Review of Strong Heart
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Retana Bruce
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- Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
Review of Strong Heart
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
This is the story of a young girl, Sarah, shunted about in a dysfunctional family environment, who embarks on a camping trip in the Olympic national park. On this camping trip with her grandpa, Tom, his friend William with his daughter Myra, they travel through mountain trails, creeks, valleys, snow and waterfalls in order to visit the grave of Tom's grandfather Bob, who died in the park there 45 years ago, while camping with him. Tom wants to tidy up the grave and leave something of value there, an artefact that would become a key point in the story. Sarah starts off this journey reluctantly under duress but gradually becomes a central player in the drama that unfolds.
When Sarah goes missing in the mountains for eight days and after a frantic search by the family she suddenly reappears, muddy, hurt, exhausted and hungry. After she is given time to recover she tells them the most breathtaking, unbelievable story of capture, sea travel, danger, violence in an ancient time that baffles the imagination. Hardly anyone believes her story and she is forced into silence, keeping her epic adventure to herself. Into the story comes Sergei, a Russian scientist who even though he only believes in data and scientific proof, somehow, he is drawn to this story told by Sarah. It has unexpected consequences for his views. Thrown into the mix is the story of abuse suffered by Sarah and her mother as well as the interests of the mining group Buckhorn who seek to gain mining rights in the Olympic park in spite of indigenous protests and archaeological concerns.
Strongheart by Charlie Sheldon is a tale of adventure, sweeping movements across time and history, with powerful mining interests, archaeological controversy, indigenous legends and disputes. In the midst of these is the story of Strongheart, a brave young girl who endures the most trying circumstances imaginable and manages somehow to bring meaning to the endless dispute of modern human origins.
What I enjoyed about the book is the glimpse it gives us into the distant past and how realistic and well the story is told. The debates between Sergei and Myra and the different views and perspectives it originates was enjoyable and interesting. The overall suspense is gripping and the reader is kept wondering how the next steps will unfold and can hardly put the book down. The chapters are short and the action moves swiftly from scene to scene. The majestic mountains, ice peaks, flowing rivers, fierce and magnificent animals, gigantic waves, human endurance all make this a very enjoyable and exciting read. One is left with a sense of incredulity and wonder as the story sweeps into the distant past and swings back into the present. The lines become blurred and the reader is caught up in the mystery and marvel of the story.
It is hard to find anything negative in the book. Those not interested in archaeological debates or human origins might not appreciate them but it was bearable.
I would give Strongheart a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. The reason for this is that I found no spelling errors and the story is very well edited. There is extensive knowledge of the geographical regions covered in the book and the debates of human origins are well constructed. The human stories in between give substance to the overall theme of human endurance.
I would recommend this book to all readers, especially those who love epic adventures and stories of human endurance.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
This is the story of a young girl, Sarah, shunted about in a dysfunctional family environment, who embarks on a camping trip in the Olympic national park. On this camping trip with her grandpa, Tom, his friend William with his daughter Myra, they travel through mountain trails, creeks, valleys, snow and waterfalls in order to visit the grave of Tom's grandfather Bob, who died in the park there 45 years ago, while camping with him. Tom wants to tidy up the grave and leave something of value there, an artefact that would become a key point in the story. Sarah starts off this journey reluctantly under duress but gradually becomes a central player in the drama that unfolds.
When Sarah goes missing in the mountains for eight days and after a frantic search by the family she suddenly reappears, muddy, hurt, exhausted and hungry. After she is given time to recover she tells them the most breathtaking, unbelievable story of capture, sea travel, danger, violence in an ancient time that baffles the imagination. Hardly anyone believes her story and she is forced into silence, keeping her epic adventure to herself. Into the story comes Sergei, a Russian scientist who even though he only believes in data and scientific proof, somehow, he is drawn to this story told by Sarah. It has unexpected consequences for his views. Thrown into the mix is the story of abuse suffered by Sarah and her mother as well as the interests of the mining group Buckhorn who seek to gain mining rights in the Olympic park in spite of indigenous protests and archaeological concerns.
Strongheart by Charlie Sheldon is a tale of adventure, sweeping movements across time and history, with powerful mining interests, archaeological controversy, indigenous legends and disputes. In the midst of these is the story of Strongheart, a brave young girl who endures the most trying circumstances imaginable and manages somehow to bring meaning to the endless dispute of modern human origins.
What I enjoyed about the book is the glimpse it gives us into the distant past and how realistic and well the story is told. The debates between Sergei and Myra and the different views and perspectives it originates was enjoyable and interesting. The overall suspense is gripping and the reader is kept wondering how the next steps will unfold and can hardly put the book down. The chapters are short and the action moves swiftly from scene to scene. The majestic mountains, ice peaks, flowing rivers, fierce and magnificent animals, gigantic waves, human endurance all make this a very enjoyable and exciting read. One is left with a sense of incredulity and wonder as the story sweeps into the distant past and swings back into the present. The lines become blurred and the reader is caught up in the mystery and marvel of the story.
It is hard to find anything negative in the book. Those not interested in archaeological debates or human origins might not appreciate them but it was bearable.
I would give Strongheart a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. The reason for this is that I found no spelling errors and the story is very well edited. There is extensive knowledge of the geographical regions covered in the book and the debates of human origins are well constructed. The human stories in between give substance to the overall theme of human endurance.
I would recommend this book to all readers, especially those who love epic adventures and stories of human endurance.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
