3 out of 4 stars
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Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon is a fictional tale set in Washington State. It follows the story of Tom Olsen and his Native American companions, William and Myra. Just as the trio were getting ready to set off on a trip over to the Olympic Peninsula to visit Tom’s grandfather’s grave his ex-wife, Ruth, arrives at his doorstep with a granddaughter he never knew existed. The timing couldn’t be anymore inconvenient. Tom’s granddaughter, Sarah, is initially a surly thirteen-year-old with a rebellious nature. Rather than halt the trip, William convinces Tom to bring Sarah along with them, to which Tom reluctantly agrees.
The story follows the four of them as they embark on their journey. It is revealed that Tom possesses an artifact known as an atlatl, which he had taken from the Olympic Peninsula years ago. He intends to return it to the site from which he found it, but Myra tries to convince him otherwise. She wants to prevent a corporation known as Buckhorn from damaging the land that she believes belonged to her ancestors. The atlatl could be used as proof that native people had lived on those lands thousands of years ago, making it a sacred site. During their trip, Sarah goes missing from their campsite. She returns abruptly eight days later with a story about her misadventure during her time away.
There were many things about Strong Heart that made it a highly enjoyable read for me. It has a very promising plot that remains, for the most part, consistently engaging all throughout. The author gives vivid descriptions of the scenery as well as realistic dialogue between the characters. I was able to lose myself while reading this book multiple times. I also liked the inclusion of the theme science vs. belief. It helped give insight into the strength of the Native Americans’ faith in their legends, while also providing good character conflict. It is a theme that is still very much relevant today, which gives the story a thought-provoking quality.
However, there were things about Strong Heart that I did not like as much. My main issue with it were the points in which Sarah tells of what happened to her during her disappearance. It felt unnecessarily long and drawn-out, and became confusing at times, too. A lot of new characters were thrown in at once, which made it difficult for me to keep up with it. It also felt out of character the way Sarah narrated her story. I think this part of the book would have been better if the reader could have experienced these things with Sarah instead of having her tell us about it. Additionally, I would have liked to learn more about Tom, William, and Myra before Sarah was introduced. It felt too sudden to have her show up in just the first chapter.
I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I didn’t give it a perfect 4 out of 4 because Sarah’s story took away from the plot. It was difficult for me to get through those parts of the book. However, it was still an overall good read, and I believe there are other readers that would find this book just as engaging as I did. If you are looking for a story about adventure with some native mysticism to it, then this book is a good pick.
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Strong Heart
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