companions, and learning of survival skills only to abruptly return to the present day with Sarah’s unexpected return to the campsite mid-thunderstorm, with the same injuries as Strong Heart. Sarah slowly unravels her tale with her companions as they fight their way home, then back into the wilderness months later to try to stop the mining of the national park and destruction of their people’s past.
For someone who has always been fascinated with myths and legends, this story doesn’t disappoint. The author does a wonderful job of transporting you to the Pacific Northwest and its fairytale-esque setting with ease. Sheldon creates a wonderful balance of science and folklore for those scientific-minded, fairytale-loving individuals such as myself. Not to mention the inclusion of character discussions of climate change, the destruction of nature and wildlife for industrial purposes, and how to “creatively discuss” (read: argue) different beliefs in a mature way. For me, the most poignant statement during one of these conversations was the argument that many confuse belief with fact, that utter faith equals the truth, and attitudes such as these are what lead to zealotry, be it religious or scientific. That point resonated with me especially given that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and an extremely polarized political climate these days.
The story is a delightfully written, exceptionally well-edited saga that kept me riveted from start to finish. Sheldon clearly conducted countless hours of research before writing his story, a quality I greatly admire in a writer. I love having learned new information from a story (especially history) without feeling even the slightest bit lectured. For that, I give Sheldon major kudos. Ice Ages aren’t a time period I’ve read about in fiction; the majority of my very minimal knowledge has come from middle school history classes that I didn’t pay quite as much attention to as I should have. I appreciate the scientific facts woven into his narrative in a very eloquent and reader-friendly manner.
Overall, I rated this work 4 out of 4 stars. Between the unique storyline, the combination of science and folklore, adventure in a magical land, and the research put into this story, I absolutely loved the book. For me, this book was the “one more chapter” book that isn’t the best for getting adequate sleep – the best of problems in my humble opinion. Honestly, I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t enjoy about Strong Heart. Okay, maybe one thing, the fact that it ended far too soon for my liking. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think it might be time to hunt down other works by Charlie Sheldon. Here’s hoping for a sequel soon! I’m desperate to hear the fate of the characters and the outcome of the industrial company take-down.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
