Review by rscorman -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
Posted: 17 Feb 2020, 15:18
[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
Strong Heart, by Charlie Sheldon, is the story of a young girl thrown out of her home and thrust into her grandfather’s world. With a tumultuous past, Sarah, not yet 13-years-old, is dragged on a trip into the Pacific Northwest wilderness with her grandpa, Tom, his friend William, and William’s daughter Myra. What starts out as a grumbling experience, turns into a journey none of them could have imagined.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The first time I read Strong Heart I wasn’t sure I understood the complexities of the story. I went on to read Adrift, the second book in this series, and then came back to read Strong Heart again. It was the best move I could have made. Suddenly, all of the intricacies of Sheldon’s story made sense. I appreciated the storytelling, the legend, the fantasy, and the relationships. However, the quick switch into Sarah’s “vision quest” was a bit confusing and took time to digest. It is the reason I didn’t give Strong Heart a perfect rating. However, if you give the book some time, the confusing digression into Sarah’s world will begin to make sense.
We learn an incredible amount about the human spirit in this novel. Sarah is young and feisty, but she’s extremely talented and smart. These positive traits are exposed throughout the book, and reminds us that children are much more aware and intelligent than we usually give them credit for. It is also a story of conflicting characters’ abilities to build relationships, overcome the past, and believe in each other. Sheldon weaves together storylines in a way that all eventually fit together (and even more so in Adrift).
Sheldon exposes the rifts that exist between big business and land preservation, big business and Native people, legend versus truth, and data versus stories. He inserts contentious sides into this fictional story and it opens many questions about ancient history, and even more questions about our current history.
I admit that I did not fully appreciate this book the first time around. Having read it again, and now writing this review, I am realizing how many angles Sheldon took, and how eye opening they truly are.
As someone who spent several years living in the Pacific Northwest, I was completely unaware of all of this Native history. After reading these stories, I wish I’d spent more time learning when I lived there.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Strong Heart, by Charlie Sheldon, is the story of a young girl thrown out of her home and thrust into her grandfather’s world. With a tumultuous past, Sarah, not yet 13-years-old, is dragged on a trip into the Pacific Northwest wilderness with her grandpa, Tom, his friend William, and William’s daughter Myra. What starts out as a grumbling experience, turns into a journey none of them could have imagined.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The first time I read Strong Heart I wasn’t sure I understood the complexities of the story. I went on to read Adrift, the second book in this series, and then came back to read Strong Heart again. It was the best move I could have made. Suddenly, all of the intricacies of Sheldon’s story made sense. I appreciated the storytelling, the legend, the fantasy, and the relationships. However, the quick switch into Sarah’s “vision quest” was a bit confusing and took time to digest. It is the reason I didn’t give Strong Heart a perfect rating. However, if you give the book some time, the confusing digression into Sarah’s world will begin to make sense.
We learn an incredible amount about the human spirit in this novel. Sarah is young and feisty, but she’s extremely talented and smart. These positive traits are exposed throughout the book, and reminds us that children are much more aware and intelligent than we usually give them credit for. It is also a story of conflicting characters’ abilities to build relationships, overcome the past, and believe in each other. Sheldon weaves together storylines in a way that all eventually fit together (and even more so in Adrift).
Sheldon exposes the rifts that exist between big business and land preservation, big business and Native people, legend versus truth, and data versus stories. He inserts contentious sides into this fictional story and it opens many questions about ancient history, and even more questions about our current history.
I admit that I did not fully appreciate this book the first time around. Having read it again, and now writing this review, I am realizing how many angles Sheldon took, and how eye opening they truly are.
As someone who spent several years living in the Pacific Northwest, I was completely unaware of all of this Native history. After reading these stories, I wish I’d spent more time learning when I lived there.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon