4 out of 4 stars
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Strong Heart tells a story of a family. This family is not completely biologically related, but the bonds they form through the events of the novel is undeniable and electifying. At first glance, this appeared to be a coming of age novel. However, Strong Heart ended up being more than anything I could have imagined.
Sarah and Tom are biologically related. Sarah was thrown onto Tom's doorstep by his ex-wife, who quickly revealed to him that she was his granddaughter before leaving. William "Walleye" and Myra are also biologically related as father and daughter. The four soon after go hiking deep into a national park on the Olympic Peninsula, where Sarah does a lot of learning about the land and the people that have always been there. After Tom reveals some of his own family heritage, the story takes a turn deep into Native American history and lore, and that is where the real fun begins.
Sheldon's writing style took a bit to get used to. At first it seemed formal, almost without a distinctive voice. However, it seemed vaguely familiar. After reading a couple of the short chapters, I realized that the voice that tells the story of Strong Heart is very reminiscent of a Native American storyteller. A person who is trained for years in the oral tradition, one whose voice is formulaic but enchanting. After that realization, I easily got captured in the story and found it hard to leave it.
The world that Sheldon creates is incredible. While most of the story takes place on the Olympic peninsula and is meant to seem completely real, the general feel while reading the novel is that of a legend or an old tale. During the visions, the world building is kept simple yet detailed. I had no trouble picturing the world that Strong Heart survived in. I felt all of the emotions that the characters felt, and the plot was unpredictable enough that I truly had no idea what was going to happen next. I truly feared for some of the characters' lives, because it seemed that any of them could die without needing to end the book. There were many times where I found it impossible to put down.
Although the book was really well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it, I did feel like a couple of the scenes fell flat. Sheldon's oral storytelling style in the first half of the novel seems to lack excitement during some scenes that call for it. In the second half, especially during the visions, the scenes carry that excitement that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was left wondering why the first half couldn't carry that same kind of weight. It was certainly an exercise in delayed gratification; one that I almost found myself abandoning. Once I got to the exciting scenes, I was captivated and simply had to keep reading to find out what would happen next.
The ending has to be the most memorable part of the novel. Although it answers many of the questions the plot introduces, it was so abrupt that I instantly started to look for a sequel. I'm itching to find out what becomes of Sarah and her grandfather, of the national park, of Myra and Sergei.
In all, Strong Heart is a captivating and moving novel that I absolutely loved to read. I cried, I laughed, and the story that it told was incredibly moving. It made me appreciate the people I have in my life, and it made curious to look more into the native peoples of the pacific northwest. I give Strong Heart 4 out of 4 stars. It was very well edited, the story was interesting, and I very much enjoyed it.
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Strong Heart
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