4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
This is a book about the living relationship of humans with his natural world, heritage, and the people surrounding him.
The story started when three persons; William and his daughter Myra, their long time friend Tom, found themselves in an unusual situation when a teenage girl, Sarah, granddaughter of Tom whom he had never been together before, knocked at the door to stay with him for a period of time. But the three adults had a planned camping trip in the mountains, and teenage Sarah was not in the list. Torn between leaving a teenager alone, and having her in a dangerous snowy mountain the group decided to take her anyway.
Sarah, like many teenagers, is a curios and energetic youth. Her attitude towards kin is rough, as to her Grandfather Tom. Many times, their relationship ended in heated arguments. But Tom, later on, managed to pacify her with stories of their family heritage, and an ancient bone-artefact believed to be a hunting weapon. Sarah slowly turned into a peculiar youth for Tom. In the wild, she had drawn a sketch of a creature that she saw, a kind of bear known to be extinct. She lost herself and didn’t return to the camp until eight days, only to tell bizarre stories about the place where she had been.
They were not alone in the mountains. There were miners who have their eyes in exploiting the resources. They were from a company deeply connected to some people who have the power to make decisions for the land, threatening the thousand years of harmony, and the graveyard of Sarah’s great-great grandfather.
The characterization is sometimes unrealistic. It compelled me to read back some of the pages. For instance, when Sarah was missing for eight days, her grandfather Tom appears to be less concerned, causing me to make wrong impression of Tom’s attitude towards women. But the plot is easy to follow. There are predictable scenarios. Also, the setting is perfect and the author vividly describes the environment.
This is a powerful story. It encompasses many disciplines; natural history, politics, environment, archaeology, human relationships and even technology. Despite the complexity, however, the art of keeping a work of fiction interesting remains.
I rate this book 4 out of 4. The story is very enjoyable. I recommend this for all ages. Also, this is a good piece for South-East Asians like me; I learned so many things about the culture of people from the other side of the world.
******
Strong Heart
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like LarryPioquinto1234's review? Post a comment saying so!
