3 out of 4 stars
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Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon has an interesting story line and a strong theme. Sheldon masterfully weaves some strands of the story that happened thousands of years ago with what is happening in the present period. Strong Heart is a combination of Native American legends, tales of self discovery of the characters, and glimpses of family ties—all bound up with a touch of magic. The main story happens in the present period whereas the sub-story takes us back in time to thousands of years ago.
Sarah Cooley is a confused and recently orphaned teenager. On a stormy night, Sarah’s grandmother plops her down like an unwanted package among three strangers: Tom Olsen, William (Tom’s Native American friend), and Myra (William’s daughter). Tom is the grandfather that Sarah had never met before and he is not what you would call a “warm person.” Tom, along with his friends, was about to go on a trip deep in the wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula when young Sarah gets thrust at his group. As per William’s suggestion, they decide to take a reluctant Sarah with them on the trip. Sarah is a very confused and unhappy teenage spitfire who’s often rude. But, we get to see how talented she is at sketching.
The seemingly routine trip into the wilderness transforms into an adventure fraught with danger. The description of the harshness of the weather and the challenging terrain gives the reader an idea about how hard the life of ancient settlers would have been. Sheldon has an easy narrative style that makes for fascinating reading. The story incorporates a lot of interesting bits about the culture and lifestyle of the Native Americans. The many theories that are discussed—especially about the number of possible ice ages and, through the arguments between Myra and Sergei, about the evolution and origin of mankind—pricks one’s curiosity and compels the reader to do some research and gather more information about the subject.
There are negligible grammar mistakes and a couple of spelling errors. But, they do nothing to diminish the gripping story line. I felt that the first installment of Sarah’s “dream” could have been shorter as it got a bit long-drawn-out and confusing, what with characters like Woman Too Soon, Weeps a Lot, Weeps a Lot More, and other similar characters. Compared to the first, the second narrative of Sarah about the remaining “dream” was better presented. There are a lot of phrases and words used by Sarah during her “dream” narrations that are in accordance with the dialect of the period.
The friendship between Tom and William comes out clearly in the plot, as does the blossoming friendship between Sarah and Myra. I always liked women with some spunk and both Sarah and Myra don’t disappoint on that level. A confusing question that keeps popping into my mind is: how did Sarah lose a finger, get a deep cut on her forehead, and a torn ear through her visions and dreams? Because of this inevitable confusion and the lengthy “dream” scenes, I would like to rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I loved most of the book and I would recommend this to anyone who likes to read a good tale with a strong story line and a touch of mysticism and magic. If you are someone who doesn’t believe in magic and prefer a more realistic story line, you might not enjoy this book as much as I did.
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Strong Heart
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