3 out of 4 stars
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Strong Heart – by Charlie Sheldon
This book is about a girl called Sarah, who has a reputation for being rebellious and difficult. As a result she ends up being sent to live with her grandfather Tom.
As soon as she arrives, they set off on a hiking trip into the Olympus National Park, on a pilgrimage to find where Tom’s grandfather had been buried, and to return an ancient artefact, which he had left behind when he died. They are joined by Tom’s old friend William, and William’s daughter, Myra.
After realising that the artefact could answer many questions about the history of ancient human civilisations in the area, as well as prevent a mining company from destroying the tribal lands, the group tries to prevent the artefact from falling into the wrong hands.
Myra had warned that the land was a place of ‘magic, history and legends’. Sarah experienced that first-hand. After falling and hitting her head she goes on a journey that was taken by a people living thousands of years earlier. Perhaps the legends were true after all?
I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed the storyline and the subjects explored. The characters were interesting, and the author brought them to life with his descriptions of their struggles and personalities. There were also moments of suspense and danger, which encouraged the reader to want to find out how the story ends.
The setting of the book was fascinating, and the authors love for exploring the Olympic Peninsula was evident. The book also benefited from his knowledge of the local tribal legends and archaeology. I found myself wanting to know more about the area and its history, and this book certainly would appeal to anyone interested in this part of the United States.
At times I felt the story had too much unnecessary detail, particularly when describing Sarah’s journey. It was a long section, and although important to the overall story line, the descriptions were quite repetitive. It made me want to skim over that section. There was also lot of characters introduced, and it was hard to remember them all, which made it hard to keep following along with the story.
The author has a particular style of writing that can take some getting used to. He often uses very short sentences, which can prevent the narrative from flowing well, and makes it harder to read.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others. I found the subjects explored in the novel interesting. It certainly inspired me to visit the Olympic Peninsula one day.
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Strong Heart
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