Review by buttercake20+ -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

[buttercake20+_Modupe Bello]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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On a rainy eve in May, Sarah comes into the life of her grandfather, Tom. She was a rebel and had picked up bad habits for a teenager. She stirred up trouble wherever she went and had experienced her fair share of unstable and unhealthy homes, but she also had courage and a determined spirit. An adventure helps both grandfather and granddaughter work through their differences, and build their newly discovered relationship.

The presence of Sarah brought a spark into Tom’s routine lifestyle. Following the advice of his friend William, he took her along on his already planned hike. Sarah saw the mountain hike as torture and child abuse, which made her engage in multiple arguments with the group. William, Myra, and Sergei are three other leading characters in the book who hiked together with Sarah and Tom. Together, the group shared their knowledge and expressed a passion for the history, and evolution of mankind. The storyline develops from a mountain hike to a search when Sarah goes missing, and then a mysterious expedition Sarah experiences.

Charlie Sheldon employs scientific facts and ancient indigenous folklore about the origin of the modern man. This approach is adopted because of scientists and tribes who both believe that their theories of origin are right. He forms a blend of both views through the eyes of Sergei, who is the scientist in the group. To fully examine both theories, the storyline is shifted between present reality and Sarah’s expedition world as she narrates her adventure.

What I liked most was how the arguments by the characters on their different theories and beliefs were natural. Reading through various views presented by the characters created a desire to get more information about the origin of the modern man. I would recommend this book for historians and lovers of historical fiction. People who are particular about the rights and origin of Native Americans would also benefit from this book.

What I disliked most were some decisions that were taken by the adults; Sarah made some dangerous requests, and they were granted to her. In the aspect of parenting, I believe a level of irresponsibility was displayed. I would not recommend this book to a young audience because there are vivid descriptions of death, wounds, attacks, and weapons craft.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I didn’t give it a 4-star rating because there were some grammatical and punctuation errors, and also because the navigation descriptions were difficult for me to understand. I also didn’t rate it lower because I enjoyed the dialogue, arguments, and character development. There were no sexual details in the book, but some profane words were used. Overall, Strong Heart was a creatively written book that held relevant information.

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Strong Heart
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