3 out of 4 stars
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When you ask most people what fictional stories they think of when they hear that the story is set in Washington, most people will think only of the Twilight series. However, there's a new book coming to town and that book is Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon. The story is written by a new author whose writing style can be described as simple and understanding. The story of strong heart takes place in the Olympic Peninsula wilderness in Washington State and follows four main characters. When reading the story, I could tell that the author, Charlie Sheldon, had done some extensive research prior to writing. The story is an adventurous journey that shows what it truly means to have a strong heart.
Strong heart is a simple story that is intricated with family drama and native mystics. From the very first chapter when Tom's granddaughter, Sarah, shows up readers can see that this story is going to be a roller coaster ride. Sarah is someone Tom never knew existed and is now having to learn how to cope with this new family drama all while trying to go visit the grave of his own grandfather. The first half of the story takes place with the main characters walking a hiking trail in the Olympic Peninsula wilderness, making their way to a grave that Tom dug for his grandfather on a trip they once took together. what seems like a simple story of a grandfather taking his teenage granddaughter camping takes a quick turn when Sarah disappears. It is from this drastic turning point that the story keeps taking turn after turn. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, Charlie Sheldon flips everything upside down.
Now, while I did enjoy this book overall, I could not help but notice some things that I was not fond of. Throughout the story there is information that is fed to the readers from different characters at different times. This type of writing could confuse the reader. There is also no set person telling the story. We jump from Tom to William to Sarah. This style had me guess who was telling the story at different times. The book felt as slow paced as William walking the trail. At some points of the story I felt that the narrative was simply off beat. I personally felt that the writing was kind of staccato in a manner. The words did not flow.
Now that the bad is done, I can begin writing what I enjoyed about the book. I am a fan of the Twilight series but I always felt like Stephanie Meyer could have brought more to the story when it came to the tribal stories. However, Charlie Sheldon did just that and more. I think the last time I read or watched anything about Native American visions would have to be on an episode of Charmed and that show has been off air for about ten years. You can tell right away that Charlie Sheldon had done some extensive researcher before bringing these characters alive. The author chose to use a simple style that is an easy read that even novice readers could pick it up. The author also masterfully captures the essence of a teenage girl, who is lost in the world, struggling to believe in herself when no one else believes in her. This storyline appeals to an entire generation of readers, while also capturing the attention of the outdoor, adventurous types of readers.
Personally, I would give this book a 3 out of 4-star rating. while the story, once it got going, was pretty good, was still at a snail's pace. I would have liked to see a singular narrator or even some indication that the narration was changing. While the story itself works at a very slow pace, I would have liked to have seen more of the story expanded. For instance, Tom's backstory felt very short and jumbled. There was a lot of chapters that I felt could have been written differently with more information. Overall, I wanted more. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Hopefully, Sheldon will provide us with a follow up story so that we can see what happens to our four characters.
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Strong Heart
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