Review by AbhyarnaAman -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

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AbhyarnaAman
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Review by AbhyarnaAman -- Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon

Post by AbhyarnaAman »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Strong Heart" by Charlie Sheldon.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Strong Heart is a story of fiction interwoven with a migration theory about the movement of early humans from Asia to North America, passing through the Bering land bridge.

A young girl, Sarah, with a not so loving and stable family, is sent to her grandfather, Tom, who was about to leave for trekking along with his friend William and William’s daughter Myra. This trek was special to Tom as he wanted to visit his grandfather’s grave who had died during a memorable trek with Tom. They could not find any suitable shelter for Sarah, who was a troublesome teenager, so they decided to take her along on the trek.

Charlie Sheldon, the author, describes the whole story in a way that you feel like being a part of it. You could actually sense the chilling weather during the trek. Each character has its own strong role to play in the story. I liked the character of Myra, who was focused, caring, smart, and stubborn in a good way. She made sure the trek was least painful and yet progressive. Having two old men and one unskilled teenager in the team, it was difficult for Myra to lead. She was also committed to her profession, beliefs, and legends of her tribe. She believed that humans existed in North America much before the migration of other humans through the Bering land bridge. On the other hand, Sergei, a young geneticist who joined the team later, only believed in the data, which were inconclusive to support Myra’s beliefs. None of them knew what fate had in store for them to discover.

The story took a turn when Sarah disappeared into the mountains during the trek. She did not have food, water, or any gear to protect her from cold and wild animals. Read the book to find out if she got killed by some wild animal or did she beat all the odds to survive.

The part of the book about ancient men is the highlight of the book. It is fascinating to read about their struggles, way of life, culture, skills, and language. The author has been successful in carving pictures of the group of 31 people who struggled for many months in a canoe, crossing the sea filled with icebergs and wild animals.

I found this book to deserve 3 out of 4 stars. The best part of it is the perfect combination of fiction and a scientific hypothesis. The author has shown creativity in naming the characters of ancient times, like ‘woman too soon’ and ‘weeps a lot’. The rating. could be increased if the author mentioned a reference to the map that was shown at the beginning of the book. It would add credibility to the book. Another minor drawback was the difficulty to identify the speakers in the story as clear demarcations were not given.

The few typological errors in the book did not deter the reading experience. It has no sexual content or profane language, although indications of sexual harassment are given. Overall readers would enjoy the flow of the story and many thrilling instances in the book.

******
Strong Heart
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Post by Sou Hi »

Wow, the author is quite good to manage a cast of 31 people. I like adventurous books, and since this sounds intriguing with the sea, icebergs, and wild animals, I think I will enjoy it very much. Thanks for your recommendation, Abhyarna.
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Post by PeterRabitt20 »

I like that the author used anthropology to weave the story. Sounds like an exciting read. Great review!
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Post by Raluca_Mihaila »

I also reviewed this book and I loved it very much. I like how you pointed out the expressivity of the names given by Sarah! Great job with the review!
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Post by Honest-reviewer »

I’ve read this book and I quite liked it. Sarah’s journey is quite intriguing. Great review!
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Post by Sararob06 »

I have a degree in anthropology and am an avid historical fiction reader so this book sounds perfect for me! I’m shocked that the author managed to include 31 characters appropriately in the story! Great review!
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Post by Sanju Lali »

I am quite excited to read about the story where fiction is interwoven with migration theory. Thanks for your nicely written review, which gave me a clear glimpse of this book.
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Post by AbhyarnaAman »

Sararob06 wrote: 25 Dec 2020, 11:09 I have a degree in anthropology and am an avid historical fiction reader so this book sounds perfect for me! I’m shocked that the author managed to include 31 characters appropriately in the story! Great review!
good to know your background. This book must serve some interesting fiction to you. The part with the story of 31 ancient characters kept me wondering for days.
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Post by Noelle770 »

This seems like such an interesting book! Excellent review
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Post by AbhyarnaAman »

Noelle770 wrote: 28 Dec 2020, 11:27 This seems like such an interesting book! Excellent review
Thanks for stopping by.
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Post by Ayindelaw »

Nice review, AbhyarnaAman
I like the title of this book. It's very appropriate. The combination of mythical and scientific themes promises a lot of excitement too.
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Post by Yvonne Monique »

I never counted the number of people that made the canoe journey, but it appeared a lot to me. I am surprised it were that many, though!
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Post by Chigo Nwagboso »

This is one of the books I'll definitely read. Thanks for an insightful review.
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Post by AbhyarnaAman »

Yvonne Monique wrote: 01 Jan 2021, 10:21 I never counted the number of people that made the canoe journey, but it appeared a lot to me. I am surprised it were that many, though!
Well, I couldn't count myself, it was somewhere told in the book itself :)
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Post by AbhyarnaAman »

Chigo Nwagboso wrote: 02 Jan 2021, 07:28 This is one of the books I'll definitely read. Thanks for an insightful review.
Thanks for dropping the comment
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