Overall rating and opinion of "Strong Heart"

[jhollan2]

I rated this book at 3 out of 4 stars. It was good and I can't think of much to say here that hasn't been said a dozen times already in this thread. I enjoyed it but I didn't love it and the ending was just way too abrupt and rough for me to give it 4 stars.

[jonaya]

I still rate this book 4 out of 4.In this book I really enjoyed Sarah's character .She really deserved a title 'strong heart' as she is a girl who is always focused .She has a spirit of I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me" which is not common in most young ones of her age. On the other hand Myrah tried to prove to Sarah, that she is almost a mother to her by helping her in many things .

[flavian njoki]

This is written by a new author whose writing style is good, understanding, and the story was well organized and interesting. I felt his characters were well developed, likable and each had their own individual traits. I’m hoping to see more from this author. I believe his story, the theme, plot, and the environment he created delivered enjoyment and interest to keep a reader wanting more. I thought the interaction between the characters were exceptional. The story setting is in the wilderness of Washington State. The story has historical facts, native culture, past legends and flows with a spiritual quest that makes the story more interesting.

The story is about a Native American grandfather, Tom who is going on a journey into the wilderness to visit his fathers grave. However, his motive is more than that; he also has an old environmental artifact that is mysteriously linked to his past that he feels he must return. Just as his friends, William who is in poor health and his daughter Myra who is struggling over different issues picked up their backpacks to join Tom on his journey when someone knocked on the door. For the first time he meets his granddaughter, Sarah who is thirteen, rebellious and strong willed. An elder family member left Sarah on his porch because they could not control her and felt he must do his share in raising this child and keep her out of trouble.

This left Tom in a dilemma. Sarah has never been backpacking through the wilderness before so he really didn’t want to take her but William talked Tom into taking her with them. Sarah didn’t want to go plus she didn’t think her grandfather liked her. It was interesting to follow Tom, his friends and most of all his granddaughter. As the reader I could tell how Sarah might be mischievous throughout their trip. They had some situations that stood in there way but they made the best of it. Sarah gets angry and walks off but eight days later she was found with a story to tell and what a story… Sarah got to complete the mystifying and hard to believe story on their second journey into the wilderness.

It was a great story of adventure, myths, and legions that was beyond the modern world. It felt like I was watching all the scenes from above them. The story just flowed with ease…..


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[KasieMiehlke]

I enjoyed this book. I loved the history elements the most. I also think the story within a story was fantastic. I highly recommend it.

[jonaya]

I rate it 4 out of 4 stars .This is an educative book and I recommend it to all who likes reading and need to learn something from reading.

[Ubheeram Nina]

I like this book especially because of the mythology concept used in the story. I would rate it three out of four.

[Bookaholicwormgod]

Yeah, nice book but weird switch in characters' characters

[Ubheeram Nina]

I would rate it 4 out of 4 since it's a great book. Brave girl Sarah made it more interesting.

[Jennifer Allsbrook]

This is a discussion topic for the October 2017 Book of the Month, "Strong heart" by Charlie Sheldon.

What is your overall opinion of "Strong heart"? What do you like most about it? What do you like least? Will you recommend the book to other people? Why or why not? Please remember to add your actual rating using the book's page on Bookshelves.

I enjoyed reading this book. 4 out of 4 stars is my overall rating. The setting was amazing including the descriptions of the natural area during the hikes of the modern day group and during the journey in the canoe.

[orangehornet57]

I just finished reading this book. It's an interesting tale about Native American culture. There are the issues of progress vs. preserving culture, tribal politics, and the truth of legends. One of my great grandfathers was nearly full blooded Cherokee. Set in the Olympic Mountains, there are many vivid descriptions of the area. It might make the more rugged of us wanna go there.

Tom, 67 years old, is planning a journey to his grandfather's grave. William and his daughter Myra are going with him. Before leaving, Sarah arrives. She's a 13 year old granddaughter Tom didn't know about. To say she's not happy about being there, nor the upcoming trip, is an understatement. Yet her presence really shakes things up.

It turns out that Sarah's a gifted yet self-taught artist. During the trip she sees and sketches a bear. Myra recognizes it as a long extinct species. When the others don't believe her, Sarah runs off. They find her eight days later, alive but injured.

Sarah has quite a tale. She and some young women were captured to be wives for a far distant people. There are names like Anger, Thrower, Weeps A Lot, Weeps A Lot More, Pretty Hair, Woman Too Soon, etc.. The journey is long and dangerous. There is rough weather and wild animals. During the journey she learns new skills, such as how to throw spears. Strong Heart is the name they give her.

One reason for Tom's trip was to return an ancient bone thrower. Myra' was angry that he removed it from the park. Yet she feels that it can stop planning mining of the area. This ancient artifact can prove that their people were in the area earlier than previously fought.

There is lots of drama. Fletcher Lundy is the definite villain. He's leading the mining efforts. He's also Tom's boss, and husband of his ex-wife Ruth. Sarah's mother left home on account of him. Sarah doesn't think too highly of him either.

The book holds your interest. Keeping characters separate was a little hard at times. Most of the surveyors seemed interchangeable. Sergei added some flavor. I was very disappointed in some of the language. Using the Lord's name in vain was totally unnecessary.

The format needed some work. It was in four large sections. I like having page numbers even on e-books.

I won't give spoilers. But abrupt endings are usually disappointing. One teacher pointed out that fairy tales made us want and expect happy endings. Ditto for real life. Perhaps the author will give us a sequel.

[Arushi Singh]

I would give this book a 3 out of 4. I love the element of mythology in the book. I feel like it was extensively explored in the book and really well articulated. However, I do feel that the characters were a bit of a disappointment. I love books with a strong characterization and unfortunately, this wasn't one of those books.

[Manali_DC]

I really enjoyed reading the book. I thought all the characters were very interesting and Sarah's journey from a sullen rebellious teenager to a strong mature and wise young woman was incredible. I gave the book 3 out of 4 stars only because the story of the past was a little confusing with too many strange names and too much description of the geography of the land!!

[Matthew2170]

i'll rate it 8 out of 10 i like it

[K_Robinson]

I gave Strong Heart 2 out of 4 stars. Charlie Sheldon did a wonderful job at painting the scenery for his readers, but at times his descriptions felt, to me, almost too specific. I am directionally challenged and had a hard time following along with his cardinal direction descriptions. Overall I think the story flowed relatively well, but at times I thought scenes became a bit more lengthy than they needed to be - except for the ending which felt rushed and came to an abrupt halt and left us with many unanswered questions. The first time Sheldon transitioned from present day to the past visionary sequence I did have a hard time adjusting to it, but once I adjusted I looked forward to Sarah's story more than anything. I would recommend this story to young adult readers, but I personally would not read it again.

[MontyQ]

I gave it 1 out of 4 stars.
It had some interesting themes but didn’t seem to do much with them. There were too many passages that got dragged with the long, detailed hikes through the park. Also the stiff dialouge and lack of characterization didn’t make it any better. I did enjoy the story about Strong Heart, and the incorporation of Native American culture, but the abrupt ending that failed to bring any closure was very disappointing.